Health Care for Older Persons: A Country Profile—Korea

Abstract

The Korean healthcare system is faced with a crisis caused by rapidly changing social values tending toward westernization, increasing insurance benefit requests for elder health care, financial instability of the National Health Insurance (NHI) program, and a lack of social infrastructure for the elderly. The demand for health care for the elderly has increased markedly, because of a rapidly aging population, growing female participation in the labor market, elevated expectations for health care, and a change in the pattern of medical conditions in the elderly from acute illness to chronic disability. NHI lacks the finances to meet the benefit request for long-term care (LTC). Only 0.39% of the elderly can be accommodated in LTC beds. Consequently, the chronically disabled elderly overflow to acute care beds in general hospitals, which places an undue burden on the already strained NHI system in terms of longer stays and higher cost of treatment in hospitals compared with care specific to the elderly in LTC facilities. It is clear that the Korean healthcare system does not have the facilities to meet such challenges and is in a state of disorder. Korea has failed to predict and prepare for population needs before they arise, including financing and the development of appropriate care models, particularly concerning the adequate provision of LTC. This paper advocates the necessity of international discussion of the prospects for developing health care for aging populations and encourages the sharing of differing national experiences concerning care for the elderly.

Trends in Pneumonia and Influenza-associated Hospitalizations in South Korea, 2002-2005

“…Given the recent trends in diseases, it is likely that a substantial proportion of hospitalizations due to pneumonia and influenza in the elderly occurred among those with the underlying medical conditions. It has been particularly recognized that chronic medical conditions may place the elderly at a higher risk for serious pneumonia and influenza (15,21). In 2005, Korea spent 6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare, one-third less than the 9% of GDP health expenditure averaged among 30 economically-developed nations (22).…”

“…An additional 3% of the Korean population is covered through the Korean Medical Aid Programme which provides healthcare to low-income households (14,15). …”

Willingness to Use Formal Long-Term Care Services by Korean Elders and Their Primary Caregivers

“…This distortion in the use of hospital services was one of the major contributors to a dramatic increase in health care spending for seniors, raising big concerns regarding the financial viability of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. The financial deficit of the NHI system in 2001 reached 2.7 trillion won (944 Korean won = 1 US dollar, as of February 2008), or about 20% of NHI expenditures (Cho et al, 2004). The government found itself needing to expand LTC services urgently, even while trying to secure additional financial resources for LTC.…”

Definition of Financial Abuse: A Culture-Centered Construct among Korean Elders

“…According to M. Lee and Kolomer (2005), the Korea National Statistical Office projected that the percentage of individuals 65 and over would jump from 9.1% in 2005 to 23.1% in 2030. A 1998 United Nations World Population Prospects statistic predicted that from the year 2000 it would take a mere 22 years for the elderly population in Korea to double, compared with a doubling period of 71 years in the United States and 115 years in France (Cho et al, 2004). This demographic shift is reflected in growing attention to such matters as health and insurance policy, structures of elder care, elder abuse and neglect, and resultant financial burdens on elders in Korea (Kim, Kim, & Kim, 2010;Kwon, 2008).…”