Medical groups clash over insurance coverage of herbal medicine
Members of the Korea Medical Association (KMA) speak during a press conference at the KMA building in Seoul, Nov. 23. They demanded the government withdraw the pilot program to provide national health insurance coverage for some herbal medicine treatments. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinA pilot program rolled out by the government to include several types of herbal medicine in treatments covered by national health insurance was welcomed by practitioners of traditional Korean medicine. It, however, immediately provoked backlash from Western medical doctors.As the government has plans to expand the coverage for more herbal medicine in the future following the progress of the trial program, the mixed reactions of the two medical groups may deepen into another dispute. Under the pilot program, which started on Nov. 20, patients at traditional Korean medicine clinics who are prescribed treatments for menstrual pain, facial paralysis, or the aftereffects of cerebrovascular diseases, pay only half of the fee for the herbal medicine, as the rest is covered by state insurance. The three-year test run is
Nov 26, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin