• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.137-153
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• 2022

In the process of promoting policies to strengthen health insurance coverage, the relationship between public health insurance and private health insurance, along with the management of non-benefit, is also emphasized as a policy issue. First, the concept and scope of non-benefit were comparatively analyzed by country. Second, the interaction between the public and private health insurance was classified as 'large or small,' and the government's regulation and management policy on private health insurance was classified as 'strong or weak.' Korea has relatively smaller benefits covered by public health insurance, higher copayment expenses, and more areas and scope of non-benefits. In countries where the interaction between public and private health insurance is small, private health insurance-related policies are weak. And in countries with large interactions had public-private partnerships and the government's management policies were also strong. On the other hand, Korea has a large interaction, but the actual structure of cooperation between public and private insurance and management policies were weak. Because the non-benefit sector in Korea is relatively wide, it is difficult to manage compared to other countries where the concept of non-benefit is limited. In addition, the health authorities rarely perform the role of supervision over private health insurance, and they have so few linkages and cooperation for public-private insurance. Therefore, practical policy enforcement is necessary to achieve the easing of the burden of national medical expenses through linkage and cooperation of public-private health insurance with reference to relevant other countries' cases.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.194-204
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• 2021

This study was conducted to find out the status and factors of private health insurance subscriptions by life cycle and to identify differences in medical usage behavior by life cycle. Using the SPSS 26 program as the 12th-15th (2016-2019) data of the Korea Welfare Panel, the difference subscriptions was identified as Chi-square by demo social and health characteristics of 58,223 people, and the factors affecting subscription were analyzed by polynomial logistic analysis and average analysis was performed for medical use behavior. As a result of the analysis, the biggest factor in purchasing private health insurance was household income, private health insurance coverage is the highest in growth period, and multiple subscriptions were made depending on household income. In youth, household income, spouse, and no disability, and middle age, household income, economic activities, spouses, and health levels were largely influential factors. The rate of private health insurance coverage in old age was the lowest, and low-income households, poor health levels, and people with disabilities were lower. The increase in medical use by private health insurance subscribers also occurred during growth and youth. It is necessary to strengthen the national health insurance coverage, and the role of private health insurance to supplement it should be established in time for the life cycle to complement each other, eliminating blind spots of medical security and maximizing people's health and well-being.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.58-69
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• 2017

Recently, with the increase in the number of private health insurance subscribers, interest in overuse of the medical service is increasing. This study analyzed the impacts of private health insurance (PHI) on medical institution selection in outpatient service utilization among persons with arthritis. In order to control patients' health status, we extracted outpatient episodes with the same disease (KCD6, M13) from Korea Health Panel. The unit of analysis was an outpatient visit with arthritis in 2014 (n=23,363). In the light of insurance coverage, we redefined three type of private health insurance (ex, indemnity, fixed benefit, and non-insured) as a test variable and two type of medical institution (ex, hospital and physician visit) as a dependent variable. We conducted a probit regression analysis to identify the impacts of PHI on medical institution selection controlling for heteroscedasticity. The results of this study showed that the insured with indemnity were more likely to choose hospital departments than clinics (marginal effect=0.0475, p=0.000). The impact of participation of fixed benefit PHI was not as clear as that of indemnity type (marginal effect=0.0162, p=0.047). In conclusion, this study confirmed that PHI, particularly indemnity type has a significant impact on the selection of medical institutions. Healthcare policy makers should consider that PHI not only affects the overall quantitative increase in healthcare utilization, but also influences the selection of medical institutions.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.264-272
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• 2023

Background: Private health insurance supplements the coverage of national health insurance in Korea. In this situation, the subject of the study is to identify the healthcare utilization of people with physical and mental illnesses according to private health insurance. Methods: This study used data from the Korea Health Panel Survey 2018. The study population consisted of 813 individuals with physical and mental illnesses (PMI). Multiple logistic regression analysis and binominal logistic regression analysis were conducted about the utilization of emergency, inpatient, and outpatient medical services of people with PMI depending on enrollment in private health insurance (PHI). Results: The results of this study indicated that individuals with PHI utilized emergency and outpatient medical services less frequently compared to those without PHI. Conversely, having PHI was associated with a higher utilization of inpatient medical services compared to not having PHI. Binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals with PMI who had PHI exhibited a higher frequency of visits to emergency and outpatient medical services compared to those without PHI. However, the significance of this trend was not observed in the case of emergency medical services. On the other hand, individuals with PMI who had PHI showed a lower frequency of visits to inpatient medical services compared to those without PHI. Conclusion: In conclusion, there was a significant relationship between having PHI and the utilization of medical services in people with PMI. There is a need for a follow-up study considering the type of mental illnesses, length of stay, and health outcome of people with PMI depending on having PHI.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.63-81
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• 2006

This study was conducted to evaluate needs and intention of hospitals and clinics to join network with private health insurance, and to discover obstacles of participation of the networks. We carried out the questionnaire survey of the network managers of 236 medical institutions between December 27th, 2005 and January 25th, 2006. The result showed that the participation intention of network were different to the type of hospitals. Primary care clinics answered that participation intention and possibility were low. Secondary care hospitals was relatively affirmative regarding a network participation. Tertiary hospitals responded that they need the network with private health insurance, but participation possibility was lower than needs. The reason is that they worried about the side effect of the network with private health insurance. Depending on the type of hospitals, expected benefits from networking with private health insurance were different. We found that hospitals which already had affiliation with other hospitals answered in the affirmative regarding the network with private health insurance. In conclusion, to increase the effectiveness of network systems between hospital and private health insurance, the network is expected to consider different needs of the each hospital.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.165-177
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• 2012

This study examined market size of private health insurance premium and individual characteristics associated with the market size change in Korea, using wave 1 (2008) and wave 2 (2009) of Korea Health Panel. The market size was 24.4 trillion Korean won in 2008 and 26.9 trillion in 2009. The increase rate of private health insurance premium among those who were the elderly, single, or the poor was higher than that among their counterpart respectively. Health status and utilization were insignificant in determining the increase rate of private health insurance premium. These findings were more obvious among the uninsured in 2008 than among the insured in 2008. The increase of private health insurance premium in Korea imply the increase of willingness-to-pay for health risk through private sector. The authors suggest policy intervention for accessability to health care for the underprivileged and weak through enlargement of Korean social health insurance benefit.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants of purchasing indemnity private health insurance and its impact on the healthcare utilization among outpatients with chronic disease. Methods: The study analyzed 4,997 chronic ill patients using 2015 Korean Health Panel data. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the purchase of indemnity private health insurance and multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effect of private health insurance on the number of outpatient visits and outpatient expenditures. Findings: The age, education level, and number of chronic diseases were significant factors affecting the purchasing of indemnity private health insurance among chronic patients. As a result of analyzing the impact of indemnity private health insurance on healthcare utilization, the number of outpatient visits for those who enrolled in the indemnity private health insurance was higher than the number of outpatient visits for those who did not. But there was no statistically significant difference in outpatient medical expenses. Practical Implications: The results of this study shows that indemnity private health insurance may cause inequality in the healthcare utilization of the socially vulnerable. It is necessary to seek ways to strengthen the health security of chronic disease patients and high-risk elderly people who need more healthcare.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.161-175
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• 2005

Since the introduction of mandatory health insurance in In, the Korean national health insurance(KNHI) has grown rapidly. In 2004, about $96.9\%$ of the total population are covered by the KNHI and the remaining $3.1\%$ by the Medical Aid program. Despite national health insurance system in Korea, private health insurance market has grown rapidly. In 2004, the size of the private health insurance market was estimated at 6,568 billion won. The purpose of this study Is to identify the factors that determine the purchasing decisions of supplementary private health insurance under mandatory national health insurance system in Korea. The data from n04 Busan Health Survey were analysed for the Purpose. The variables in this study are demographic factors, health status and health behavioral factors, health care systemic factors, and socioeconomic factors. For statistical analyse, we used logistic regression. The Findings show that female, economically active age group(especially 35-49 years), persons with better health status or experience of health screening test are more likely to purchase private health insurance. And higher household income and expenditure, higher education level are more associated with the increased probabilities of private health insurance purchases. This results imply that the expanding of private health insurance market could widen the gap between the have and have-not in terms of equal health care accessibility.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.67-81
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to analyze the report conducted in 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Welfares on influences of private insurance coverage on the use of Korean medicine. Methods : We analyzed Ministry of Health and welfares report on the use and consumption of Korean medicine to fit the purpose of this study. Comparison between private insurance holders and non-holders was made in the areas of sociodemographic characteristics, patient distribution by disorders, total number of disorders and existence of complex diseases, general perception of Korean medicine, and medical expenses and visits. Logistic regression analysis was made to verify the private insurance coverage. Results : Among sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences were observed in age distribution, education, professions, income level, and housing factors. But genders, area of residence, and marital status didn't show significant differences. Other significant differences including side effects, experience with Korean medicine, herbal medicine and acupuncture treatments, and main visiting facilities were shown between private insurance holders and non-holders. Majority of disorders treated with Korean medicine were musculoskeletal issues, and criteria of number of disorders, multiple diseases factors, and medical expenses/visits showed significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions : Summarizing above results indicate that holding a private insurance in addition to National Health Insurance contributes significant influences on the use of Korean medicine.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.200-208
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• 2014

This study analyze long debate issues by the analysis of existing studies and the effect of private health insurance in the satisfaction of health service utilization. Then make developmental role of private health insurance. The analysis results of literatures, high-income earners are more subscriptions and the poor people in health status are excluded. Thus, enable private health insurance has the potential to lead the polarization of people. The medical use of private health insurance subscriber is more than non-subscriber and is likely to result in additional expenditure spending of public insurance. The contribution of private health insurance on improvement of the health option is clear. However, is not clear the contribution on health care quality improvement and health service customer satisfaction. The contribution on the national health care system efficiency of private health insurance is not clear. Private health insurance in the satisfaction of health service utilization is on effect. In short, supplementary private health insurance is desirable in our country.