Constitutional Court Rules "Provision Restricting Health Insurance Benefits for Premium Delinquents is Constitutional"

Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court is delivering a ruling on the constitutional petition filed by the family of the late farmer Baek Nam-gi in December 2015, claiming that the police's direct shooting violated the Constitution, at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the provision restricting health insurance benefits if an employee subscriber fails to pay insurance premiums for a certain period does not violate the Constitution.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of Article 53, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 1 of the National Health Insurance Act in a constitutional complaint filed by employee A.

The court stated, "The restriction of insurance benefits due to non-payment of premiums serves as a sanction for the subscriber's failure to fulfill their obligations," adding, "Without such sanctions, moral hazard would become widespread as people intentionally avoid paying premiums while still receiving insurance benefits, threatening the very existence of the health insurance system."

It further added, "The provision under review prevents excessive disadvantages to subscribers by stipulating that insurance benefits cannot be restricted if the delinquency period is less than one month or if the total number of monthly premium delinquencies is fewer than six."

Subscriber A filed a constitutional complaint claiming that their right to a dignified life was violated after receiving a notice from the National Health Insurance Service on December 31, 2015, stating that due to premium delinquency, from 2016 onward, they would have to pay all medical expenses directly to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, as insurance benefits would be restricted in advance.

According to the relevant provisions, if a subscriber fails to pay the income monthly insurance premium (an additional premium imposed on income other than wages for employee subscribers) for a certain period, the payment of insurance benefits may be restricted until full payment is made.

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