"Extension of Home Care Service Period for Severely Ill Children and Expansion of Physical and Occupational Therapist Utilization"

Health Insurance

The government will expand the period for providing home medical care services to children with severe illnesses and improve the system to allow more frequent use of physical and occupational therapists.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the “Improvement Plan for the Severe Pediatric Home Medical Care Pilot Project” was finalized at the 3rd Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee (HIPDC) meeting.

Since January 2019, the government has been conducting a project where a home medical care team visits the homes of children with severe illnesses who require home medical care services to provide medical services such as diagnosis, nursing, rehabilitation, education, and counseling. The target group includes adolescents aged 18 or younger who need home medical care based on a physician’s judgment at the time of discharge. Currently, home medical care is provided at tertiary hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital, Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, and Seoul Asan Hospital, with 411 children with severe illnesses having used the service so far.

Through the HIPDC meeting, to expand participation in the pilot project, the age limit for children with severe illnesses will remain at 18 years or younger, but the service usage period can be extended up to 24 years old depending on the patient’s needs. Additionally, the number of reimbursable visits by physical and occupational therapists can be increased by 5 times annually if necessary, improving the reimbursement system.

This year, the government will newly implement a pilot project for short-term hospitalization services for children with severe illnesses who require 24-hour medical device dependence, providing inpatient care without guardians for up to 20 days per year. The number of hospital beds available for hospitalization of children with severe illnesses receiving home medical care will also be expanded as needed.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare expects that the expansion of support for home medical care for children with severe illnesses will alleviate the caregiving burden on guardians and enable children to live at home while receiving essential medical services, thereby promoting the growth and development of the children.

"Extension of COVID-19 Related Health Insurance Reimbursement... Pilot Project for Post-Management of Suicide Attempters in Emergency Rooms Ends"

Also, at this HIPDC meeting, it was decided to extend the health insurance reimbursement related to COVID-19 response promoted by the government until March, while continuing discussions on individual reimbursements depending on the quarantine situation. Last summer, to prepare for the outbreak, the government expanded one-stop clinics capable of testing, prescribing treatment, and providing medical care all at once to 10,000 locations and introduced policy reimbursement fees such as integrated consultation fees for these clinics. In October of the same year, during the winter outbreak, the government extended the temporary COVID-19 health insurance reimbursements covering the entire medical response system including hospitalization, home treatment, and face-to-face consultations. Starting this year, support will be differentiated based on the decreasing trend of the outbreak and the medical support needs.

Furthermore, the pilot project for post-management of suicide attempters based in emergency rooms was decided to be terminated due to poor operational performance and lack of effectiveness. Since March 2021, the government had conducted a pilot reimbursement project to ensure that suicide attempters receive initial evaluation and case management linkage regardless of which emergency room they visit. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to strengthen post-management of suicide attempters linked with local communities and hospitals based on the legal grounds for providing information on suicide attempters, even without introducing new reimbursement fees.

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