ED Improving health care

President Moon Jae-in announced measures to improve the national health care program Wednesday with the aim to expand insurance coverage and reduce medical bills for patients during a visit to the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seocho-gu.

Currently, the National Health Insurance’s average coverage rate is 63.2 percent, which is far below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s average of 80 percent. Under the new program, almost all treatments, except for cosmetic surgery and other beauty procedures, will be covered by National Health Insurance by 2022. Since many diseases are not covered by the state-run insurance, many families have subscribed to private insurance.

If implemented successfully, the plan is expected to slash the people’s medical spending by 18 percent on average and by 46 percent for those in the low-income bracket within five years.

At a time when many families are struggling with rising medical costs, many sympathize with Moon’s message to build a country where people can live without worrying about medical bills.

As with all of Moon’s welfare pledges, however, the problem with “Mooncare” is the need to inject massive amounts of state funds to implement it. Many citizens are already worried about a hike in National Health Insurance fees, which is already quite burdensome for many Koreans with stagnant incomes.

The government estimated that it will take about 30 trillion won ($26.4 billion) over the next five years to carry out the new health care program. About 10 trillion won will come from the cumulative surplus collected by the National Health Insurance Corp. and the rest will be shouldered by the central government. But it is uncertain if the plan will be manageable after five years.

Relying on the surplus of the national health care fund is not a sustainable way to pay for additional benefits in the long-term. Ultimately, the government will have to raise insurance payments. The government should clearly inform the people about the additional burden and seek their consent.