Tag: health care

The moral of this story is that if you are a foreigner in Korea make sure you bring enough money to provide medical care for yourself if needed:

Sgt. Park Ah-ron, Korea’s only police officer dedicated to assisting the unhoused, took charge of the case. Park contacted 21 hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area but was met with refusals. Hospitals cited the 64-year-old’s foreign nationality and the high cost of surgery as reasons for rejection.

Efforts to reach his sister in Sweden were also unsuccessful, as she declined to cover the medical expenses.

Finally, with the help of the Seoul Homeless Support Center, Park identified a hospital in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province — Hyeogsin Seongmo Hospital — that agreed to perform the surgery after consultations with its director.

Using a translator to communicate with the Swedish national, Park obtained his consent for the surgery. On Dec. 16, the 64-year-old underwent a successful amputation. Despite the successful procedure, he passed away on Dec. 20 due to sepsis stemming from pneumonia. Hospital staff explained that his severely weakened immune system had contributed to his death.

Before his passing, the Swedish national, who had diabetes, requested and enjoyed a piece of chocolate as a small comfort in his final moments.

Exposing systemic gaps

Park expressed frustration over the lack of welfare support for foreign nationals in Korea. “I reached out to the local government for support with surgery costs, but foreign nationals are not eligible for medical aid as vagrants,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears same sex couples in Korea can now get the same national health insurance coverage as heterosexual couples:

An appellate court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a same-sex couple demanding the same spousal coverage from the state health insurance program as heterosexual couples.

The Seoul High Court delivered the landmark ruling, overturning a lower court’s decision that marriage in South Korea is considered a union between a man and a woman, and there are no legal grounds to expand the concept to same-sex couples.

The appeals court did not give a specific reason for its decision.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the big difference between spousal and individual health coverage in Korea comes down to the premium. Same sex couples had to previously each pay individual premiums while heterosexual couples were paying the married premium which was cheaper.

Does this issue in South Korea sound familiar to Americans?:

Doctors staged a massive rally in Seoul on Sunday in protest against what they call the government’s “unilateral” medical care policy.

Around 7,000 members from the Korean Medical Association gathered in central Seoul to voice their anger at so-called Moon Jae-in Care, which the government says is focused on providing comprehensive medical services to the general public at reasonable prices.

The participants shouted out slogans such as “Let’s banish Moon Jae-in Care” and “The government has come up with a delusional policy.”

Many in the medical profession have been opposed to the plan costing 30.6 trillion won ($27.9 billion) that will be implemented in stages up to 2022. The government is aiming to greatly expand National Health Insurance coverage for most medical treatment, which includes various medical procedures and tests.

“We have set up a committee with the government to discuss the issue but we will immediately halt all talks and put up a strong fight, as discussions are void of truth with the government taking steps to unilaterally push forward the plan,” said Choi Dae-jib, the president of the association.

Doctors have consistently complained that policymakers are railroading the plan without proper consultation with those in the medical field and without regard for how the program will be funded in the long term.  [Yonhap]

This seems to happen to every national health insurance program, at some point taxes have to be raised to make up for increased costs which is difficult politically for politicians to do.  Thus they begin to run into deficits:

Picture via BusanMike Flickr page.

Major forms of social insurance in South Korea are threatened with unsustainability. Health insurance finances in particular are set to run out in ten years without an increase in premiums or cuts to payouts. On this basis, the administration has argued for raising premiums and reducing benefits – an approach it is billing as “the right cost, the right payout.”But with income and generational differences poised to generate conflict over any social insurance changes, no matter how badly needed, the issue is now likely to be a key concern on the upcoming political calendar, and the 2016 parliamentary and 2017 presidential elections in particular.

On Dec. 4, the administration published a report on South Korea’s long-term financial prospects through the year 2060. The analysis focused on the future financial situation based on the current economic growth rate and changes in the population structure, assuming no or only minor changes in the social insurance system. It marks the first time an administration has ever published financial predictions for a date so many decades away.  [Hankyoreh]

You can read the rest at the link.

If you are traveling to Korea for work, the government has now implemented a three month waiting period to qualify for health insurance:

Foreigners entering Korea for employment purposes will have to wait three months to get health insurance, as will overseas Koreans.

In the past, foreigners and overseas Koreans could register for health insurance on the first day they entered the country, but from Oct. 1 they will have to wait.

The Health Ministry says the relevant law has been amended to prevent people from entering country under false pretenses to enjoy health insurance benefits and leave soon afterward.   [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

For some people thinking of moving to Korea this health insurance change needs to be something to be aware of:

The government will strengthen national health insurance eligibility requirements for overseas Koreans and foreigners beginning in October to prevent abuse of the system.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday that it will enact revisions to ordinances so that overseas Koreans and foreigners who enter the country for work will only be eligible to enroll in national health insurance after a three-month stay.

However, those who enter the country for study, marriage or other purposes that make it clear that they are going to stay in the country for more than three months may continue to immediately join the health insurance.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

We Need A Clinical Data Revolution In Healthcare: A Lesson From South Korea http://t.co/NV9olKJFIz

— South Korea Daily (@SouthKoreaDaily) January 20, 2015