Expansion of Government Support for Liability Insurance Premiums in Essential Medical Fields: "Protecting Emergency and Maternity Care"

Ministry of Health and Welfare Launches Recruitment of Participating Insurers Starting on the 11th

Annual Government Support of 1.75 Million Won per Specialist and 300,000 Won per Resident

Coverage Expanded to Include Specialists at Maternal and Child Health Centers and Emergency Medical Institutions

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 11th that it will expand the "Support Project for Liability Insurance Premiums for Essential Medical Personnel" to include dedicated specialists at maternal and child health centers and emergency medical institutions. The ministry also stated that it will publicly recruit insurance companies to participate in the support project until the 26th.

Medical malpractice liability insurance is an insurance policy that covers compensation liability arising from negligence during medical procedures. The insurance premium support project was established to reduce the compensation burden on medical personnel, build a safety net for medical accidents, and address the avoidance of essential medical fields. With the revision of the "Medical Dispute Mediation Act," which passed the National Assembly on April 23 last month, a legal basis was also secured for mandatory subscription to liability insurance by medical institutions and for government support for premiums.

This year, the scope of support has been significantly expanded to address issues such as the avoidance of maternity care and refusal of emergency patients. In addition to existing obstetricians and gynecologists specializing in childbirth, the newly included categories are: ▲ Dedicated specialists (obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics) at maternal and child health centers (critical, regional, and local centers); ▲ Pediatric surgeons, pediatric thoracic surgeons, pediatric cardiologists, and pediatric neurosurgeons at hospital-level institutions; ▲ Dedicated specialists at emergency medical institutions (such as regional emergency centers, trauma centers, and pediatric specialty centers).

In particular, for dedicated specialists at emergency medical institutions participating in the "Pilot Project for Innovation in Emergency Patient Transfer Systems," the insurance coverage will be retroactively recognized for the period from March to May this year.

The amount of support has also increased. For specialists, the government will provide annual support of 1.75 million won per person for insurance policies that cover compensation amounts exceeding 150 million won, up to 1.55 billion won. This is an increase of 250,000 won from last year’s support of 1.5 million won.

For residents, the support remains the same as last year, targeting residents in the eight essential medical fields: internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency medicine, neurosurgery, and neurology. Each resident receives annual support of 300,000 won. Training hospitals may choose to receive a refund for existing insurance policies instead of subscribing to new ones.

The government expects that with this expanded support, medical professionals in high-liability-risk fields such as childbirth, pediatric surgery, and emergency care will be able to focus on treating critically ill patients without being deterred by the risk of large compensation claims.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to design insurance products and select insurers to operate the program through the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, and will accept applications for insurance enrollment from medical institutions continuously from June to November. Insurance companies wishing to participate must submit their applications and supporting documents to the Mediation and Arbitration Agency by the 26th.

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong emphasized, "In order to resolve judicial risks in essential medical fields such as childbirth and emergency care, it is important to build a safety net for the recovery of damages caused by medical accidents," adding, "We will work to establish a medical environment where medical personnel can focus on saving lives."

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