Time to overhaul current health insurance coverage
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said in its report to President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday that it would facilitate more funds to essential medical services related directly to life to prevent further similar tragedies following the death of a nurse at one of Seoul's top hospitals. Specifically, the ministry vowed to implement measures aimed at boosting healthcare areas such as pediatrics and obstetrics reeling from low fertility and vital surgeries by revamping the nation's medical insurance coverage.
The ministry's plan is a step in the right direction, considering the dire need to address the chronic shortage of medical personnel in essential healthcare services shunned by medical students and doctors. On the morning of July 24, a nurse at Asan Medical Center fell unconscious, showing symptoms of a brain hemorrhage. But the hospital with over 2,700 beds had no neurosurgeon who could perform emergency surgery for the nurse at the time, so she had to be taken to Seoul National University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Korea is called an advanced nation when it comes to overall healthcare services, but its treatment system in essential medical services is on the brink of collapse. While departments such as plastic surgery and dermatology guaranteeing money and leisure draw students in droves, general surgery and obstetrics that bring high risks but offer low returns are shunned. That's because of excessively low insurance reimbursements for surgeries requiring advanced skills.
As a result, the number of surgical specialists being licensed annually has nearly halved over the last 30 years; one might not be able to have an emergency appendectomy 10 years later due to chronic medical staff shortages. All this raises the need to overhaul the current medical insurance coverage, depending on the risk and gravity of medical services. The health authorities should ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the health insurance system, which has been bruised by the so-called "Moon Jae-in care" that greatly expanded coverage for unessential medical services. Certainly, it is time to invest more in essential medical services.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said in its report to President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday that it would facilitate more funds to essential medical services related directly to life to prevent further similar tragedies following the death of a nurse at one of Seoul's top hospitals. Specifically, the ministry vowed to implement measures aimed at boosting healthcare areas such as pediatrics and obstetrics reeling from low fertility and vital surgeries by revamping the nation's medical insurance coverage.
The ministry's plan is a step in the right direction, considering the dire need to address the chronic shortage of medical personnel in essential healthcare services shunned by medical students and doctors. On the morning of July 24, a nurse at Asan Medical Center fell unconscious, showing symptoms of a brain hemorrhage. But the hospital with over 2,700 beds had no neurosurgeon who could perform emergency surgery for the nurse at the time, so she had to be taken to Seoul National University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Korea is called an advanced nation when it comes to overall healthcare services, but its treatment system in essential medical services is on the brink of collapse. While departments such as plastic surgery and dermatology guaranteeing money and leisure draw students in droves, general surgery and obstetrics that bring high risks but offer low returns are shunned. That's because of excessively low insurance reimbursements for surgeries requiring advanced skills.
As a result, the number of surgical specialists being licensed annually has nearly halved over the last 30 years; one might not be able to have an emergency appendectomy 10 years later due to chronic medical staff shortages. All this raises the need to overhaul the current medical insurance coverage, depending on the risk and gravity of medical services. The health authorities should ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the health insurance system, which has been bruised by the so-called "Moon Jae-in care" that greatly expanded coverage for unessential medical services. Certainly, it is time to invest more in essential medical services.
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