Medical Association Criticizes national Assembly Report on Healthcare Costs
Seoul, south Korea – The Korean Medical Association (KMA) โhas issued โฃa strong critique of a recent report from the National Assembly Future Institute concerning the control of non-benefit healthcare services and actual loss insurance.the KMA argues the report unfairly places blameโ on โthe medical community while overlooking systemic issues driving rising healthcare costs.
The report identifies โฃthe expansion of non-covered medical services, concurrent treatment practices (parallel treatment), and generous actualโฃ loss insurance structures as key threats to the financial stability of the national health insurance system. While acknowledging these concerns, the KMA contendsโข theโ report’s analysis is โbiased,โ attributing the problems solely to medical institutions seeking profit maximization andโค conflicts with professional autonomy.
According to the KMA, the root โฃcause of the growth in non-covered services lies in the government’s long-standing policy of lowโค reimbursement rates for covered procedures. Medical institutions, operating โคat a loss under current fee structures, are compelled to offer non-covered treatments to maintain financialโ viability. The KMA insists that realistic fee schedules are a prerequisite to any effective control of non-covered services.
The KMA โalso expressed concern โover proposed โฃrestrictions on concurrent treatment. They โargue that prohibiting patients from receiving both covered and โคnon-covered services within the same facility could limit patient choice and hinder access โฃto care, particularly for โฃthe elderly and those with chronic conditions whoโ benefit from continuity of treatment.They highlight โคthat the current system of allowing parallel treatment has contributed to high accessibility โขand efficiency within the Korean healthcare system.
The association supports a gradual โexpansion of coverage for non-covered services with demonstrated medical necessity, but stresses this must be approached cautiously. โฃ Any such expansion requires thorough publicโ debate, scientificโ verification, and โฃa โcomprehensive plan to ensure financial sustainability. โข furthermore, the KMA warns that simply restricting โคnon-covered services without addressing underlying issuesโ could lead to a “balloon effect,” resulting in the emergence of new, unregulatedโฃ non-covered treatments.
the KMA emphasizes the need to address fundamental structural problems within theโค insurance system,including flaws in insurance product design and the inadequate compensation for actual costs,before focusing onโค controlling non-covered services.
Source: MediGate News report dated November 6th.