President Lee Orders Ministry of Health and Welfare to Act
Strengthening Local, Essential, and Public Healthcare; Raising Reimbursement for Essential Services
Medical School Enrollment Quota for 2027 to Be Decided Next Month
President Lee Jae-myung instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare to develop measures to prevent the so-called "emergency room merry-go-round," in which critically ill patients are forced to move from one emergency room to another in search of available care. He also pointed out that, as a fundamental solution to the government's national agenda of strengthening local, essential, and public healthcare, it is necessary to normalize the health insurance reimbursement system, in addition to introducing a regional doctor system and establishing public medical schools.
President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety briefing held on the 16th at the Government Sejong Convention Center. Photo by Yonhap News
At the Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing held on the 16th at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City, President Lee stated, "Even now, people die while riding in ambulances from hospital to hospital," and instructed Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyung, "Develop countermeasures and fill in the gaps, then report back."
In response, Minister Chung explained, "For severe emergency patients, we are establishing a control tower so that when paramedics call the regional situation room, hospitals can be matched and emergency medical institutions can be selected within the required time." President Lee responded, "Although we have created a system, in reality, some parts are not functioning. The reality is that patients are still being transported around in ambulances," urging the ministry to come up with effective solutions.
In this regard, following the briefing, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to improve the system so that the transfer and admission of severe emergency patients can be managed in an integrated manner and information sharing can be strengthened, allowing real-time confirmation of whether emergency rooms can accept patients.
With the goal of improving every stage of emergency medical care from on-site patient transport to final treatment, the ministry will increase the number of personnel in the regional situation rooms, which serve as the control tower for patient transfer and admission, from the current 120 to 150 next year. The criteria for designating emergency medical institutions, which currently focus on personnel, facilities, and equipment, will be expanded to include evaluations of capabilities such as treatment for severe illnesses. To this end, comprehensive plans to restructure the transfer system will be developed next year after gathering input from experts and stakeholders.
To strengthen the response system for specialized fields such as severe trauma, two base centers with significantly enhanced bed and equipment capacity will be designated next year, surpassing the current regional trauma centers, and a re-designation evaluation system will be introduced by 2027. The number of regional and local cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease centers will also be increased, and the number of acute psychiatric treatment hospitals will be expanded in stages. The pilot project for activating acute phase treatment, currently in the trial stage, will be converted into a full-scale project starting next year.
President Lee also criticized the current health insurance reimbursement system, which is structured to favor minor treatments such as for the common cold. He said, "Compensation for life-saving surgeries and obstetric care is severely lacking, and unless the compensation system is normalized, the collapse of essential healthcare is inevitable. We need to have an honest debate with the public about the fact that it is better to share a slightly higher burden for cold treatments than to live in a society where people lose their lives because they cannot receive critical care."
In response, Minister Chung stated, "We are working on adjusting reimbursement rates that are overvalued and those that are set too low." The government plans to raise the reimbursement rates for essential services with low compensation and introduce a regional reimbursement system to provide additional support for vulnerable areas. In addition, to strengthen investment in local and essential healthcare, a special account of approximately 1 trillion won will be established by 2027 to invest in enhancing the competitiveness of national university hospitals and local medical centers and expanding regional healthcare services.
Starting in 2027, the regional doctor system will be introduced. A certain proportion of new medical school students will be selected to receive tuition and other support, and after graduation, they will be required to serve in designated regions for ten years. The government also plans to actively promote the enactment of laws and securing of sites for the establishment of public medical schools, which will be introduced from 2029, beginning in earnest in the first half of next year. The regional essential doctor system, which encourages doctors who already have specialist qualifications to work long-term in regional areas by providing allowances and other support, will be expanded from the current four cities and provinces to six next year. The medical school enrollment quota for 2027 will be determined next month based on supply and demand projections.
The government will also promote a community-based primary healthcare innovation project, including the "Korean-style family doctor" system, which coordinates routine health management and necessary medical care for local residents at local medical institutions. Through this, the regional healthcare system will be restructured, and the medical capabilities of general hospitals and local medical centers will be strengthened to provide essential care, while tertiary general hospitals will be reoriented to focus on severe illnesses.
Meanwhile, during the work briefing, President Lee responded to the request from National Health Insurance Service President Chung Ki-seok for about 40 special judicial police officers by saying, "Appoint as many as needed, and make sure to catch a lot of illegal institutions." The National Health Insurance Service has been pushing for the introduction of the special judicial police system to eradicate so-called "office hospitals" and "license-lending pharmacies," which are illegally established and operated by unqualified individuals using the names of doctors or pharmacists.
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