By Lee Kyung-min
About 700,000 dementia patients and their families will be covered under the state welfare program, the government said Monday.
This is part of President Moon Jae-in’s campaign pledge to expand the state’s role in helping senior citizens, who contributed to the development of the country, lead a dignified life.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo unveiled this measure three days ahead of World Alzheimer's Day which falls Thursday.
Many families go bankrupt due to the heavy medical costs of treating the disease, which is expected to become more prevalent in Korea because of a rapidly aging society, the minister said.
“The number of dementia patients is expected to reach 1.27 million by 2030, which will further burden their adult children. The government is planning to shoulder the increasing cost of treating the disease,” Park said at COEX in southern Seoul.
Under the program, the government will increase the number of dementia support centers within community health centers to 252 from the current 47 by the end of the year.
The new support centers will offer consultation services on the disease and referrals to dementia care facilities. It will also offer medical checkups and provide temporary shelter to the patients.
Patient information and consultation history will be preserved on a government-managed online program to help track the development of the illness.
Patients with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia will undergo treatment at state-run hospitals that house a dementia care unit.
This refers to the symptoms of dementia including agitation and aggressive behavior. The government will increase the number of such hospitals to 79 equipped with up to 3,700 beds from the current 34 with 1,898 beds.
The government will revise the current criteria to allow patients with only mild symptoms to be also allowed treatment at dementia care facilities. So far, patients with no immobility issues were denied the service.
Free medical checkups for dementia patients over 66 will be available every two years, more frequently from the current one available every four years.
A committee, comprised of officials at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Science and ICT, will support studies on early detection, diagnosis, prevention and the development of medication. The health ministry will set up a new unit tasked with affairs involving dementia.
Under the revised health care dubbed “Moon Jae-in care,” unveiled last month, starting next month patients with severe dementia will pay only up to 10 percent of the total cost of treatment, significantly down from the current 69.8 percent.
The same rate is already applied to treatment costs for four major age-related diseases including cancer, cardiac disorders, cerebrovascular problems and rare diseases.
According to the report from the National Assembly Budget Office, per capita medical cost for dementia patients is 20 million won ($17,750) a year.
Given the government’s pledge to cover up to 90 percent of the cost, about 12.6 trillion won is needed, accounting for 0.9 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP), the office said.
As the number of dementia patients will increase nearly four-fold surpassing 2.7 million by 2050, the per capita cost will reach 39 million won, requiring government spending of 48.5 trillion won.