• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.33-42
• /
• 2019

Purpose: many domestic welfare programs use the amount of health insurance premiums as a way of measuring individuals' income levels for administrative convenience. As health insurance reform has been made, we examines the income level is still appropriately measured by the health insurance premiums for the employment success package as one of domestic welfare program. Methodology/Approach: we investigate whether the upper limit of the premiums of the self-employed health insured is appropriate or not after healthcare reform, which currently calculated by multiplying the insurance premium of the employee based insured by the adjustment factor (1.2). Findings: we examined appropriateness of the adjustment factors by comparing the premiums before and after the healthcare reform by utilizing the national health insurance data as well as Korea Welfare panel data. We found that the new value of adjustment factor (1.0~1.1) is smaller than the current one (1.2). Practical Implications: to improve the equity between the employee and the self-employed insured after the health insurance reform, the adjustment factor should be lower.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.765-776
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the oral health statuses pre- and post-insurance using the $5^{th}$ and $6^{th}$ National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to confirm the effect of scaling insurance after a year. Methods: Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 21.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). The four years were integrated, and a composite sample analysis was performed. A total of 26,990 people were included in the study before applying for scaling insurance (14,343 persons) or after receiving scaling insurance (12,647 persons). A chi-squared test was performed to compare the demographic characteristics and oral health status of the subjects. The significance level of the statistical test was 0.05. Results: The proportion of patients without implants was high before the provision of scaling insurance once a year, however, the proportion of patients with one or more implants was high (p<0.05) after the provision of scaling insurance once a year. Hemorrhagic periodontal tissues and tartar formation in periodontal tissues were highly prevalent before the provision of scaling insurance once a year, however, healthy periodontal tissues and formation of periodontal pockets were highly prevalent (p<0.05) after the provision of scaling insurance once a year. The decay, missing, and filled teeth index scores were higher before the provision of scaling insurance once a year (p<0.05). Conclusions: The aforementioned results showed that scaling once a year helps prevent or treat periodontal disease. In addition, we confirmed the effect of prevention on periodontal disease and dental caries, therefore, we expect it to develop into a stable policy.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.33-44
• /
• 2011

Purpose: This study examined the characteristics and service utilization of home nursing care beneficiaries under the Korean Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI). Methods: We used assessment data and claim data of National Health Insurance Corporation from July to August 2008. Data were composed of subjects who were the beneficiaries of home nursing care. Results; A total of 634 subjects were analyzed. Of the subjects, 57.1% were 75 years and over. The average score of nursing care need was only 0.71 and the percentage of those whose nursing care need score was zero was 58.0%. More than half of the subjects had partially dependent musculoskeletal conditions, and 75.5% had two or more comorbidities. A third of them usedonly home nursing care, and another third used both home nursing care and general home care at the same time. Those who needed sore care used the largest home nursing care benefits. Conclusion: Home nursing care of LTCI performs community-based healthcare services under LTCI. Throughout the past two years, however, it has not been active. Understanding the characteristics of its users is important in order to develop effective strategies for activating home nursing care.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.25-41
• /
• 2022

Background & Objectives : As the government of South Korea implemented policies to strengthen health insurance coverage, the health insurance benefit for raw herbal medicines has been promoted. This study investigated the current status of the herbal medicines coverage in the Japanese national health insurance to secure reference data for the design of herbal medicines coverage in South Korea. Methods : Literature review was conducted to collect and analyze the history and current situation on herbal medicines coverage in the Japanese health insurance system. To supplement the contents not presented in the documents, on-site interviews were conducted at the medical institutions and pharmacies that prescribed or prepared herbal medicines in Tokyo, Japan. The contents of the survey included the background and progress of the herbal medicines coverage, the status of herbal medicines use, the payment system, and the safety management of herbal medicines. Results : Since the introduction of health insurance in the 1960s, Japanese insurance system has covered herbal medicines, and so far, it has been maintained without any additional restrictions. When the raw herbal medicines are prescribed to outpatients, the preparation fee is set higher than that of other medicines, but overall payment regulations and systems for herbal medicine are generally the same as other medicines. Conclusions : The case of Japan can be a useful references and implications for national health insurance policy on herbal medicines in south Korea.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
• /
• v.24
• /
• pp.21-25
• /
• 2005

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.148-155
• /
• 2012

Since the reformation of the National Health Insurance Act in 2000, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in the Republic of Korea has performed quality assessments for healthcare providers. The HIRA Value Incentive Program (VIP), established in July 2007, provides incentives for excellent-quality institutions and disincentives for poorquality ones. The program is implemented based on data collected between July 2007 and December 2009. The goal of the VIP is to improve the overall quality of care and decrease the quality gaps among healthcare institutions. Thus far, the VIP has targeted acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and Caesarian section (C-section) care. The incentives and disincentives awarded to the hospitals by their composite quality scores of the AMI and C-section scores. The results of the VIP showed continuous and marked improvement in the composite quality scores of the AMI and C-section measures between 2007 and 2010. With the demonstrated success of the VIP project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare expanded the program in 2011 to include general hospitals. The HIRA VIP was deemed applicable to the Korean healthcare system, but before it can be expanded further, the program must overcome several major concerns, as follows: inclusion of resource use measures, rigorous evaluation of impact, application of the VIP to the changing payment system, and expansion of the VIP to primary care clinics.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.9-20
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study classified the actual functions of geriatric hospitals and examined the differences in their characteristics, in order to provide a basis for discussions on defining the functions of geriatric hospitals and how to pay for care. Methodology: This study used various administrative data such as health insurance data and long-term care insurance data. Cluster analysis was used to categorize geriatric hospitals. To examine the validity of the cluster analysis results, we conducted a discriminant analysis to calculate the accuracy of the classification. To examine cluster characteristics, we examined structure, process, and outcome indicators for each cluster. Findings: The cluster analysis identified five clusters. They were geriatric hospitals with relatively short stays for cancer patients(cluster 1; cancer patient-centered), geriatric hospitals with relatively large numbers of patients using rehabilitation services(cluster 2; rehabilitation patient-centered), geriatric hospitals with a high proportion of relatively severe elderly patients(cluster 3; severe elderly patient-centered), geriatric hospitals with a high proportion of mildly ill elderly patients with various conditions(cluster 4; mildly ill elderly patient-centered), and geriatric hospitals with a significantly higher proportion of dementia patients(cluster 5; dementia patient-centered). The largest number of geriatric hospitals were categorized in clusters 4 and 5, and the structure and process indicators for these clusters were generally lower than for the other clusters. Practical Implications: We have confirmed the existence of geriatric hospitals where the medical function, which is the original purpose of a geriatric hospital, has been weakened. It has been observed that the quality level of these geriatric hospitals is likely to be lower compared to hospitals that prioritize enhanced medical functions. Therefore, it is suggested to consider the conversion of these geriatric hospitals into long-term care facilities, and careful consideration should be given to the review of care-giver payment coverage.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.24-36
• /
• 2023

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors associated with current smoking status in Wonju-si and Chuncheon-si, and to study the cause of difference in smoking rates between these two regions. Methodology: Data was from the National Health Insurance Service database from 2019 to 2020. Current smoking status was based on the response to the health examination questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with current smoking status. The study included 207,307 individuals from Wonju-si and 173,698 individuals from Chuncheon-si. Findings: The smoking rate of Wonju-si was 19.83%, and Chuncheon-si was 18.20%, showing a difference in the smoking rates between the two regions. Logistic regression analysis found that men, those aged 40-49, being a self-employed insured, a medical-aid beneficiary, having a lower income, working in construction, transport, storage, communication, or manufacturing industries, having a high-risk drinking level and being underweight were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of smoking(p<0.05). Additionally, having a chronic disease was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking in the case of Chuncheon-si(p<0.05). Practical Implication: This study found the differences of factors associated with smoking rates between the two regions and could provide implications for establishing intervention programs or policies that could contribute to lowering the smoking rate in areas with high smoking rates.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Health expenditure and utilization of Korean medicine are increasing every year. Since Chuna Manual Therapy was covered by National Health Insurance in 2019, it is predicted that the usage of Chuna Manual Therapy would be also increasing. However, there are few studies about Chuna Manual Therapy using Korean National Health Insurance claims database. Therefore, we will investigate the utilization trend of outpatient's Chuna Manual Therapy using Korean National Health Insurance database and suggest political implications. Methodology: The Korean National Health Insurance claims database was used to identify outpatient's Chuna Manual Therapy usage spanning 4 years from 2019-2023 and the number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims were approximately 18.61 million. Findings: The number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims and patients, health expenditure of Chuna Manual Therapy have been increasing spanning 4 years among over 65 aged. In the case of female patients, the number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims was more than male patients and health spending related to Chuna Manual Therapy was also higher than male patients. Most patients visited Korean medicine clinics due to musculoskeletal diseases, and most claims were from rural regions. Practical Implication: Since Chuna Manual Therapy was covered by National Health Insurance in 2019, Utilization of Chuna Manual Therapy has been increased overall. In particular, Chuna Manual Therapy is mostly implemented in the elderly, Korean medicine clinics, and local areas, thus policy managers will need to consider this.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.253-262
• /
• 2020

Background: The public health care system of a country is shaped and driven by its historical background as well as social, economic, and cultural structures. This study sheds light on the unique features, strengths, and weaknesses of the health insurance systems of South Korea (Korea) and Peru. Methods: The capacity mapping tool was used to explore the Korean and Peruvian population and geographical structures; health insurance laws, regulations, and policies; payment systems; eligibility and contribution collection; and long-term care insurance. Results: The study found that the Korean government took the lead in integrating multiple insurers into a single-payer system in an effort to reinforce and stabilize its health insurance system in 2000. Peru has been developed mixed model such based on taxes and contributions, to address a gap between different social classes. Peruvian government developed a two-axis system, one for low-income earners, financed by taxes, and another financed by contributions paid by workers and government officials in the formal sector. Peru has introduced many variations to its fee payment and insurer systems, target population, and coverage scope, and maintains its health insurance system accordingly to this day. Conclusion: The current study provides observation of the Health Insurance System in two different countries and helps to understand possible ways to improve the health insurance system in both countries. Based on this study, Peru will be able to see how its system differs from Korea's and benefit from the related policy implications.