Increase in Long-term Care Insurance Premium Rates... Business Community Says "Decision Ignores Payers' Capacity"

Kim Kang-rip, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is delivering a greeting at the 4th Long-term Care Committee meeting of 2020 held on the morning of the 8th at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Regarding the increase of the long-term care insurance premium rate to 11.52% next year, the business community criticized, "They prioritized expanding coverage and strengthening insurance finances without considering the burden capacity of pure premium payers at all, ultimately deciding on a significant increase in the long-term care insurance premium rate."

Business organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business stated in a position paper on the 8th, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare held a Long-term Care Committee meeting and increased the long-term care insurance premium rate added to the 2021 health insurance premium to 11.52%, while the representative of the pure premium payers, the employer group, had left the meeting."

They said, "Despite the worst economic and employment crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden capacity of companies is facing limits due to consecutive increases in the minimum wage and health insurance premium rate next year, and we repeatedly appealed that no further additional burden is possible." They pointed out, "Nevertheless, the committee, just like the decision on the health insurance premium rate on August 27, prioritized expanding coverage and strengthening insurance finances without considering the burden capacity of pure premium payers at all, ultimately deciding on a significant increase in the long-term care insurance premium rate."

They continued, "The government should consider that, due to expanded coverage, the long-term care insurance premiums actually paid by workplace subscribers have increased by 117.9% over the past four years, including natural increases from wage and health insurance premium rate rises." They emphasized, "In the future, rather than mechanical increases in premium rates, efforts should be made to stabilize finances through restructuring expenditure by gradually adjusting the beneficiary age, reviewing coverage levels, improving the care management system, and expanding government subsidies."

They also said, "The current Long-term Care Committee's premium rate decision structure, where the representatives of premium payers are only a minority, should be completely reviewed so that the public's will can be balancedly reflected according to financial contributions."

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