Foreign Health Insurance Fiscal 'Blackness' Continues...Chinese 'deficit' 220 billion

ⓒYTN

Although the health insurance fiscal balance for all foreigners (including foreigners) continues to improve, the Chinese health insurance fiscal balance is still in the red.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's response to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on the 27th, the total foreign health insurance balance recorded a surplus every year with 256.5 billion won in 2017, 232 billion won in 2018, 373.6 billion won in 2019, 587.5 billion won in 2020, 512.5 billion won in 2021, 544.8 billion won in 2022, and 730.8 billion won in 2023.

In the past seven years from 2017 to 2023, the cumulative surplus reached KRW 3.237.7 trillion. This means that all foreign health insurance subscribers have used nursing institutions such as hospitals and pharmacies with health insurance premiums paid so far and received much less insurance benefits from health insurance.

This is the result of the steady improvement by the health insurance authorities, such as preventing foreigners from receiving illegal benefits and making it difficult to qualify for health insurance benefits in Korea.The

health insurance authorities have strengthened the criteria for foreigners' subscription and insurance premiums by changing the voluntary subscription system for foreigners' health insurance to a mandatory subscription system since July 2019, and from April 3 this year, foreigners and overseas Koreans entering Korea have to live for more than six months to become dependents.

In addition, from May 20 this year, the "compulsory system for self-identification and qualification of nursing institutions" was implemented, and nursing institutions such as hospitals and clinics must check whether the patient is himself/herself and whether he/she is eligible for health insurance before applying health insurance when a patient visits, and if he/she violates it, he/she will be fined.

However, despite these measures, Chinese health insurance finances recorded deficits every year, including 2019 (-98.7 billion won), 2020 (-23.9 billion won), 2021 (-10.9 billion won), 2022 (-22.9 billion won), and 2023 (-64 billion won).

Some politicians argue that reciprocity should be applied to health insurance as part of measures against Chinese health insurance fiscal deficit, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare expressed its opposition, saying, "Applying reciprocity only to certain countries with fiscal deficits can lead to another side effect, such as diplomatic friction, so a careful approach is needed."

In principle, Korea's current National Health Insurance Act (Article 109) and the Foreign Employment Act (Article 14) apply health insurance to foreigners who are eligible to join without discrimination based on nationality. These statutes take precedence over the principle of reciprocity. If national reciprocity is to be applied to health insurance, relevant laws must be amended.

Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.