'Suga' for Hospitals and Clinics to Increase by 1.98%... Will Insurance Premiums Rise?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The so-called ‘suga,’ which refers to the prices of medical services paid to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies through the National Health Insurance fund, will increase by 1.98% next year compared to this year.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the 11th Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee (Geonjeongsim) and announced that the rate of increase for the 2024 medical service fees to be applied was finalized as such. Suga refers to the cost paid by the National Health Insurance authorities to medical providers in exchange for providing medical services to patients. Generally, when suga increases, the burden on the National Health Insurance fund grows, often leading to an increase in the health insurance premiums paid by the public.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted next year’s suga negotiations together with seven medical and pharmaceutical organizations, including the Korean Medical Association, and set the increase rates for five types: hospitals (1.9%), dental clinics (3.2%), Korean medicine clinics (3.6%), maternity clinics (4.5%), and public health institutions (2.7%). The suga increase rates for clinics and pharmacies, which had failed to reach an agreement during negotiations, were decided as 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively, as proposed by the government side. The Ministry plans to allocate the increase within the suga budget range to expand essential medical services at the clinic level and adjust basic consultation fees.

Meanwhile, the government decided to raise the standard amounts for long-frozen insurance benefit items for assistive devices for the disabled, such as electric wheelchairs and electric scooters, to reduce the economic burden on people with disabilities. Currently, the standard benefit amount for electric wheelchairs is 2.09 million KRW, which will be increased by 81% for option-type models, and the standard benefit amount for electric scooters is 1.67 million KRW, which will be increased by 15%, respectively, to provide support.

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