• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.37
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• pp.5-33
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• 2008

This study examines the use of medical care by the poor through analysing KNHANES III databases, and the focus of the study is on under-satisfaction of medical needs and the impact of the medicare system. The results of analysis are summerized as follows; the poor had generally suffered from poor health condition, and did not have economic resoure to satisfy the medical needs. But, the beneficiaries of the medicare used much more medical care than non-poor. The result of logistic regression suggest that the medicare affected significantly on increase of uses. Consquently, the medicare system effectively made up the lack of economic resoure of the poor. However, the Medicare did not sufficient to satisfy all the medical needs of the poor. Over 20% of the poor had experinced the abandonment of meical care uses, "the lack of econmic resource" was most important reason. The result of logistic regression suggest that all the poor such as Medicare I and Medicare II beneficiaries, and near-poor class had much more probabilities of giving up the use of medical care than non-poor. It is necessary to raise up the benefit level of the current medicare system such as the reduction of non-secured medical cost, the alleviation of user's burden etc.