Non-Insured High-Cost Rare Disease Medical Devices Supported as 'Catastrophic Medical Expenses'

Approval of Related Law Amendment at Cabinet Meeting... Support Limit Increased from 30 Million Won to 50 Million Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] In the future, the purchase costs of expensive medical devices for patients with rare and intractable diseases will also be supported as 'catastrophic medical expenses.'

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the partial amendment bill of the 'Act on Support for Catastrophic Medical Expenses,' which includes this content, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 27th.

The amendment stipulates that expensive treatment materials and other medical devices necessary for the treatment of rare diseases can be supported through the catastrophic medical expense support project. Eligible medical devices refer to those used for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases according to the 'Medical Devices Act,' for which there are no alternative products domestically, and are supplied in Korea through the Korea Medical Device Safety Information Center.

Representative examples include cardiopulmonary surgery vascular tubes and catheters, vascular stents, balloon-expandable angioplasty catheters, catheter introducers, and central circulatory artificial blood vessels. These devices are expensive, costing several million won each, but are not covered by health insurance, posing a significant burden on vulnerable groups suffering from rare diseases.

Kang Jun, Director of Medical Security Management at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "We have established a legal basis for supporting expensive medical devices for rare diseases, and plan to raise the catastrophic medical expense support limit from 30 million won to 50 million won starting next year," adding, "We expect this to greatly reduce the medical expense burden for patients with rare diseases."

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