"Introducing Disability-Friendly Hospitals and One-Stop Support"... Government Finalizes First-Ever Comprehensive Health and Healthcare Plan for Persons with Disabilities

Announcement of the First Comprehensive Five-Year Plan for Health and Healthcare Management for Persons with Disabilities
The First Legally Mandated Five-Year Plan in the Field of Disability Health and Healthcare

The government will establish a system in which the state takes responsibility for the overall health management of persons with disabilities, focusing on four key strategies: removing barriers to medical use, supporting return to the community through rehabilitation, preventing secondary disabilities and promoting health, and laying a solid policy foundation. Through this, it plans to close the health gap between persons with disabilities and those without disabilities, and to create an environment in which any person with a disability can enjoy uninterrupted medical services near their place of residence.

Lee Seuran, First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare. Yonhap News.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and other relevant ministries and agencies finalized and announced on the 23rd the "First Comprehensive Five-Year Plan for Health and Healthcare Management for Persons with Disabilities (2026-2030)" after deliberation at the 27th Committee for the Coordination of Policies for Persons with Disabilities. This plan is the first legally mandated five-year comprehensive plan established on the basis of the "Act on the Right to Health of Persons with Disabilities." It is significant in that it has secured both effectiveness and continuity of policy by integrating disability health policies, which had previously been scattered by ministry and by project, into a single roadmap.

The government will shift the paradigm of health policies for persons with disabilities around the "four key strategies": medical use without barriers, return to the community through rehabilitation, prevention of secondary disabilities, and establishment of a policy foundation. With the goal of "realizing a healthy and happy life for all persons with disabilities," the strategy aims by 2030 to reduce the rate of unmet medical needs from 17.3% to 16.4% and to raise the rate of positive self-rated health from 20% to 25%.

Introducing "Disability-Friendly Hospitals" to Remove Barriers to Medical Care

First, the government will drastically improve the convenience of using medical institutions. It will introduce a model of (tentatively named) "disability-friendly hospitals" that integrates the functions of disability-friendly obstetrics and gynecology clinics and health screening institutions, and will expand them in each city and province by 2030. These hospitals will provide one-stop services from registration to consultation and payment, and will simultaneously remove physical and economic barriers by expanding support for special transportation for persons with mobility difficulties and by preparing appropriate health insurance reimbursement measures.

The rehabilitation infrastructure that connects hospitals and communities will also be strengthened. Regional rehabilitation hospitals and public children's rehabilitation hospitals will be expanded in stages, and persons with disabilities will be supported to make a soft landing in the community after discharge through "integrated medical and long-term care services." In particular, "medical-intensive residential facilities" for persons with disabilities living in institutions will be expanded, and school visit medical support programs to facilitate the participation of students with disabilities in educational activities will also be rolled out nationwide.

"Blocking Complications"... Advancing the Prevention of Secondary Disabilities

Four Major Strategies in the Comprehensive Five-Year Health Management Plan for Persons with Disabilities. Ministry of Health and Welfare.

In addition, the government will enhance the capacity for everyday health management to prevent chronic diseases and complications. It will completely overhaul the primary care physician system for persons with disabilities to diversify services such as home-visit rehabilitation, and will provide customized health education tailored to each life stage. The number of designated health screening institutions for persons with disabilities will be increased to more than 112, while detailed management tailored to the characteristics of each type of disability will be supported through improvements to registration criteria for rare disabilities and early intervention for children with developmental delays.

The government will also advance infrastructure to enable evidence-based policymaking. It will include disability classifications in various health and status surveys and will establish policy grounds through in-depth analysis of health insurance data. In addition, it plans to strengthen the expertise of central and regional health and medical centers for persons with disabilities and to build a system in which information related to persons pre-registered as at risk of disability is automatically provided to local centers, thereby minimizing blind spots in welfare provision.

First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Seuran said, "The First Comprehensive Five-Year Plan for Health and Healthcare Management for Persons with Disabilities is a new milestone that sets out the path forward for the right to health of persons with disabilities over the next five years," adding, "Now that we have taken the first step, we will continuously monitor implementation, listen closely to voices from the field, and strive to develop disability health policies that persons with disabilities can tangibly experience."