HCMG101 Health Care System

Discuss examples of ways in which healthcare services are financed in your area:

Describe the healthcare financing from the perspective of the consumer,

Explain financing from perspective of the healthcare administration, and

Identify how the lack of financing for healthcare for underserved populations in the community may affect the local economy.

Introduction

This report discusses the structure how healthcare system is financed in Korea, from the view point of the customer as well as from the administration’s point of view. It also gives an idea about how, lack of healthcare financing for the underserved class of the population effect the economy.

Financing of the healthcare in Republic of Korea (ROK)

It has been reported that Korea spends about 6.5 % of its gross domestic product on health. Koreans utilize high technology devices more intensively (Kutzin, 2013). The Per capita spending on the medications is also quite high in Korea, although the government had claimed that the trend of spending in medications has been decreasing. ROK has adapted the health insurance system model similar to Japan. Republic of Korea has been reported to achieve universal health insurance in 12 years.

Healthcare financing of ROK from the consumers view point

The introduction of the healthcare reforms like insurance for the long time care would be necessary for the elderly persons as it would provide a protection from financial risk. Korea’s national health Insurance covers the entire population, where the company where one is working is expected to pay 50% of their worker’s health insurance every month (Kutzin, 2013). The effect of this is that doctors and specialists often try seeing as many patients as possible and prescribe as many medications to get more benefits from the pharmaceutical companies.

Healthcare administrator’s viewpoint

It has been reported that ROK spends only 6.9% of its GDP on healthcare unlike other OECD countries. Costs are structured for the patients and limitations are placed over the doctors regarding the consultation fees and other health related costing.

Effects on economy due to lack of financing for the underserved community

Lack of insurance coverage can undermine the economic foundation of the entire community of a population. People without insurances, would be charged with higher prices in healthcare systems (Witter et al., 2012).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that national health care insurance, efforts for curtailing the costs, development of policies for the older population and other such reforms has made the Republic of Korea as one of the rapidly improving healthcare system.

References

Kutzin, J. (2013). Health financing for universal coverage and health system performance: concepts and implications for policy. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 91(8), 602-611.

Witter, S., Fretheim, A., Kessy, F. L., & Lindahl, A. K. (2012). Paying for performance to improve the delivery of health interven-tions in low-and middle-income countries. status and date: New, published in, (2).