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Ethical Consideration of National Health Insurance Reform for Universal Health Coverage in the Republic of Korea

Ethical Consideration of National Health Insurance Reform for Universal Health Coverage in the... In the current era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many countries are attempting to strengthen their health system and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) system functions as a core element of health financing, contributing to achieving UHC by promoting public health and social security through insurance benefits for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, childbirth, and health promotion. The Republic of Korea achieved 100% NHI coverage of the target population in 1989, 12 years after the introduction of the social insurance system. However, poor coverage of health services and lack of financial protection are major obstacles to achieving UHC. Therefore, the Korean government announced and implemented ‘Moon Jae-in Care’ in August 2017 to enhance the coverage rate of NHI by 70%. First, this study reviews the existing health insurance system in Korea from the perspective of health financing and UHC. Second, it analyses ‘Moon Jae-in Care’, based on the main framework of UHC. Third, it considers the ethical implications of these developments, with focus on the principles of equity, fairness, autonomy, and solidarity. Although the NHI reform is expected to propel Korean health care closer to UHC, many ethical, social, and political issues remain. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Bioethics Review Springer Journals

Ethical Consideration of National Health Insurance Reform for Universal Health Coverage in the Republic of Korea

Lee, Yuri; Kim, Siwoo; Kim, So; Kim, Ganglip
Asian Bioethics Review , Volume 11 (1) – Mar 29, 2019
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Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by National University of Singapore and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
Subject
Philosophy; Bioethics; Ethics; Medical Law; Public Health; Biomedicine, general; Health Administration
ISSN
1793-8759
eISSN
1793-9453
DOI
10.1007/s41649-019-00079-1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In the current era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many countries are attempting to strengthen their health system and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) system functions as a core element of health financing, contributing to achieving UHC by promoting public health and social security through insurance benefits for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, childbirth, and health promotion. The Republic of Korea achieved 100% NHI coverage of the target population in 1989, 12 years after the introduction of the social insurance system. However, poor coverage of health services and lack of financial protection are major obstacles to achieving UHC. Therefore, the Korean government announced and implemented ‘Moon Jae-in Care’ in August 2017 to enhance the coverage rate of NHI by 70%. First, this study reviews the existing health insurance system in Korea from the perspective of health financing and UHC. Second, it analyses ‘Moon Jae-in Care’, based on the main framework of UHC. Third, it considers the ethical implications of these developments, with focus on the principles of equity, fairness, autonomy, and solidarity. Although the NHI reform is expected to propel Korean health care closer to UHC, many ethical, social, and political issues remain.

Journal

Asian Bioethics Review – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 29, 2019

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