Strong Opposition from Korean Medicine Community to Government's Adjustment of Herbal Prescription Days
Insurance Industry: "Stop Deceiving the Public and Threatening the Government Immediately"
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The non-life insurance industry has urged the Korean Medicine community to also participate in improving the issue of excessive treatment in automobile insurance. This came as a direct criticism after the Korean Medicine community strongly opposed the government's plan to reduce the maximum prescription days for herbal medicine for traffic accident patients from the current 10 days to 5 days per prescription.
On the 27th, the General Insurance Association of Korea issued a statement saying, "The Korean Medicine community should immediately stop deceiving the public and traffic accident patients and threatening the government, and promptly join the public's call for improvement."
On the 30th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold a dispute resolution committee meeting on automobile insurance treatment fees to review the plan to reduce the prescription days of herbal medicine for traffic accident patients from 10 to 5 days per prescription. The Korean Medicine community's opposition to this plan prompted an unusually direct criticism.
The government's reduction of prescription days for mild injury patients' herbal medicine is aimed at preventing excessive treatment in Korean Medicine. In fact, the Western medicine treatment costs covered by automobile insurance decreased by 12.5%, from 1.2 trillion KRW in 2015 to 1.05 trillion KRW last year. During the same period, Korean Medicine treatment costs surged by 317%, from 360 billion KRW to 1.5 trillion KRW.
The General Insurance Association strongly criticized the Korean Medicine community for opposing the implementation of an agreement reached 10 years ago at the automobile insurance treatment fee dispute committee and opposing it again now. The association stated, "This adjustment to the prescription days for herbal medicine is intended to improve the problems caused by the current unconditional 10-day prescription per session by prescribing 5 days at a time, with the possibility of additional 5-day prescriptions if necessary." It added, "There is no restriction on treatment rights, and prescriptions can be adjusted according to changes in the patient's condition, yet the Korean Medicine community distorts facts as if patients are being deprived of their right to treatment, causing anxiety not only among patients but also the public."
It continued, "Unconditional 10-day prescriptions per session have caused automobile insurance herbal medicine treatment costs to nearly triple, from about 100 billion KRW in 2015 to about 280 billion KRW in 2022, becoming a major factor in insurance premium increases," adding, "This ultimately results in a burden on automobile insurance premiums, which are subscribed to by virtually the entire population."
Earlier, the Korean Medicine community labeled the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's plan as a 'deterioration' and decided to launch an all-out struggle. The day before, Hong Ju-ui, president of the Korean Medicine Doctors Association, began a shaved-head hunger strike. Plans also include one-person protests at the Yongsan Presidential Office and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Seoul office.
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