Gwangju Nam-gu to Support Dementia Test Fees Regardless of Income Starting Second Half of the Year

Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, will support dementia test fees up to 260,000 KRW for all residents who require detailed examinations after undergoing dementia tests at the Dementia Safety Center starting from the second half of this year.

Nam-gu announced on the 9th that it recently held consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare regarding the establishment of a social security system to expand dementia prevention and dementia test fee support for residents in the district.

Currently, according to the Dementia Management Act and government guidelines, dementia test fees are only supported for residents aged 60 and over whose income is at or below 120% of the median income.

Moreover, as the elderly population and estimated dementia patients in the district continue to increase, early diagnosis of dementia has been delayed due to cost burdens, highlighting the need to support test fees for residents with incomes above 120% of the median income to proactively respond to dementia prevention.

Through consultations with the government, Nam-gu has established a basis to support dementia test fees for all residents aged 60 and over who have never been diagnosed with dementia but are identified as suspected dementia patients at the Nam-gu Dementia Safety Center.

In particular, with the expansion of support conditions to include those with incomes above 120% of the median income, this effectively means providing test fees to almost all residents in the district.

In fact, from 2020 to 2021, 6,528 residents underwent screening tests at the Nam-gu Dementia Safety Center. Among the 877 residents who received secondary diagnostic tests, 441 were diagnosed as suspected dementia patients.

Among the 441 suspected dementia patients, 208 residents with incomes at or below 120% of the median income received support for test fees, while 233 residents with incomes exceeding 120% did not receive support, indicating that more residents were unable to receive dementia test fee support.

Accordingly, Nam-gu plans to provide between 80,000 KRW and 260,000 KRW to cover the costs of dementia tests and differential diagnosis tests, and will also offer one-stop services including hospital appointments, dementia patient registration, and management for the patients.

A Nam-gu official stated, “By expanding support for test fees for high-risk dementia patients, early detection of dementia can delay the worsening of symptoms and reduce the burden on families.”

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