Incheon City Expands Age Range and Duration of Support for "Daily Care Service"

On February 11, Incheon City announced that this year it will expand both the age range and duration of support for its Daily Care Service, and that for adolescents and young adults providing family care who belong to near-poverty or lower-income households, the service will be provided completely free of charge.

The Daily Care Service is a program that offers a wide range of integrated services needed for daily life to young and middle-aged adults and young family caregivers who require care due to illness, injury, or social isolation. These services include in-home care, household support, meal and nutrition management, and accompaniment to hospitals.

This year, the eligible age range for young and middle-aged adults will be expanded from the previous 19 to 64 years to 13 to 64 years. In particular, starting next month, users who are selected as adolescent or young adult family caregivers in need of reduced out-of-pocket costs will have their existing copayment rate reduced by 5 percentage points.

In addition, the service support period will be extended from the current 6 months to 1 year, enabling more stable use of care services.

Incheon City Hall

Among the Daily Care Service types, the basic service consists of home visits and household support and can be used for 24 to 72 hours per month, while the specialized services, such as meal and nutrition management and accompaniment to hospitals, can be selected for up to two options.

The usage fee is supported in the form of vouchers, and the copayment rate varies depending on income level. Recipients of basic livelihood security benefits and near-poverty households are exempt from copayments for basic services, while other eligible users are subject to copayment rates ranging from 5% to 100%, depending on their income level.

Yoo Junho, Director of the Loneliness Care Bureau at Incheon City, said, "With the establishment of the Loneliness Care Bureau this year, we will expand the provision of customized services for young and middle-aged adults in need of care and for young family caregivers."