Government Mobilizes Health Insurance Funds... "188.2 Billion Won Monthly to Address Medical Service Gaps"

Focus on Supporting On-Site Medical Staff and Deploying Additional Personnel
92% of Residents Abandon Contracts or Leave Workplaces

The government has decided to provide an additional 188.2 billion KRW per month in health insurance funds to address the medical service gaps caused by the doctors' collective action.

Jeon Byeongwang, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for the doctors' collective action, stated in a briefing on the morning of the 7th, "As of 11 a.m. on the 6th, among 12,225 residents at 100 major training hospitals nationwide, 91.8%, totaling 11,219, have either abandoned their contracts or left their workplaces."

Jeon added, "Today, the CDSCH decided to support the health insurance budget of 188.2 billion KRW per month to resolve the medical service gaps. The focus is on supporting frontline medical staff, deploying additional personnel, and maintaining the medical usage and supply system."

On the 7th, medical staff were busy moving around at a university hospital in Seoul, where a large hospital began downsizing operations by reducing the number of beds and personnel. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

In preparation for the prolonged operation of the emergency medical system, the government explained that ongoing projects will have their support periods extended and new support measures added.

During the emergency medical period, to encourage treatment centered on severe patients at tertiary general hospitals and others, the government plans to strengthen post-compensation for institutions that maintain the treatment system and actively treat severe patients, as well as further increase compensation for the transfer of mild patients.

Additionally, to enable rapid response to critical patients and emergency situations within hospitals, a policy support fund will be newly established for specialists such as professors when treating critically ill patients. Compensation will also be strengthened for rapid response teams that intervene early and provide timely treatment during emergencies such as cardiac arrest in general wards, and the number of participating institutions will be expanded.

Compensation will also be enhanced to ensure the swift transfer of emergency patients and maintain a 24-hour emergency medical system without gaps. New compensation will be introduced to facilitate the rapid allocation of severe patients, and additional fees for medical procedures performed in emergency rooms, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, will be significantly increased.

The newly established support plan is scheduled to be implemented from the 11th after guidance to medical institutions.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to promptly execute not only additional health insurance support but also contingency funds. Following the deliberation and approval of contingency funds amounting to 128.5 billion KRW for operating the emergency medical system at the Cabinet meeting on the 6th, these funds will be swiftly deployed to expedite the placement of substitute personnel and improve the medical usage and supply system between tertiary general hospitals and general hospitals.

Jeon Byeongwang, the 1st Controller of the CDSCH, said, "We will support labor costs for night and holiday emergency duty and dispatch public health doctors and military medical officers. We will also temporarily support the costs incurred by hospitals in hiring additional personnel." He added, "We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground and utilize all available means to operate the emergency medical system flawlessly."

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