‘Reducing the Burden of Pet Medical Expenses’ … Gyeongnam Province Visits Central Government Departments and Makes Proposals

Gyeongsangnam-do visited central government agencies on the 20th to propose measures to reduce veterinary care costs for companion animals. (Photo by Gyeongnam-do)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kang Sharon] Gyeongsangnam-do visited the Government Sejong Complex on the 20th to propose policy and institutional improvements aimed at alleviating the burden of veterinary medical expenses for companion animals.

The province visited to seek government-level cooperation after internally analyzing and reviewing the necessity of policies proposed by companion animal families and the Gyeongnam Veterinary Association during the ‘Policy Meeting on Alleviating the Burden of Companion Animal Medical Expenses’ and the ‘Memorandum of Understanding for Activating the Voluntary Display System of Companion Animal Medical Expenses’ held last September.

Jung Jae-min, Director of the Agricultural Policy Bureau, visited the Animal Quarantine Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Value-Added Tax Division of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Pharmaceutical Policy Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in sequence to request active cooperation from the central government for the efficient implementation of the companion animal medical expense alleviation policy, which will be fully implemented by the province starting next year.

At the meeting, Gyeongsangnam-do explained the background, necessity, and key achievements of being the first in the nation to promote the voluntary display system policy for companion animal medical expenses, and proposed revisions to related laws to include ▲exemption of VAT on companion animals ▲permission for wholesalers to purchase human-use pharmaceuticals ▲expansion of the veterinarian prescription system.

In particular, while medical care for humans and industrial animal medical care for livestock raised by farmers are classified as public goods and exempt from VAT, medical care for companion animals is classified as a luxury good, resulting in VAT being imposed on most medical service items, which is a major factor in increasing medical expenses.

With the recent significant increase in households raising companion animals, especially low-income households facing heavy burdens from veterinary medical expenses, the province proposed expanding VAT-exempt items on medical expenses in line with the social recognition that companion animals are now family members.

Jung Jae-min, Director of the Agricultural Policy Bureau of Gyeongsangnam-do, stated, “We request support to ensure that the companion animal medical expense alleviation policies, including the voluntary display system for companion animal medical expenses promoted by Gyeongsangnam-do, can be established promptly,” and added, “Through this, Gyeongsangnam-do will take the lead in expanding the pre-notification system for companion animal medical expenses promoted by the central government nationwide.”

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