보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Healthcare Reform and Welfare for the Weak

to Open up the Future

- MOHW announces 2024 Action Plan for Key Policies -

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Cho, KyooHong) announced its 2024 Action Plan for Key Policies. This year, under the vision of “Healthcare Reform and Welfare for the Weak to Open up the Future,” the ministry will focus on implementing the four core tasks.

First, the MOHW will institute four healthcare reform tasks to save lives and local communities. The ministry will increase the medical workforce by expanding medical school seats and innovating education and training, and overhaul delivery systems and networks to strengthen local healthcare. It will also build a medical accident safety net to reassure both physicians and patients, including the enactment of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Medical Accident, and inject more than KRW 10 trillion by 2028 for fair compensation for essential healthcare services. Issues requiring fundamental institutional improvements will be discussed and addressed by forming the Presidential Committee on Healthcare Reform as early as possible.

As for measures to strengthen the healthcare basis, the ministry will structurally reform the National Health Insurance (NHI) to ensure access to essential healthcare and improve its sustainability, and foster national university hospitals into the backbone institutions of local essential healthcare, while enhancing the health management framework ranging from prevention to treatment.

Second, the MOHW will implement Welfare for the Weak 2.0 to provide tighter yet wider protection. The ministry will actively utilize information and communication technologies (ICTs) and artificial intelligence (AI) to advance the system for identifying vulnerable groups, and broaden cooperation with other ministries, local governments, and the private sector.

To provide more extensive protection for the underprivileged, the ministry will significantly raise the amount of livelihood benefits for median-income earners and increase the number of senior jobs to more than one million. It will also ensure children's right to protection by ensuring the smooth launch of the “Birth Notice” and “Protected Childbirth” programs. A tight-knit system will be developed to prevent social isolation, which will encompass the identification of isolated persons and their conditions, livelihood support, and network formation.

Third, the MOHW will increase patient care to reduce the burden on families. In order to reduce patient care costs, which have been a source of great burden for the people, the ministry will revamp the integrated nursing-care service for acute hospital care to increase the scope of eligible patients, and pilot a patient care project for care hospitals in April. These efforts are aimed at enhancing quality control and the use of technologies for patient care services, thereby creating a market for high-quality patient care services.

The ministry will also build a tight-knit support system so that all citizens can access the care services they need. As part of the efforts, the ministry will build a dedicated support system for young carers, isolated and reclusive young adults, and youth preparing for independence by providing fair opportunities and helping them stand on their own. An integrated support system for senior citizens will be put in place, which will link healthcare, long-term care, and home care to help senior citizens enjoy senior life with dignity at the place where they have been living, along with increased support for housing, meals, and leisure. In order to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families, the MOHW will launch a personalized one-on-one care program for people with profound developmental disabilities. The plan also includes psychological counseling services for all citizens experiencing depression or anxiety, and home care and housekeeping services.

Fourth, the MOHW will secure future growth engines by innovating healthcare and welfare. The ministry will reduce the burden of childbirth and childcare by increasing support for infertility and fertility tests, and expand the First Meeting Voucher and Parental Allowance for greater support for childcare expenses. The ministry will also reduce medical expenses incurred by young children and postpartum mothers by removing copayments for hospital admission of children under 2, expand the childcare infrastructure, and prepare for the integration of early childhood education and childcare. To move forward with the pension reform, a structure for follow-up discussions will be established to help the National Assembly bring the issue to the domain of public discussion.

For bold investment in biohealth, the ministry will move forward with the Korean Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) project and the Boston-Korea project, while continuing with the regulatory innovation efforts, including support for global open innovation and the Bio-Health Innovation Commission.

Commenting on the plan, Minister Cho said, “This year, the MOHW will boldly move forward with a healthcare reform to open up the future, and strengthen welfare for the weak for more tight-knit and more extensive protection. ///