Government "Enhancing Fairness of Compensation System... Kidney Transplant Fees to Increase in July"

Discussion at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 31st... Part of Medical Reform Promotion

The government plans to raise the fees for kidney transplants in July as part of medical reform efforts to revitalize essential medical services.

Lee Han-kyung, the 2nd Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated at the CDSCH meeting held on the morning of the 31st at the Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room in the Government Complex Sejong, "Today, the CDSCH will discuss improvement measures for kidney transplant fees as part of strengthening compensation for essential medical services to enhance fairness in the compensation system."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, in March, the government expanded additional fees for high-difficulty pediatric surgeries, and in April, it strengthened compensation for interventional procedures for severe heart diseases. In addition, the plan is to raise fees in the kidney transplant field in July. Lee said, "The government is not only increasing the number of medical school admissions but is also rapidly advancing four major medical reform tasks to properly establish regional and essential medical services in the Republic of Korea. We will continue to strengthen compensation in the relatively undervalued essential medical fields so that the foundation of essential medical services in local communities can be reinforced."

He also promised to improve the quality of medical education, noting the announcement of the '2025 University Admission Plan' reflecting the increase in medical school admissions made the previous day. Lee emphasized, "The government will faithfully support improvements in medical school education conditions, including the expansion of faculty, facilities, and equipment, and will promptly prepare an advanced medical education promotion strategy through communication with various medical stakeholders. Considering the scale of student increases by university and the conditions of essential medical services by region, we will promptly finalize the scale of full-time faculty increases for next year and ensure that full-time faculty can be hired by early 2025."

He then referred to collective actions such as candlelight rallies by the medical community and urged them to engage in dialogue with the government. Lee said, "(Medical organizations) are requested to participate in the Medical Reform Special Committee, which is actively discussing specific measures for each area of medical reform, to provide expert opinions as medical professionals and to work together in concretizing medical reform tasks for both the medical community and the public."

He added, "The government will prioritize the lives and health of the people and mobilize all government capabilities to maintain an emergency medical system centered on severe and emergency care. Furthermore, we will do our utmost to promptly resolve the current medical situation to normalize the medical field."

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