Next Year’s Health Insurance Premium Rate Frozen at 7.19%... Semiconductor Boom to Boost Revenue by 3.8 Trillion Won (Comprehensive)

Unions and Medical Groups Criticize
Health Insurance Premium Freeze

The government has decided to maintain next year's national health insurance premium rate at 7.19%, the same as this year, anticipating increased insurance revenue thanks to the semiconductor industry's boom. With the rate frozen once again after last year's hike—the first in three years—premium burdens for both workplace and individually insured members will remain at current levels.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare convened the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee on September 8 and approved the plan to set the national health insurance premium rate for 2027 at this level.

The premium rate had been frozen at 6.12% in 2017, followed by annual increases from 2018 onward. The rate rose to 7.09% in 2023, before being frozen for both 2024 and 2025. In 2025, it increased by 1.48%, reaching 7.19%, but with this year’s freeze, the rate will remain unchanged next year with no further increase. This is the fifth such rate freeze, including in 2009.

In addition to the premium rate, the per-point assessment amount for property-based premiums paid by local subscribers will also remain at 211.5 won next year.

The Committee explained that it decided on the freeze after taking into account expected expenditures arising from initiatives to strengthen local, essential, and public healthcare and to push forward with national health insurance coverage innovations, while also considering the stable operation of the health insurance fund.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the health insurance fund has recorded a surplus for the past five years, and as of the end of last year, had reserves totaling 3.02 trillion won, enough to cover 3.5 months’ worth of expenses. In addition to this, next year’s government subsidy is expected to increase by about 1.1 trillion won compared to this year, and with the recent boom in the semiconductor industry, additional insurance premium income for next year is projected to reach 3.8 trillion won. All these factors were reflected in the decision to freeze the rate.

Lee Hyung-hoon, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "We expect health insurance finances will be saved by 270 billion won annually through improvements in the drug pricing system, by 2.6 trillion won through the adjustment of specimen and imaging fees, and by 800 billion won through stronger management of false and unjustified claims." He explained, "There was a consensus that freezing premiums is feasible for the sake of public livelihood stability, leading to the final agreement and decision."

He went on to say, "We will actively identify and implement measures to increase spending efficiency so that the premiums paid by the public will be effectively used for essential medical services. Through these efforts, we will continue to work on strengthening local, essential, and public healthcare and on reducing the medical expense burden for the public, especially in areas such as rare and severe intractable diseases."

Meanwhile, in response to the government's decision to freeze next year’s health insurance premium rate, unions in the healthcare sector and medical industry voiced concerns about a potential deterioration of the health insurance fund's finances.

The Korean Federation of Public Services and Transportation Workers’ Unions, the National Health Insurance Labor Union, and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Labor Union held a press conference the same day, condemning the government’s decision to freeze the premium rate and urging authorities to put in place financial measures to strengthen national health insurance coverage.

They pointed out that the government subsidy (14.4%) still falls short of the legally mandated standard (20%), and criticized, "The government is shirking its national responsibility and driving the health insurance fund into the red, using the freeze on health insurance premiums for the 'ordinary people' as a deceptive pretext." They added, "The government should stop shifting the national burden onto the health insurance fund, immediately implement the statutory 20% state subsidy, curb unnecessary medical spending, and also develop fundamental measures to shore up the finances of the health insurance fund, which already faces deficit warnings."

The Korean Medical Association similarly argued, "Repeated freezing of premium rates threatens the financial sustainability of the health insurance system," calling on the government to normalize rates and uphold the statutory government subsidy ratio. They added, "If the government pushes ahead with freezing rates without fulfilling its fiscal responsibility, the financial stability of the health insurance fund cannot be ensured. Responsible decisions are needed that consider both the long-term sustainability of health insurance and the public’s right to health, rather than merely avoiding short-term burdens."

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