The government will begin earnest discussions to boost the sustainability of the national health insurance system and plans to unveil reform measures by September.

The Health Ministry has drawn up a plan to devise preliminary measures this month to improve the overall fiscal sustainability of health insurance coverage, according to a report by KBS World.

The measures are expected to include some of those mentioned in a public hearing last year aimed at removing fiscal loopholes, such as stronger monitoring of excessive or frequent insurance claims.

A comprehensive policy package in September is expected to further flesh out the details to achieve transparency and fairness in health insurance coverage as well as to raise and normalise the cost of treatment, surgeries and hospitalization.

National pension scheme

Separately, the government plans to bring forward its projection of when funds in the national pension scheme will be depleted as it bears severe financial stress amid low fertility and an ageing population.

According to a report in Pulse News, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said that it would “pursue a pension reform that ensures financial sustainability, inter-generational fairness and old-age income”. The ministry said it plans to speed up reform talks to come up with a final plan by October this year.

In the government’s fourth fiscal projection in 2018, the national pension was predicted to turn negative in 2042 and be completely depleted in 2057. Meanwhile, the National Assembly Budget Office projected the funds to be exhausted even earlier in 2055.

However, as pension expenditure rose the most in 24 years following 2022’s soaring inflation and the population ages at a faster pace than expected, pension funds are projected to be depleted at least one to two years earlier than the forecast made in 2018.

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