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A photo of a branch of the National Health Insurance Corporation in Seoul. News 1
Last year, the financial balance of foreign health insurance subscribers recorded the largest surplus in four years. This means that the health insurance premiums paid by foreign subscribers for one year are more than the medical expenses (health insurance benefits) they spent. However, Chinese subscribers spent more money than they paid, resulting in a loss.
On the 5th, the office of Rep. Kim Seon-min of the Fatherland Innovation Party released data on the National Health Insurance Corporation’s salary ratio compared to insurance premiums for foreigners (including overseas Koreans) from 2020 to 2023. According to this data, the total health insurance premiums paid by foreign subscribers last year was 2.069 trillion won, and the medical expenses paid by these subscribers and their dependents were 1.3287 trillion won, recording a surplus of 740.3 billion won. The financial balance of foreign subscribers recorded a surplus every year, including 2020 (KRW 587.5 billion), 2021 (KRW 525.1 billion), and 2022 (KRW 556 billion), and the surplus increased in 2023.
As of the end of last year, the number of foreign subscribers to National Health Insurance was approximately 1.46 million. Among these, Chinese national subscribers account for about half, or about 700,000. These include Vietnam (150,000), Uzbekistan (70,000), and Nepal (50,000). Among the 10 countries with many foreign subscribers, China was the only one to have a deficit. Last year, it paid 810.3 billion won in health insurance premiums and received 874.3 billion won in health insurance benefits, resulting in a deficit of 64 billion won. On the other hand, Nepal (KRW 71.5 billion), Vietnam (KRW 71.4 billion), the United States (KRW 65.6 billion), Indonesia (KRW 53.8 billion), and Cambodia (KRW 50.1 billion) recorded surpluses in that order.
The Chinese have recorded deficits every year for the past four years, including 2020 (-23.9 billion won), 2021 (-10.9 billion won), and 2022 (-22.9 billion won), and last year it jumped to 2.7 times the previous year. This can be interpreted as the result of a sharp decrease in Korea-China traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic and then an increase again.
An official from the National Health Insurance Corporation said, “In the case of Chinese subscribers, the number of dependents is much higher than that of nationals of other countries, so there has been a deficit since before,” adding, “In addition, the number of Chinese local subscribers, which decreased slightly during the COVID-19 period, has increased again since 2022, and the number of national health insurance expenditures accordingly has continued.” “Finance also shows a tendency to increase,” he explained. As of May last year, the number of dependents of Chinese employed workers was 110,988, the largest number among foreigners. Next is Vietnam (21,668 people). In the 10 major countries with many foreign subscribers (including China), 68.6% of total dependents are Chinese. According to Rep. Kim Seon-min’s office, the number one dependent who spent the most health insurance funds between 2020 and 2022 was Chinese national Mr. A. He received health insurance benefits of 1.2 billion won in 2019, 960 million won in 2020, 890 million won in 2021, and 600 million won in 2022. Because he was a dependent, he did not pay a penny for health insurance.
Since last April, the government has raised the threshold so that foreigners entering the country must stay for more than six months to become dependents. This is to prevent cases where foreigners list themselves as dependents as soon as they enter the country, go straight to the hospital, enjoy health insurance benefits without paying health insurance fees, and then leave the country. The National Health Insurance Corporation predicts that with the implementation of this system, the number of dependents will decrease by about 10,000 per year. However, some point out that it is not easy to prevent the Chinese deficit just by strengthening the criteria for dependents.
Reporter Esther [email protected]
