• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.5
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• pp.1038-1052
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• 2020

Advancements of medical care with the use of new medical technologies have been promoting public health, but they can also place a financial burden on individuals and the country. Since the introduction of the health insurance system in 1977, the South Korean government has been attempting to control medical expenses. Radiological examinations have been a major target for cost reduction. Meanwhile, the radiological report fee has been combined with the technical fee for a long time; hence, its value has not been independently evaluated, and was also decreased proportionally with examination cost reduction. However, in the revised medical fee estimation system for MRI, the report fee has begun to be calculated separately from the technical fee, significantly contributing to the evaluation of the radiologists' work value. In conclusion, radiologists need to know and actively participate in the process of determining the insurance cost of radiological examinations and reports to get a proper value of their professionalism.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.574-583
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• 2009

Purpose: This paper analyzed alternative methods of calculating the conversion factor for nurse-midwife's delivery services in the national health insurance and estimated the optimal reimbursement level for the services. Methods: A cost accounting model and Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) model were developed to estimate the conversion factor of Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) for nurse-midwife's services, depending on the scope of revenue considered in financial analysis. The data and sources from the government and the financial statements from nurse-midwife clinics were used in analysis. Results: The cost accounting model and SGR model showed a 17.6-37.9% increase and 19.0-23.6% increase, respectively, in nurse-midwife fee for delivery services in the national health insurance. The SGR model measured an overall trend of medical expenditures rather than an individual financial status of nurse-midwife clinics, and the cost analysis properly estimated the level of reimbursement for nurse-midwife's services. Conclusion: Normal vaginal delivery in nurse-midwife clinics is considered cost-effective in terms of insurance financing. Upon a declining share of health expenditures on midwife clinics, designing a reimbursement strategy for midwife's services could be an opportunity as well as a challenge when it comes to efficient resource allocation.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.696-704
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• 2015

The coverage of the National Health Insurance for the elderly is expanding to denture and implants. Although the National Long-Term Care Insurance was just being settled, Oral health service was not provided to the Elderly in Long-Term Care Facilities. The long-term care facilities had part-time facility doctors. However, there is no dentist in the long-term care facility because of lack of long-term care insurance-related legislations. The amendments of long-term care insurance-related legislations for the introduction of part-time facility dentists are needed because the elderly in long-term care facility are vulnerable to oral health. For the substantial management of the National Long-Term Care Insurance, the development of oral health service model for the elderly and education materials for the dental team will be needed. Also, adequate dental service fee of the National longterm care insurance will be needed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.68-89
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• 1993

This study was conducted to develop a model of a fee schedule for nursing services.'Regardless of the demand for skilled and professional nursing service today, the Korean health insurance system does not furnish a chapter for the nursing service fee schedule. A nation-wide survey of hospital nursing service fee schedules was to provide practical and realistic data about how the variety of nursing services are being charged. From September 1990 to April 1991, data from the fee schedule used by twenty hospitals located in eight large cities which are designated large medical regions in the Korea Health Care and Patient Referral System were collected. Nursing services and the fees charged for them were analyzed. The nursing services were subjected to a secondary analysis with referrence to reports on “nursing services to be charged in Korea”. The total number of nursing services recommended by the literatures was 177 : finally 141 types of nursing services were selected by investigator as chargable nursing services. In addition, data on managerial characteristics of the hospitals were collected to discover influential variables for a nursing fee schedule model. Under the assumption that all the managerial characteristics of the hospitals influenced the fee schedule, the following model was tested : Fee of nursing services (C) = f(A₁, A₂, A₃, A₄, A/sub 5/, A/sub 6/, A/sub 7/, A/sub 8/,) When, A₁ = number of nurses A₂ = the first salary of a nurse educated in a four year A₃ = scale of nursing management division A₄ = location of the hospital A/sub 5/ = the type of hospital management (profit / non-profit) A/sub 6/ = number of hospital beds A/sub 7/ = years of hospital operation A/sub 8/ = number and kinds of clinical divisions The results showed that the model should be built as follows : C = f (A₁, A/sub 4/, A/sub 5/) Each nursing service was applied to the fee schedule with consideration for the professional level and time-taken to provide the services. Detailed fee schedules were presented in the related tables. Of the 141 kinds of nursing services, 24.8% were chargeble to the Korea Health Insurance, 32.6％ of the nursing services were being paid directly by the patienty. The rest of nursing services (42.6％) were not being charged to any source. It was recommened that the Korea Health Insurance Reimbursement system should add a classification system for nursing services that can be used in the national health care program. Further study is needed about how to include 32.6% of the nursing services now being paid for directly by the patients in the health insurance system.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2003

We met results like the followings through the literatures and questionnaires about the tasks and solutions about the insurance fee of packed medical herbs. 1) It's turned out that 74.8% of herb doctors agrees to the insurance fee of packed medical herbs. However, in comparison with the same survey of the herb doctor association the percentage of general approval went somewhat lower, and especially the percentage of 'positive approval' became notably lower$(43.7%{\rightarrow}26.5%)$ and the percentage of 'active objection' raised about 2 times$(6.8%{\rightarrow}12.9%)$. Inquiring into the approval reasons on the insurance fee application of packed medical herbs some heads such as 'development toward treatment medical science' and 'decrease of publics burden' were higher than the one of 'management income and expenditure.' 2) As a result of the research, 36.0% of the patients and 42.8% of the residents recognized that the pay range of Chinese herb health insurance is narrow. They recognized that less people have the experiences of Chinese medical hospital use and internal application of the packed medical herbs as they are older, men rather than women. 85.4% of the patients and 74.9% of the residents agreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. It's shown that they agree on the Chinese medical hospital use more as the economic standard is lower, on the insurance pay as they have ever taken the packed medical herbs. In the aspect of increase of insurance fee, 66.7% of the patients and 44.3% of the residents agreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs, and 18.1% and 36.1% disagreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. The main objective reason why they disagree on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs was 'because the insurance fee goes up higher,' which answered 95.2% of the patients and 78.8% of the residents. 7.22% of the patients and 1.80% of the residents answered that they can pay more insurance fee in case of the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. However, in the priority order of the insurance pay, it hold the 5th position between 2 target research groups which was less than medical examination, charges for hospital accommodation and taking MRI. 3) According to the result of analysis about the cost of packed medical herbs, current practice price is 115,000 won and the average prime cost of a packed medical herb is 73,000 to 106,000 won. It's examined that the herb doctors regard that 95,000 won will be reasonable when the packed medical herb is payed in insurance. However, it was found out that the public generally thinks that the price would be appropriate on the level of 30,000 to 40,000 won and the percentage of the answers of 20,000 won to 30,000 was fairly high. 4) the central system of a prescription should be change into the central system of demonstration and the sick and wounded. 5) To solve this problem, the government should regulate it to pass by the circulation gradation of [importer, $peasantry{\rightarrow}manufacturer{\rightarrow}wholesaler{\rightarrow}distributor$(Chinese medical hospital, pharmacy dispensary of Chinese medicine)]And it should intervene into the quality and the circulation steps of Chinese medicine through 'the office or organization which is in charge of certification of Chinese medicine' and 'the office or organization which is in charge of the circulation of Chinese medicine.' And some actions such as simple severance, lavation, drying should be included into the conception of manufacture and the boundary between food and medical supplies should be made at a manufactory. And the regulation of standardized goods at one's own house should be improved so that, the peasantry can sell the materials of Chinese medicine only to the manufacturer. 6) In company with the insurance pay of packed medical herbs, the study about the separation of dispensary from medical practice in the Chinese medicine should be accomplished.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.561-568
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to examine the recognition and needs on the national health insurance coverage of scaling in industry accident injury patients. National health insurance coverage of dental scaling will start in September, 2013. Methods : Subjects were 649 industrial injury patients and they completed self-reported questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0 for percentage, chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA, post-hoc Scheffe test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results : Recognition on national health insurance coverage of dental scaling was not fully known to industrial injury patients (24.5%). Highly educated and high income workers seemed to recognize national health insurance coverage of dental scaling (p<.001). Recognition for national health insurance coverage of dental scaling revealed a significance (r=.576, p<.001). Most of the industrial injury workers thought that 50,000 to 100,000 Korean Won of dental scaling fee is reasonable. The coverage of dental scaling should be more than twice over 20 years old. Conclusions : It is necessary to encourage the patients to take regular dental scaling checkup and make them know the health insurance coverage of scaling. The preventive oral health care may improve oral health care and quality of life.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2009

Korean medical fee contract system between the insurer and healthproviders was introduced in 2000. However, a continuous discord among contracting parties concerned and an irrational operation of an arbitration committee of Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (MIHWAF) have made it difficult for them to reach to an agreement over last 8 years. The purpose of this study is to observe the current problems of contract system from the view of health insurance law and actual examples. Furthermore, I examined the of breakdown of negotiation by analyzing the eligibility of contracting parties, rationality of Resource Based Relative Value System (RBRVS) and contracting method and fairness of arbitration method in case of negotiation rupture. The results were as follows: First, since the introduction of medical fee contract system, there has been a problem in that both the president of National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) and health care provider association have not held strong negotiation power. Second, the frequent changes and notifications of Relative Value Units (RVUs) without any mutual consent between the insurer and provider association negatively have influenced the conversion factors and finally hindered the agreement of contract. Third, a current process that the conversion factors are mediated and determined at the arbitration committee of MIHWAF in the case of contract breakdown between contracting parties has some flaw in that the irrational composition of committee provoked the lack of fairness and objectivity of mediation. Fourth, we can not prospect a satisfactory outcome of arbitration committee because the mediation always has failed to proceed smoothly due to boycott of both committee members from insurer and providers over last 8 years. As a result, we have to make an every effort to resolve problems mentioned above and then dream of an advanced national health insurance system.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.37-82
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• 2009

Korea has gained the much more performances in the fields of pubic health laws and related policies on the basis of the substantial economic achievements. In 1977, the social medical insurance was established for companies with more than 500 employees, and in 1989, Korea successfully achieved the national medical insurance system covering the total population within only 12 years beginning with multiple insurers. There remained some problems, however, to be improved such as both the low level of contribution rates and benefit packages due to the inefficiency in utilizing limited medical resources. In 2000, all insurers were unified into a single insurer (National Health Insurance Corporation), and special independent Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) was also established. From the origin of medical insurance system in 1977, the Korean reimbursement system has been fee-for-service system, and after the establishment of HIRA, it has been providing objective and expert medical cost review services and health quality assessment services.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.565-577
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was done to propose an improvement in the Nursing Fee Differentiation Policy to alleviate polarization of nursing staffing level among hospitals and to rectify the confusion of legally mandated standards between the Korean Medical Law and National Health Insurance Act. Methods: The policy regulation was reconstructed related to nurse staffing standards and nurse-to-patients ratios. Data on nurse staffing grades were obtained from database of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) for the third quarter of 2010 for 44 tertiary hospitals, 274 general hospitals, and 1,262 hospitals. A break-even analysis was used to estimate financial burden of the revised policy improvement proposal. An industrial engineering method was used to calculate Nurse-to-Patients ratios per shift. Results: Twelve tertiary hospitals were downgraded. 74 general hospitals and 102 hospitals were upgraded after application of the regulation. Finances for total hospitalization expenditures changed from -3.55% to +3.14%. Conclusion: The results indicate that the proposed policy would decrease polarization between tertiary hospitals and small hospitals, and would not put a major strain on the finances of the Korean National Health Insurance. Therefore, it is suggested that government stake-holders and many interest groups consider this policy proposal and build a consensus.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2017

Moon Jae-in Government announced the Government's 5-Year Plan on July 19, 2017, President Moon directly announced the Government's Plan for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance on August 7, 2017. The main contents of the announced expansion include benefit coverage for all medically necessary services with control over non-covered service occurrence, a decrease in the cost-sharing upper limit, and monetary support for catastrophic medical costs. Although past governments have been continuously striving for benefit expansion in the last 15 years, this plan has its breakthrough aspect in that all medical services will be covered by the National Health Insurance. In alignment, there are important tasks to solve: attaining a proper fee schedule, reforming the healthcare delivery system, and improving healthcare quality. This plan is a symptom oriented action in that it is limited in reducing patients' out-of-pocket money, unlike the systematic approach of the National Health Insurance. The sustainability of the National Health Insurance is being threatened due to South Korea's low birth rate, rapidly aging society, and low economic growth, in addition to the unification issue of the Korean Peninsula, medical utilization of the elderly, management of non-communicable diseases, and so on. Therefore, the Government needs to plan the National Health Insurance system reformation including actions addressed toward medical consumers.