Gyeonggi-do Provides Up to 360,000 KRW for Mental Health Treatment Costs for Youth and Elderly

Gyeonggi-do Mental Health Outpatient Treatment Expense Support Project Guide Poster

Gyeonggi Province is continuing its 'Mind Care' program this year, which provides medical expenses for mental health vulnerable groups.

Mind Care is a program that pays up to 360,000 KRW per person annually for outpatient treatment costs to young adults aged 19 to 34 and seniors aged 65 and over residing in Gyeonggi Province, regardless of registration at mental health welfare centers or income criteria.

Major mental illnesses most frequently occur in people in their teens to thirties. In particular, intensive management within 3 to 5 years after the first onset of mental illness is very important. Gyeonggi Province introduced this system in 2020 to detect mental health issues among young people early and ensure continuous treatment.

Additionally, for seniors, based on the 2022 data showing that the suicide rate among those aged 80 and over in Gyeonggi Province was 64.5 per 100,000 population, the most severe among all age groups, support was included for the first time last year.

The support targets are young adults who were first diagnosed within the last 5 years with F20?29 (schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders), F30?39 (mood [affective] disorders), F40?49 (neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders), and seniors diagnosed with F32?39 (depressive episodes, etc.).

Since 2021, Gyeonggi Province has assigned dedicated mental health personnel for youth at 31 city and county mental health welfare centers across the province and provides outreach counseling services at youth spaces or universities frequently used by young people to improve their access to mental health services.

Kim Byung-man, Director of Mental Health at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Through the Mind Care program for youth and seniors, we will do our best to detect mental health issues among young people early and ensure that high-risk groups receive continuous professional treatment."

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