Health Insurance Premium Arrears to Be Deducted from Out-of-Pocket Payment Limit Refunds

Four Health and Welfare-Related Bills, Including the National Health Insurance Act, Passed in National Assembly Plenary Session

Going forward, if a person is in arrears on their health insurance premiums, the amount overdue will be deducted from any refunds of out-of-pocket payment limits.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on March 12 that the National Assembly's plenary session passed amendments to four laws under its jurisdiction, including the National Health Insurance Act, the Emergency Medical Services Act, the Medical Service Act, and an amendment regarding the revision of 21 welfare-related laws to address disqualification provisions following bankruptcy rulings.

The amendment to the National Health Insurance Act includes a provision that allows the government to deduct the amount of overdue health insurance premiums and legally collected charges from refunds of out-of-pocket payments exceeding the annual limit for those who are in arrears.

The government currently operates the out-of-pocket payment limit system, which reimburses health insurance subscribers for any amount they pay annually that exceeds an income-based cap, in order to reduce the financial burden of excessive medical expenses for citizens.

However, there was previously no legal basis for deducting overdue amounts when refunding sums above the out-of-pocket limit to individuals with large or long-term arrears in health insurance premiums and other related payments. This led to concerns about fairness compared to diligent payers, and prompted the recent legislative amendment.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare expressed expectations that, with the passage of this amendment, fairness among health insurance subscribers regarding premium payments will be enhanced, and fiscal stability will also be supported.

Also passed on this day was an amendment to the Emergency Medical Services Act, which explicitly states that all citizens have the right to receive emergency medical care without discrimination based on their area of residence.

The Ministry stated, "With this amendment, the legal basis for supporting emergency medical care in underserved areas will be further strengthened," and added, "The government is already carrying out programs to foster emergency medical institutions in vulnerable regions, including operational cost support and dispatching medical personnel, and will continue to implement policies to reduce regional disparities in emergency medical services."

The amendment to the Medical Service Act adds investigations by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea as an exception to restrictions on accessing patient records. The current Medical Service Act prohibits medical professionals, heads of medical institutions, and staff from allowing anyone other than the patient to view or receive copies of patient records, with some exceptions.

With the passage of this amendment, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea will now be able to request and obtain access to or copies of medical records for individuals involved in human rights investigations. This is expected to enhance the speed and efficiency of investigations conducted by the Commission.

At the plenary session, laws under the Welfare Committee that previously disqualified individuals who had not been reinstated after bankruptcy were revised in bulk. As a result, members of provincial and municipal Social Security Committees, guardians of psychiatric patients, and herbal medicine dealers will be able to perform their work even if they have been declared bankrupt.

The Ministry explained, "This is intended to improve uniform legal discrimination against individuals who have been declared bankrupt," and added, "A bankruptcy declaration does not eliminate a person's ability to work, so the purpose is to allow them to continue their roles."

The amendments passed will take effect after being submitted to and approved by the Cabinet.

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