• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.142-165
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• 2009

Although providing universal coverage for health care through the National Health Insurance(NHI) is a remarkable achievement, the issue of limited benefit coverage of the NHI has been at the core of national debate over how to improve its coverage. This study aims to evaluate benefit extension strategies and implemented policies with regard to the NHI since 1989 using 'policy window theory' proposed by John W. Kingdon. Understanding problem stream, policy stream, political stream, and coupling streams regarding the NHI, in particular benefit extension, would contribute to broaden policy debates and to develop more effective strategies for the future. Historically, political stream had opened policy window in the past two decades and policy streams can be characterized by three waves. Three streams have been coupled since 2003 and the government had a strong will to fulfill better performance of NHI coverage. Study findings indicate that identification of problem structure regarding NHI benefit was not connected with policy stream tightly. In addition, there has been limited discussion on policy goal and principles for extension coverage of the NHI. Policy strategies to improve coverage of the NHI should be linked to characteristics of problem and sought solutions under the principle which is expected to be sustainable through consensus in the society.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-16
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• 2021

Both access to healthcare services and income security in case of personal illness are being needed to achieve universal health coverage, which is enshrined in the human rights to health and social security and international standards on social protection. Income security acts on both the social determinants and the adverse consequences of ill health and thus would break the vicious disease-poverty cycle. The government is supposed to implement a demonstration project of sickness benefit in 2022 and to publicize its more specific blueprint for all workers. This study is to suggest basic principles and a framework to design a new sickness benefit for universal health coverage, which is based on reviews on previous studies, related issues, and institutional conditions. This is to provide a theoretical basis to promote further discussion and to support its decision-making.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.539-548
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the awareness and attitude toward health insurance coverage extension to scaling in dental service consumers. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 349 adults in Jeonbuk from May 4 to 15, 2015. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects (7 items), Awareness of the dental health insurance system(8 items), Health insurance system coverage extension to scaling(8 items), Self-perception of oral health(7 items), Recognition toward yearly scaling benefit(10 items). Results: There were significant differences according to age in opinions on the appropriateness of the frequency of yearly scaling benefit, and the respondents who were in their 20s, who were unmarried and who brushed their teeth three times a day had significantly different opinions on the appropriateness of the fee of yearly scaling benefit. Their opinions on the expansion of scaling benefit was significantly affected by age. It implies that scaling should be added to the coverage list of the national health insurance in every age group since there is an increase in periodontal diseases with age. Concerning awareness of dental health insurance policy, the better-educated respondents took a better view of this system as they showed a more positive interest in its policies and shifts. Conclusions: It is desirable to provide more precise information as to eligible age, frequency and cost through public promotion of health coverage of scaling, and the effort to improve the health insurance coverage policy should be made in order to extend the scope of health coverage of scaling in the near future.

• 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 the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.125-136
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• 2018

The purpose of the study is to investigate dental health insurance coverage the awareness and dental health insurance coverage extension to scaling in service consumers. There were significant differences according to education level, age on the appropriateness of the age of yearly scaling benefit, and to married, regions, self-oral health of the frequency of yearly scaling benefit, who their teeth brushed frequence a day on the appropriateness of the fee of yearly scaling benefit. It implies that should be added to the coverage list national health insurance every age group after increasing periodontal disease. It is to be more extension as to age, frequency and fee health insurance coverage of scaling, the effort to improve dental health insurance coverage policy must be continue for oral health in the future.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.15-17
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• 2014

All Korean people are eligible for National Health Insurance(NHI). But large non-coverage of NHI is a big problem. The origin of this problem is from medical fee schedules. NHI calculate all hospital income including insurance medical practice, non-insurance medical practice and non-medical income(i.e. a funeral hall, a parking lot, stores in hospital).

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.205-218
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• 2014

Background: Most studies on the national health insurance benefit expansion policy have focused on policy tools or decision-making process. Hence there was not enough understanding on how policies are actually implemented within the specific policy context in Korea which has a national mandatory health insurance system with a dominant proportion of private providers. The main objectives of this study is to understand the implementation process of the benefit coverage expansion policy. Unlike other implementation studies, we tried to examine both the process of implementation and decision making and how they interact with each other. Methods: Interviews were conducted with the ex-members of the Health Insurance Policy Review Committee. Medical doctors who implement the policy at the 'street-level' were also interviewed. To figure out major variables and the degree of their influences, the data were analyzed with Winter's Policy Implementation Model which integrates the decision making and implementation phases. Results: As predicted by the Winter model, problems in the decision making phase, such as conflicts among the members of committee, lack of applicable causal theories application of highly symbolic activities, and limited attention of citizen to the issue are key variables that cause the 'implementation failure.' In the implementation phase, hospitals' own financial interests and practitioners' dependence on the hospitals' guidance were barriers to meeting the policy goals of providing a better coverage for patients. Patients, the target group, tend to prefer physicians who prescribe more treatment and medicine. To note, 'fixers' who can link and fill the gap between the decision-makers and implementers were not present. Conclusion: For achieving the policy goal of providing a better and more coverage to patients, the critical roles of medical providers as street-level implementers should be noted. Also decision making process of benefit package expansion policy should incorporate its influence on the implementation phase.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.57-68
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• 2014

Since the introduction of National Health Insurance(NHI) in 1977, it has grown rapidly and contributed to extend patient's access to the health care services. However, limited coverage for health care services of NHI has been ongoing challenge and private health insurance(PHI) has been rising as an alternative source of enhancing coverage and saving out-of-pocket(OOP) expenditure for patients. In this study, after controlling for socio-demographic, economic, health related variables, we identified the patients' healthcare utilization and subsequent OOP expenditure depending on their PHI enrollment and their enrollment types(fixed benefit, indemnity, fixed benefit plus indemnity). Data were collected from the 2010 Korean Health Panel. The unit of analysis was a member of household(n=13,324). Of the 13,324 cases, 70.7% of patients held PHI, in detail, fixed benefit(47.0%), indemnity(3.6%), fixed benefit plus indemnity(20.1%). Major findings showd that patients who enrolled in PHI used more outpatient services(outpatient visit, number of physician visit, number of examination) and spent more OOP expenditure than non-PHI patients. There were also differences of healthcare utilization and OOP expenditure among the types of PHI. In addition, PHI patients used more inpatient services(inpatient use, number of hospitalization, LOS), but there was no significant difference between PHI and non-PHI patients with regard to the OOP expenditure. Thus, we could not find any distinct relationship between the types of PHI and patients' tertiary hospital use. Policy-makers should need careful political deliberation for monitoring the effect of PHI on health care utilization and subsequent expenditure not only to improve patients' coverage but also to save their OOP expenditures.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.325-337
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• 2023

Background: While there are many studies estimating the effects of private health insurance on various types of health care utilization, few have examined how such effects change in conjunction with important policy reforms in national health insurance (NHI). This study examined how the effect of private health insurance (supplemental and fixed cash benefit) on high-cost outpatient imaging test utilization changed following the expansion of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coverage in 2018, which is a key example of the NHI benefit expansion policy in recent years. Methods: Data from the 2017 and 2019 Korea Health Panel Survey, which contained information about healthcare utilization before and after the expansion of MRI coverage in 2018, were used. The incremental effect of private health insurance on high-cost outpatient imaging test utilization for each period were quantified and compared, with special attention given to the type of private health insurance. Results: While people with supplemental private health insurance were more likely to use high-cost outpatient imaging tests than those without, both before and after the expansion of MRI coverage, the incremental effect increased from 1.6% points in 2017 to 2.5% points in 2019. Conclusion: Benefit expansion in NHI does not necessarily reduce disparities in the use of health care between private health insurance subscribers and non-subscribers. The results of our study also suggest that the path through which private health insurance affects healthcare utilization may not be limited to the price mechanism alone but can be more complex.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.104-107
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• 2023

The Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea has implemented various social security programs to ensure a basic standard of living and raise overall quality of life for all citizens. The Korean social security system provides social insurance, public assistance, and social welfare services. To achieve adequate drug benefits, the Drug Management Department of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) implement drug management duties including drug listing, upper price limit setting, scope of benefits, and post-factum management. When a manufacturer or an importer wants to apply for National Health Insurance (NHI) coverage of the drug that has obtained safety and efficacy approval, the pharmaceutical benefit assessment committee of HIRA evaluates the drug's clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness to determine whether or not to include the drug into the benefit package. The benefit standards for a listed drug (ingredient) are set either for the whole permitted range or a part of range with conditions. To increase the coverage rate for new drugs, the listed drugs are regularly reviewed for their value. The status of listed drugs can be adjusted or eliminated from the benefit package if the clinical efficacy turns out to be insignificant. Therefore, through these pharmaceutical management procedures, high-quality drugs are provided at reasonable prices, which save healthcare expenditure by price determination and selective coverage in consideration of economic evaluation.