NHIS Finances in Crisis Due to Yoon Administration's Irresponsible Healthcare Policies

4.1 Trillion Won Deficit Projected Next Year...
Premium Hike Unavoidable
Jin Jinsook: "Medical Crisis Fallout and Patchwork Policies to Blame"

Jin Jin-sook, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Confusion in healthcare policy, including the medical school quota expansion policy promoted by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in the past, is being identified as a major cause of the worsening National Health Insurance finances.

On October 17, Jin Jinsook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Buk-gu Eul in Gwangju, revealed data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) titled "Financial Management Committee Financial Outlook (September 2025)," which indicates that the NHIS's financial condition is expected to deteriorate severely, making urgent countermeasures necessary.

According to the report, the National Health Insurance's annual balance in 2026 is projected to record a deficit of 4.1238 trillion won, and the accumulated reserve is expected to plummet to 15.802 trillion won by 2028.

Compared to the projections in the "2nd Comprehensive National Health Insurance Plan (February 2024)" announced by the previous administration just a year and a half ago, the deficit has increased by 3.8 trillion won (from 307.2 billion won to 4.1238 trillion won), and the reserve has decreased by 12.6 trillion won (from 28.4209 trillion won to 15.802 trillion won). The number of months the reserve can cover payments-a key indicator of financial soundness-will also drop by half, from 2.7 months to 1.4 months in 2028, significantly threatening the stability of the National Health Insurance system.

To prevent further financial deterioration, the NHIS is reportedly considering a substantial increase in the premium rate beyond initial plans. While the 2nd Comprehensive Plan had set a 1.49% premium rate increase starting this year, the latest Financial Management Committee outlook suggests that a 2.46% increase will be necessary from 2027. This is approximately 65% higher than the original plan, and it means that a significant premium hike is inevitable to maintain a monthly reserve of 11.2685 trillion won by 2029.

The main reasons for the worsening finances include the expansion of various support projects during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's aggressive push for healthcare policies. Annual expenditures of several trillion won have rapidly increased spending from the National Health Insurance fund, including increased investment in essential medical services, support for restructuring tertiary general hospitals (3.3 trillion won per year), support for regionally essential specialized functions (1 trillion won per year), and support for regional secondary general hospitals (700 billion won per year).

Jin Jinsook criticized, "Due to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's irresponsible healthcare policies, the public is suffering at the hospital doors, and the National Health Insurance is being driven to the edge of a cliff," adding, "The fact that the financial outlook has deteriorated so much in just over a year is because the government pushed through patchwork policies without any financial review."