Medical Community: "Legislation to Simplify Indemnity Insurance Claims Is Premature... Need to Develop Rational Alternatives"

The medical community has expressed concerns and called for a cautious approach regarding the amendment to the Insurance Business Act, which aims to simplify claims for indemnity insurance, after it passed the Legislation Deliberation Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee.

On the 17th, the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Hospital Association, and the Korean Dental Association issued a joint statement, pointing out that "the 'Digital Platform Government Committee,' composed of the government, medical community, Financial Services Commission, and Insurance Association, has held 11 meetings to devise a reasonable and efficient plan to simplify indemnity insurance claims, yet legislation is being rushed forward without respect and consideration for this process."

They stated, "Passing the bill through the Political Affairs Committee subcommittee while discussions and the final outcomes from the Digital Platform Government Committee have not yet been finalized means the bill is incomplete and has many areas that need supplementation," adding, "We clearly state that the most serious and significant problem remains unchanged: the mandatory provision requiring medical institutions to submit patients' insurance claim documents."

The medical community raised their voices against the bill itself, which forces medical institutions?who are not actual parties to the indemnity insurance contracts?to comply not as a matter of cooperation but as an obligation. They criticized, "No matter how much it is justified by public convenience, the fact that such unreasonable matters are happening is the reality and current state of healthcare in our country, and if that is the case, the public’s health and the provision of proper medical services are far from being achieved."

They added, "To truly simplify indemnity insurance claims in a way that genuinely satisfies public convenience, there must be consultations with the medical community even now to create a feasible and reasonable bill."

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