"Strengthening Support for Health Insurance Blind Spots Through the 'Regional Essential Healthcare Special Account'"

Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Economy and Finance Gather Local Governments' On-the-Ground Feedback

In response to the concentration of medical resources in the Seoul metropolitan area and the resulting gaps in regional healthcare, the government and all 17 metropolitan and provincial governments have launched initiatives to address these issues.

On May 27, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a "Regional and Essential Healthcare Roundtable" at Sejong City Hall, attended by health and medical officials from all 17 cities and provinces nationwide. The roundtable was organized to gather the opinions of local governments responsible for on-the-ground healthcare, ahead of the establishment of a "Regional Essential Healthcare Special Account" scheduled for January next year.

The domestic medical environment has been experiencing a deepening regional disparity, resulting in a persistent structural crisis such as the lack of essential medical services in non-metropolitan areas. As of last year, the number of doctors per 1,000 people at general hospitals or higher was 1.28 in Seoul, whereas in North Gyeongsang Province, it was only 0.43.

In response, the government has adopted "narrowing regional disparities, expanding essential medical services, and strengthening public healthcare" as key national policy goals. To this end, the government has been actively pursuing: ▲the introduction of a regional doctor system and the establishment of national medical graduate schools to foster regional and essential medical professionals; ▲the revision of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act to address the avoidance of essential medical fields due to concerns over medical accidents; and ▲the strengthening of emergency medical support systems.

In addition, last March, the government enacted the Regional Essential Healthcare Act, establishing the legal basis for the "Regional Essential Healthcare Special Account" to ensure stable funding for related initiatives.

At the roundtable, local government officials in attendance highlighted the severe shortages in regional healthcare and urged the government to provide active support and improve the relevant systems.

One official from a metropolitan or provincial government stated, "Although emergency rooms are operating, there are no specialist doctors for certain departments during nights and holidays. As a result, when seriously ill patients arrive, they must repeatedly be transferred to other hospitals." Another official requested, "When recruiting doctors at the individual medical institution level, it only leads to competitive wage increases. Please support network building so that medical personnel can be jointly utilized."

The government has pledged to actively reflect these voices from the field. Nam Kyung-chul, Director of Welfare and Safety Budget Review at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, emphasized, "To fundamentally resolve the shortage of regional healthcare, the top priority is to provide proper compensation and incentives for regional and essential medical services from the 100 trillion won annual health insurance fund."

Director Nam added, "The newly established Regional Essential Healthcare Special Account, with a scale of 1 trillion won, will be reviewed with the principle of organic division of roles with health insurance. For areas that should be compensated within the healthcare system, we will coordinate with relevant ministries to utilize health insurance. However, for blind spots not covered by health insurance or for areas requiring tailored responses to the characteristics of each local government, we will establish a structure to provide more robust and comprehensive support through fiscal resources."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to actively reflect the opinions raised at the roundtable in the 2027 budget proposal and will continue to collaborate with relevant ministries to develop institutional improvements that address regional and essential healthcare issues.

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