Chungnam Expands Support for 'Detailed Developmental Disorder Screening for Infants and Toddlers' Starting This Month

Chungnam Province announced on the 6th that it will expand the support targets for detailed developmental disorder examinations for infants and toddlers starting this month.

The support is aimed at reducing the prevalence of disabilities in infants and toddlers through early treatment and rehabilitation by covering the costs of detailed developmental disorder examinations for infants and toddlers who receive a "recommendation for in-depth evaluation" in the health checkup developmental assessment (Korean Infant and Toddler Developmental Screening Test·K-DST).

The previous support targets included households where children (infants and toddlers) received a recommendation for in-depth evaluation, such as medical aid recipients, lower-income groups, and those with health insurance premium amounts in the bottom 80% or below.

However, going forward, Chungnam Province explained that the target will be expanded to include subscribers whose health insurance premium amounts exceed the bottom 80%, allowing all health insurance subscribers to benefit.

The support cost covers examination and consultation fees directly necessary for the detailed developmental disorder examination (including statutory copayments and non-covered expenses), with a maximum of 400,000 KRW for medical aid recipients and lower-income groups, and up to 200,000 KRW for health insurance subscribers.

Applicants wishing to receive support should bring the infant and toddler health checkup result notification issued by the screening institution to the local public health center to obtain a confirmation certificate, then visit a designated medical institution within the jurisdiction to undergo the detailed examination.

If a non-designated medical institution is used, the applicant must pay the examination fee upfront and later claim the cost from the public health center to receive the support fund.

For more detailed information, inquiries can be made through the local public health center.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Health Promotion and Food Division of Chungnam Province, said, “We hope that expanding the support targets will strengthen basic care for infants and toddlers, reduce the prevalence of developmental disorders, and contribute to the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers.”