By Chung Hyun-chae
Pregnant women will pay 30 percent of the costs for a prenatal ultrasound examination beginning in October as the National Health Insurance is to cover 70 percent of the bill.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Friday announced the introduction of the insurance coverage plan to ease the financial burden of pregnant women.
The ministry said if the examination costs 50,000 won, patients will have to pay 15,000 won.
“We came up with the measure to increase insurance coverage and reduce medical expenses,” said a ministry official Kim Han-suk.
A pregnant woman regularly visits a maternity clinic and takes 12 antenatal ultrasound examinations on average to check the baby’s condition.
“We are discussing how many examinations per woman the insurance will cover,” Kim said, adding that the ministry will announce the final plan later this month.
As the prenatal ultrasound examination is not eligible for health insurance, pregnant women have so far paid all the costs.
The price also varies from clinic to clinic, ranging from around 40,000 won to more than 100,000 won.
“The costs are a big burden for most pregnant women,” said Rachel Lee, a journalist who gave birth to her son in 2013.
According to a survey conducted among 800 women last year by a health insurance policy institute under the National Health Insurance Service, 77.1 percent of the respondents said the ultrasound examination was the biggest burden for them, followed by the congenital anomaly test with 13.2 percent and the amniotic fluid test with 7.4 percent.
“I heard that Korean people take more examinations than is recommended,” Lee said.
Some gynecologists have been criticized for making patients undergo unnecessary tests.
“I want to benefit from the change when I have a second child as I am expecting my first baby in October,” a woman wrote in her Internet posting.
However, some voiced concern over the plan.
“Despite the increasing health insurance coverage, I am worried that the maternity clinics could make pregnant women take more tests (to steal money from them),” another Internet user said. “Every time I go to a clinic, the doctor asks me to take different tests such as a blood test.”
There are growing calls for more childcare support to improve the birthrate.
“Although pregnant women can benefit from the expanding health insurance coverage, I think the government should provide more childcare support for mothers,” Lee added.