Expansion of Health Insurance Premium Support for Vulnerable Youth... Full Coverage for Delinquencies Up to 500,000 Won

This Year’s Support Increased to 650 Million Won, More Than Triple Last Year’s Amount

The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service announced on June 10 that they will implement improved support criteria for the "Support Program for Delinquent Health Insurance Premiums for Vulnerable Youth" starting this month.

This program provides support for overdue health insurance premiums to help young people who are facing both restricted access to medical services and credit crises due to their inability to repay debts. Eligible recipients are local subscribers aged 39 or younger who are either university students or unemployed youth (including day laborers and those without employment), who are currently undergoing debt adjustment with the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service, have been delinquent on their health insurance premiums for at least three months, and whose overdue amount is 2 million won or less.

The program was first introduced as a pilot in 2023, providing support for overdue insurance premiums totaling 80 million won to 356 young people. Last year, the program was expanded to offer 200 million won in support to 630 recipients, marking its full-scale implementation.

This year, the program's budget has been increased more than threefold compared to the previous year, reaching 650 million won, with the aim of helping even more young people overcome economic hardship. The maximum support amount per person has also been raised from 490,000 won to 500,000 won. If the overdue health insurance premium is 500,000 won or less, the entire amount will be covered. For amounts exceeding 500,000 won but not exceeding 2 million won, up to 500,000 won will be provided.

According to the NHIS, this represents a substantial improvement compared to last year, when only overdue premiums of 400,000 won or less were fully covered, and for amounts exceeding 400,000 won but not exceeding 2 million won, only 50% of the overdue amount was supported (with a maximum of 490,000 won per person).

The program will utilize funds raised through donations from organizations such as the Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation, the Foundation for Supporting Long-term Small-scale Delinquent Debtors, and KB Securities.

Jeong Ki-seok, President of the NHIS, stated, "The health and credit recovery of young people is directly linked to the sustainability of society as a whole," and added, "We hope this program will serve as a stepping stone to fill gaps in the social safety net and help young people in difficulty get back on their feet."