• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.15
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• pp.93-98
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• 1996

During the period from January to September 1995, 1.010 Women(premenopausal 466 cases and postmenopausal 544 cases) of employees and family member were observed for bone mineral density of lumbar spine using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry(DEXA) at Medical Department of Korea Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Results obtained were as follows: 1) In premenopausal women 466 cases, the ratio of decreased bone mineral density of lumbar spine according to age groups shows 3rd decade were 5 cases(9.80%) among 51 cases, 4th decade were 31 cases(8.68%) among 357 cases, and 5th decade were 10 cases(17.24%) among 58 cases. 2) In postmenopausal women 544 cases, the ratio of decreased bone mineral density of lumbar spine according to age groups shows 3rd decade were 2 cases(66.67%) among 3 cases, 4th decade were 28 cases(31.11%) among 90 cases, 5th decade were 168 cases(48.70%) among 345 cases, 6th decade were 73 cases(73.0%) among 100 cases, and 7th decade were 4 cases(66.67%) among 6 cases. 3) Bone mineral density begins to decrease with age as early as the 4th decade, even in the premenopausal state. In the 4th decade, premenopausal women exhibit an average 8.68% decrease in bone density. Postmenopausal women in this same age group, however, demonstrate an average bone density decrease of 31.11%.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.2 s.46
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• pp.242-257
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• 1994

In Korea, female workforce has reached more than 40% of total working population, but the effects of work on spontaneous abortion are yet to be examined. This study as conducted to investigate the occupational effects on spontaneous abortion. Medical insurance claim data were used to examine the effects of the employment status and industry of employment on spontaneous abortion. The study population was composed of females, aged $15{\sim}44$, who were the beneficiary of medical insurance in the month of June, 1993. The working females covered by medical insurance for industrial workers, had the highest age-adjusted Spontaneous Abortion rate (SAB rate=claim frequency of spontaneous abortion/claim frequency of complication of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium), 6.65% whereas female dependants of medical insurance for industrial workers had the lowest age-adjusted SAB rate, 4.54%. Among industrial workers, the workers in manufacturing industry had the highest age-adjusted Spontaneous Abortion ratio(SAB ratio=claim frequency of spontaneous abortion/claim frequency of completly normal delivery), 43.2/100 whereas those in financing and service industry had age-adjusted SAB ratio, 16.2/100 and 20.5/100, respectively. The results of the study suggest the adverse effect of manufacturing Industry on reproduction. Work environments such as chemical exposures, overwork, awkard posture, and job stress should be further studied for their effects on reproductive functions of female.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.36-44
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• 2015

The Activity Based Costing(ABC) means the process that makes clear how the actions and input resources have changed into service to calculate medical services costs. These days, the number of hospital which is using the ABC system is increasing to make their policy decision making efficient and run the hospitals more resonable. This study analyzes the unbalance in the level of health insurance service fee and the improvement plans based from 8 hospitals(ABC system) and 95 clinics(ABC survey). The cost recovery ratio has shown different levels according to each service type. A surgery service type recorded 76.8% and an evaluation & management service type is 84.6%, a treatment procedure type(85.8%), a function test type(91.6%) and health insurance fee even did not reach to the original cost. Meanwhile, a laboratory test type and imaging test type show high level of cost recovery ratio. they recorded 188.3% and 158.8%. Resultingly now of unbalance in the level of health insurance service fee accelerates supply of every test. so there is a need to make laboratory test type and imaging test type lower to keep balance with the surgery and medical service. These methods should be performed gradually with monitoring the unbalance fee ratio and for this, a panel medical institution have to be established for generalizations of studying result, fairness of selecting researching sample.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.508-517
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• 2021

Background: After the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January 2020, Korea has experienced three waves in 2020. This study aimed to analyze changes in health care utilization according to the period of the 1st to 3rd waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We analyzed 3,354,469,401 national health insurance claims from 59,104 medical facilities between 2017 and 2020. Observed-to-expected ratios (O:E ratio) with data from 2017 to 2019 as expected values and data from 2020 as observed values were obtained to analyze changes in medical utilization. T-test was used to test whether the difference of observed and expected values was statistically significant. Results: In 2020, the O:E ratio was 0.894, indicating a decrease in health care utilization overall during the pandemic. The O:E ratio of the 1st wave was 0.832, which was lower than those of the second (0.886) and third (0.873) waves. Health care utilization decreased relatively more among outpatient, women, children and adolescents, and health insurance patients. And health care utilization decreased more in small medical facilities and in Daegu and Gyeongbuk during the first wave. During the pandemic, the O:E ratios of respiratory diseases were 0.486-0.694, while chronic diseases and mental diseases were more than 1.0. Conclusion: Health care utilization decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic overall, and there were differences by COVID-19 waves, and by the characteristics of patients and medical facilities. It is necessary to understand the cause of changes in health care utilization in order to cope with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.512-525
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• 2016

Purpose: Ageing in place may improve the quality of life of frail elderly and decrease their costs of services. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the institutionalization of elderly using home care services in a Korean long-term care insurance system. Methods: This study used the data of '2009 Satisfaction survey of Korean long-term care system'. The survey proceeded to use a sampling data based on region, level of long-term care need, and insurance type among the beneficiaries between August and September 2009. The onset dates of institutionalization of 1,095 participants were ascertained from long-term care insurance claim data. This study calculated the hazard ratio through the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. Results: A total of 176 subjects who were institutionalized in nursing homes were included. There were higher risks in the group that included those who were 85 years and over, had dementia or fracture, used home-visit nursing service, and were not supported by direct family. Conclusion: The results of this study have policy implications to supplement the home care service system and postpone nursing home institutionalization of elderly.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.29-57
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• 2001

Since the inauguration of the medical insurance system in 1977, the increasing medical expenses which can be menace to tile finance of the medical insurance system, have become major concern in the medical insurance field In Korea. This study focuses on the determinants of the medical expenses in the health insurance in Korea and analyzes the impact of these factors on the increase in the medical expenses. The empirical work is done using the pooled cross-section and time-series data of the medical insurance for the self-employeds and the industrial workers from the year 1995 to 1997. The result of this study shows that the main determinants of the medical expenses in the health insurance are the ratio of the population of the aged to the total population, the frequency of the utilization, number of doctors per capita and the regime changes. Although the increasing trend in the medical expenses seems to be unavoidable, we probably need to add some efficiency to the medical expenses by suppressing the supply and the utilization of the unnecessary medical services. The fee-for-service reimbursement system of today can't suppress the supply of the unnecessary medical services effectively. So we need to convert the present fee-for-service system into DRG's which is known to reduce the medical costs. The increase in the medical expenses comes from a lot of factors. Therefore, we should develop more systematic and comprehensive measures to control the soaring medical expenses in consideration of the various factors such as demand, supply, and the organizational side of the medical system.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.12-14
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• 2014

Worldwide, stroke is the 2nd or 3rd leading cause of death and a major health problem. Recent advances in medical technology have significantly improved diagnosis and treatment strategies of ischemic stroke. The ischemic stroke subtype is an important determinant of mortality and long-term prognosis of patients. To estimate excess-risks of the ischemic stroke subtype, recently published article, Korean cohort study of stroke, was used as a source article. According to mortality analysis methodology from American academy of insurance medicine, the overall mortality ratio and excess death rate was the highest in patients with SOD, followed by those with CE. Calculated mortality ratio and excess death rate for subtype in this review are SOD, 920%/34‰; CE 267%/34‰; UI 209%/25‰; UM 190%/23‰; UN 188%/15‰; LAA 162%/15‰; LAC 117%/3‰.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.8-11
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• 2014

Pulmonary function test is a group of tests which are composed of measurement for lung function. Thy are spirometry, blood-gas analysis, lung volumes, exercise test, diffusion capacity, and bronchial challenge test. In this article, I will review the pulmonary function test and it's application in terms of clinical aspect and insurance medicine. The standard spirometric indicies are forced vital capacity(FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 second(FEV1), and the ratio of FEV1 over FVC(FEV1/FVC). If the value of FEV1/FVC less than 70%, the examinee has obstructive ventilatory dysfunction.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.17
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• pp.93-125
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• 2002

This paper aims to find a reasonable solvency margin system in non-life insurance industry and also to evaluate the appropriateness of the current solvency margin regulation system in Korea. The current solvency margin system in Korea, based on EU's solvency margin model, was introduced during the 1997 financial crisis. The solvency requirement is not based on non-life insurer's risk, but simply on written premiums. The current solvency margin for general insurance, such as fire, marine, and automobile insurance, is determined by the greater between a premium-based amount and a claim-based amount, where the premium-based solvency margin is calculated by multiplying the net written premium for the preceding year by the premium based solvency margin ratio. Also, the amount of solvency margin for long term insurance is set at 4% of the policy reserve of the long term insurance. Still, there exist many differences between the current solvency margin regulation system in Korea and EU's model. This paper focuses on the rationality of the solvency margin regulation system, and compares the current system in Korea with EU's model and the RBC(Risk Based Capital) system in U.S. and Japan. Finally, this paper suggests a more specific and reasonable solvency margin system to be developed in Korea.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.142-151
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• 2021

Objectives: Although Korean Medicine (KM) subsidized by the National Health Insurance (NHI) has been used for a long time, there has been no active analysis using claims data. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the NHI KM utilization trend using NHI statistics and to measure the level of market concentration by year. Methods: By restructuring the contents of NHI Statistics for Pharmaceuticals for 2010-2019, the claim cases, costs, and annual growth rates of KM were demonstrated by year, sex, age group, region, therapeutic group, and KM treatment. The proportion of highly used k treatments in cost was calculated as the concentration ratio (CR) k and its trend by year was investigated. Results: In 2019, the NHI cost on KM amounted to ₩38.2 billion KRW, increasing by 11.6% per year on average in 2010-2019. Notably, KM was used more frequently among women and patients aged ≥ 65 years, and the mixed formulation accounted for 95% of the total cost of KM. The CR of the simple formulation increased rapidly, whereas that of the mixed formulation remained constant. In 2019, three simple formulation treatments- peony, licorice, and ginseng- accounted for 93.8% of the total cost for KM (CR3 = 93.8%). Conclusion: NHI KM is rapidly increasing. Investigating the CR of KM confirmed that KM prescriptions have been concentrated in small numbers over the past 10 years.