Next Year's Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Rate Increased by 1.09%... Effectively Frozen Level

The long-term care insurance premium rate for next year has been set at 0.92% of income. This is virtually unchanged compared to this year's rate of 0.91%. As it is the lowest increase rate since 2018, the burden on the public is expected to ease. Long-term care insurance premiums are one of the social insurance premiums withheld at source along with health insurance premiums for health insurance subscribers.

On the 31st, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the 4th Long-term Care Committee and announced that the 2024 long-term care insurance premium rate based on income was decided at 0.9182%, a 1.09% increase from this year's 0.9082%. Over the past six years, the long-term care insurance premium rate based on income increased by 14.9% in 2018, 19.4% in 2019, 24.4% in 2020, 15.6% in 2021, 8.5% in 2022, and 5.9% in 2023. The long-term care insurance premium is paid by multiplying a certain percentage by the health insurance premium. Starting next year, 12.95% of the health insurance premium will be paid as the long-term care insurance premium.

The long-term care insurance system is a type of social insurance established to improve the quality of life and reduce the burden on families by providing long-term care benefits such as physical and household activity support to elderly people who have difficulty living independently due to old age or senile diseases. It was officially implemented in July 2008 in anticipation of new welfare demands arising from population aging. The funding consists of long-term care insurance premiums, national and local government subsidies, among others.

The average monthly premium per subscriber household next year is expected to be 16,860 KRW, an increase of 182 KRW from this year's 16,678 KRW. This is virtually a freeze. The government decided last month to freeze the 2024 health insurance premium rate at 7.09% due to the increased burden on the public caused by inflation. The long-term care insurance premium rate was decided on a similar basis.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, “This long-term care insurance premium rate was determined by comprehensively considering the development and sustainability of the long-term care insurance system in preparation for a super-aged society and the need to minimize the burden on the public.”

The national treasury support for long-term care insurance next year is 2.2268 trillion KRW, an 11.8% increase compared to this year's 1.9916 trillion KRW. The Ministry of Health and Welfare expects that with the increased insurance finances, about 1.1 million long-term care beneficiaries will be able to use home and facility services stably next year.

The long-term care insurance service fees for next year have been decided to increase by an average of 2.92% compared to this year. By type, home care will increase by 2.72%, elderly care facilities by 3.04%, and elderly group homes by 3.24%. With this fee increase, the daily cost for using a care facility for a long-term care grade 1 beneficiary will rise from 81,750 KRW to 84,240 KRW, an increase of 2,490 KRW. The total monthly service cost will be 2,527,200 KRW, and the beneficiary's out-of-pocket expense (20%) will be 505,440 KRW. The monthly usage limit for home services such as home care, bathing, nursing, day and night care, and short-term care will increase by 19,100 KRW to 184,900 KRW depending on the grade.

Additionally, the government plans to improve the long-term care insurance system starting next year. Since beneficiaries want to spend their old age where they have been living, the limit for home care benefits will be raised from the current 74-77% of facility care to 80-82% next year. Also, the number of days for 8-hour home care visits will increase from 6 to 8 days per month. To reduce the burden on families caring for severely disabled home care beneficiaries, a “long-term care family leave system” will be introduced, allowing beneficiaries to use short-term care and 12-hour full-day home care services beyond the monthly limit. Furthermore, to improve the treatment of care workers, starting October next year, care workers who have worked in residential facilities for more than 5 years and completed 40 hours of promotion training will receive a monthly allowance of 150,000 KRW.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that based on the 2024 service fees, long-term care insurance premium rates, and system improvements, it will faithfully implement the “3rd Basic Plan for Long-term Care.”