Doctors rally to protest against 'Mooncare'

Doctors rally to protest against "Mooncare" near the Seoul City Hall in central Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Tens of thousands of doctors rallied in central Seoul on Sunday to protest against President Moon Jae-in’s scheme to expand national health insurance coverage.

Under “Mooncare,” the government will invest 30.6 trillion won ($27.9 billion) over the next five years to expand national health insurance coverage for almost all diseases. It aims to reduce individual medical costs by 18 percent.

About 30,000 doctors (7,000 according to police) gathered near Seoul City Hall to call on the government to retract the policy, saying it would increase the burden on taxpayers.

During the protest, led by the Korean Medical Association, doctors also claimed the government was keeping medical charges too low and that Mooncare would worsen the financial situation of many hospitals, especially small ones.

“Since the government adopted the national insurance system, doctors have suffered a lot because of too many regulations,” said Kim Sook-hee, head of the doctors’ association in Seoul. “The government is trying to force us to sacrifice even more.”

Few people believe that the doctors came out to express concern about taxpayers.

What worries the doctors most, in fact, is that Mooncare will leave them with few options to make more money through services not covered by national insurance, such as MRI scans.

It bears further watching whether lawmakers will listen to the doctors’ and block the bill in the National Assembly.

Previously, President Moon dismissed financial concerns and said the policy would benefit everyone, especially those in the bottom 30 percent of the low-income bracket.

During the protest, doctors also expressed opposition to a proposed bill that would allow Oriental medicine doctors to use medical devices.

Nearly 1,000 police were deployed in the protest area.