[2024 National Audit] Minister Jo Gyu-hong: "Current Medical Gap is a Social Disaster... Health Insurance Fund Injection Inevitable"

Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong acknowledged the legislative conflict that began in February, stating, "Our medical system is facing a situation equivalent to a social disaster," and added, "It is inevitable to inject funds into the health insurance finances."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare held on the 7th, Minister Cho responded to the question from Jang Jong-tae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "Is the current medical situation a social disaster or not?" Minister Cho said, "That is why the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is operating," and explained, "Considering that this is a fund to protect the health and lives of the people, injecting funds into the health insurance finances is inevitable."

According to Assemblyman Jang, the government finances to be injected by early next month due to the medical crisis are estimated at 2.3448 trillion won. Assemblyman Jang said, "In just over nine months, the Yoon administration has poured more than 2.3 trillion won to manage the side effects of policy failures," adding, "Nevertheless, the medical vacuum has not been resolved and shows no signs of being resolved." He further criticized, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration focused on weakening health insurance coverage, and now every policy they release only benefits hospitals, medical institutions, and doctors," and pointed out, "There has been no case where health insurance was prepaid due to government policy mistakes."

In response, Minister Cho said, "We will try to use health insurance finances sparingly, but in this emergency medical situation, there is an unavoidable aspect," and added, "Raising the compensation for doctors and medical staff, that is, increasing the fees, will ultimately help secure high-quality services for the people."

Minister Cho continued, "It is true that residents, who account for 30 to 40% of medical personnel, have left the field, causing current difficulties," and explained, "At present, the emergency medical system is being maintained through the dedication of frontline medical staff and the help of the public." He also added, "Regarding the strengthening of health insurance coverage, since overuse and excessive treatment were revealed in some items, we will improve this part."

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