President Lee Receives Work Report from Ministry of Health and Welfare
Urges Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong: "You Must Persuade the Public to Reduce Unnecessary Spending"
On December 16, President Lee Jaemyung identified "low medical fees" as the core cause of the collapse of essential and critical care during a Ministry of Health and Welfare work report, emphasizing the need to adjust the medical fee system. President Lee stated that the compensation structure, which is currently focused on minor treatments, should be revised to concentrate resources on essential medical services.
During the work report held at the Sejong Convention Center with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, President Lee remarked, "In fields such as thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology-areas that doctors are reluctant to enter-eventually, there will be no doctors left." When he asked, "What is the reason for this?" Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong responded, "The main factors are low compensation, the risk of medical accidents, and the burden of being on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."
In response, President Lee said, "If the fees are low compared to the labor and investment required, compensation must be increased. There is no other way to resolve this." He specifically referenced Minister Jeong's comment that "not only should the fee per surgery be increased, but standby costs must also be supported to enable 24-hour operations," stressing the need to "normalize" the compensation structure to make the provision of essential medical services possible.
President Lee also pointed out the high coverage for minor treatments as a problem. He said, "When it comes to situations like a cold, where you don't even need to visit a hospital, the coverage rate is extremely high, but for major surgeries, the payment is much lower even though the demands are far greater. This system itself is a low-fee system." Referring to past cases, he added, "I heard that the support for childbirth medical expenses is about 500,000 won. That amount doesn't even cover the costs," and questioned, "Who would want to work in obstetrics and gynecology under such a structure?"
Minister Jeong responded, "We are in the process of raising the fees for essential and critical care, reducing those that are overvalued, and adjusting those that are too low. We plan to implement an overall fee adjustment early next year." A National Health Insurance official who attended the work report also stated, "We are adjusting the fees in areas that are overcompensated, such as specimen or imaging tests, and reallocating those resources to essential and critical care."
President Lee said, "The public must rationally consider whether it is a greater problem to be unable to receive critical care or to bear a slightly higher out-of-pocket cost for minor treatments. To secure resources, people must also understand the need to reduce unnecessary expenditures." He then asked Minister Jeong, "Since we cannot keep raising insurance premiums, please make every effort to persuade the public to cut unnecessary spending."
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