Government Plans to Merge Insurance Fees Despite Row

Home > National > Politics

print dictionary print

Government Plans to Merge Insurance Fees Despite Row

While medical insurance fees for private sector employees will go up by about 25 percent in January, fees for individuals insured through the regional health system will rise by just 15 to 20 percent before the end of the year.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Thursday that it plans to integrate the insurance it underwrites for companies with its system for government employees and teachers and impose a uniform insurance fee of 3.4 to 3.6 percent of income. The plan means people working for private companies will have to pay 21.4 to 28.6 percent more. In contrast, the fee for government employees and teachers will change little if at all. "The government has decided to raise the share paid by workers in the private sector as the insurance cooperatives at many firms did not raise fees this year," said a government official. However, the company insurance system has about one trillion won ($900 million) left in its coffers while the government system has only 39.6 billion won. The private sector is therefore likely to resist the merge.

"I predicted this when the government announced its unrealistic medical insurance reform plan," said Yoon Jeong-uk, private insurance union member. "Our hard-earned money will be handed over to government employees." Civic groups say the government is unfairly increasing private sector fees because it has unilaterally accepted the demands of the striking medical community.



by Shin Sung-sik

Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)