Gangdong-gu Supports Vulnerable Mothers and Newborns with Up to 1 Million Won for Health Management

From This Year, Self-Budgeted Support for Maternal and Newborn Health Care Service Copayments... Up to 1 Million Won Support for Low-Income Families with Low Service Usage

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) is expanding support for the self-pay portion of maternal and newborn health care services using its own budget starting this year to ensure healthy postpartum care for vulnerable mothers and newborn care.

The "Maternal and Newborn Health Care Support Service" is a program where professionally trained maternal and newborn health care workers visit postpartum families to assist mothers in recovering their health and care for newborns.

Since July 2018, the service has been provided to all postpartum families regardless of income, but there was a separate self-pay fee, which caused a high burden, resulting in relatively low service usage rates among low-income postpartum families.

Service usage rates (as of 2018) were 8.7% for basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty recipients, 30.6% for those with income exceeding 50% but not exceeding 80% of the median income, and 60.8% for those exceeding 80% of the median income, showing a decreasing trend among vulnerable groups, highlighting the need for countermeasures.

Accordingly, Gangdong-gu enacted the Ordinance on Support for Postpartum Health Care Costs in December last year to establish a legal basis for supporting the self-pay portion, and from January this year, additional support for the self-pay portion will be provided to low-income families.

The support target is postpartum families who have resided in Gangdong-gu for more than six months, with support covering 90% of the self-pay portion, up to a maximum of 1 million KRW. This applies to postpartum families with income at or below 80% of the median income. Families with twins or more, third child or more, single mothers, mothers with rare and intractable diseases, disabled mothers, multicultural mothers, and North Korean defectors are supported regardless of income.

The median income can be confirmed based on the health insurance self-pay standard by contacting the National Health Insurance at 1577-1000.

Applications can be submitted to the Gangdong-gu Public Health Center within two months after the service ends, including a copy of the contract issued by the maternal and newborn health care provider, receipt of self-pay payment, a copy of the bankbook, and a resident registration abstract.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, "We will take the lead in reducing the economic burden of postpartum health care costs by expanding support for the self-pay portion for vulnerable postpartum families," adding, "We will continue various supports to make Gangdong-gu a good place to give birth and raise children, creating a birth-friendly environment."

Gangdong-gu Public Health Center (☎3425-6731)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.