National Health Insurance Corporation

What is National Health Insurance Corporation Korea

It is the mandatory health insurance for Koreans and expats in Korea is the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC). The NHIC is the only public insurer managing the National Health Insurance under the supervision of the Korean Ministry of Health & Welfare. The insured of NHI can be categorized into employee insured and the self-employed insured. The NHI is a system where contributions made by the insured are consolidated into a fund and insurance benefits are provided upon their need. The system aims to share the burden among the insured persons and provide medical services.

The contribution of insured employees including the government and private school employees is based on the income of the insured. You are not legally obliged under Korean law to have health insurance, but it is strongly recommended.

Foreign Citizens

Those who have correctly completed their Alien Registration as a foreign worker at Korean Immigration can make an application for the enrollment of national health insurance at the NHIC. Your employer will take care of this for you and can be completed only after you have received your Alien Registration Card (ARC).

Those teaching English in Korea and other expats in Korea should make an application for enrollment to their employer who is then responsible for remitting the application to the office with the required documents. The enrollment is retroactive to the date of employment. If you are sick before you get your health coverage in Korea then you can claim back any doctor bills as long as you do so within 2 weeks your visit to the hospital. The contribution payment is retroactive up to the date the enrollee was registered as an alien in Korea. If you haven’t been paying, but you have been working in Korea then you’ll have to pay for each month you’ve been in Korea on that visa.

Contribution Rate

According to the Health Insurance Act, the Insurance Finance Committee established that the National Health Insurance Corporation was allowed to set the contribution rate for the employed insured at less than 8% of monthly wages and salaries. The contribution rate of the employed insured is 3.94% for ordinary employees and for government and private school employees. The contribution of the employed insured is borne by both employee and employer, or as set out in your contract.

For ordinary employees, the employer pays 50% of the contribution and the employee pays the other 50%.

Health Care Benefits and Costs

The benefit package for expats in Korea is the same as for Koreans. When the insured person and qualifying dependents, no matter whether they are foreigners or Koreans, get health care service at the health care facilities, they have to pay as follows;

For treatment at the hospitals and medical clinics: 20%-50% of the total charges applicable by NHI. Most visits to the doctor for say treating a cold will cost you are 3,000 won or just over $3.

For prescription drugs filled at the pharmacy: 30% of the total charges applicable by NHI. Filling a cold prescription in Korea will only cost you about 4,000 won.

Treatments of diseases that do not hinder work or daily living, and the cost of drugs and medical materials for simple fatigue, hair loss, freckles, warts, hirsutism, acne, impotence, hereditary deformity of genitals (that has to be rough, thanks mom and dad), simple snoring, plastic surgery, cure of sequela, and operation to correct eyesight are not covered by the health insurance.

In order to ensure the early detection and treatment of chronic degenerative diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, liver diseases and pulmonary tuberculosis, NHIC is providing a health check-up service for the insured and their dependents once every two years. Expatriates in the Korean medical scheme for more than 2 years can receive an examination free of charge.

Treatment Options

National Health Insurance Korea site says that you are NOT entitled to receive care at any private clinic or hospital and that you must always see only local government operated clinics or hospitals if you wish to use your Korean medical card for subsidized treatment. However, I’ve gone to just about any clinic in Seoul for colds and other simple treatments and have always used my health insurance book that you get from your employer with no problem.

First stage and second stage treatments.Beneficiaries are required to receive first-stage health care treatments and then second-stage health care treatments (performed at tertiary care hospitals) in due sequence except in cases such as: emergency situations, giving birth to a child; receiving dental treatments. First-stage health care treatments refer to the cases when beneficiaries receive health care treatments at institutions other than tertiary care hospitals. Many people make the mistake of going to an international clinic in Itaewon or at a major hospital. This is usually a mistake as they tend to charge a lot more than regular clinics that are likely in your neighborhood. Some will speak English and others very little, but generally enough to treat your symptoms.

When intending to receive first-stage health care treatments, beneficiaries should submit their health insurance cards.

When intending to receive second-stage health care treatments, beneficiaries should submit their health insurance cards with a referral paper from the doctor who provided first-stage health care treatments or the results of a health check up with the doctor’s opinion that the patient is diagnosed as needing further medical treatment.

When health insurance cards are not submitted, beneficiaries can request eligibility confirmation from the NHIC. The NHIC, after receiving this request, sends confirmation to health care institutions, which enables beneficiaries to receive the necessary treatment. When beneficiaries do not submit health insurance cards or their eligibility is not confirmed by the NHIC, they can receive insurance coverage through confirmation by phone or on the Internet.

Important:

You must be a correctly registered resident in Korea and hold an Alien Card to be registered for the scheme. The insurance is a medical scheme only and not applicable to any other issue or situation that may happen whilst in Korea duringFresh Designs on Cool T-Shirts! your travels. You should always take advice before departure from your home country about other travel costs and applicable insurance’s. NOTE: some insurance may not cover you if you are a registered resident with a working visa in another country.

A Comparison of International and Korean Medical Insurance

When you gain employment in Korea, your Employer must offer and help set up the Korean medical scheme coverage that is mandatory law. You can also supplement this coverage by taking your own insurance from your home country, but I don’t think it necessary.

There are a number of private insurance providers in your country and in Korea, but I have found that the NHI coverage is adequate and comprehensive. Not only that you can’t drop out of the government health insurance in Korea so why pay for this one and another insurance when the national health coverage in Korea is sufficient.

Remember that you will not have any coverage until you get your ARC card, so make sure you get that and be sure to see that your employer gets paperwork submitted so you can get your health insurance booklet.

This procedure should be done as soon as possible after you enter the country with an E2 visa stamp in your passport. Your employer is also required to complete final paperwork and register you at the local education board.

If you have entered without your E2 visa stamped into your passport, you will have to wait until you have received the final visa stamp in your passport (most likely after a trip to Japan).

The ARC process must legally be completed within 90 days of your entry into Korea. The cost for completing this registration is around (50,0000 won). Until you have the card returned to you, it could be extremely difficult to attend a Korean clinic for medical help, as you would not have the required documentation to show you have residency status in Korea. Your employer is also required to register you in the Korean medical scheme, and in turn you should receive a small card (booklet) showing your membership.

In our experience over we have found that many individual schools do not correctly register their teachers into any medical scheme and instead may just deduct an employee contribution and hope that you will not know how the medical payments work! If you have a medical emergency, often the school just elects to pay your doctors bills, or you find out you do not have correct coverage.

If you have been registered correctly and have your Alien Registration card, and medical registration card, the Korean scheme is an excellent, basic coverage to access cheaper medical care. However, be aware that it is basic medical coverage only, and you are not covered in any way for any other problems that can occur while in Korea, and you will have no insurance coverage as soon as you leave Korea and travel to another country.

This is important, as most teachers in Korea and expats may travel to countries close by, such as Japan, China and Vietnam at some time during their contract time in Korea.

Contribution for the employee insured – current contribution rate : 5.08% (equally shared by employers and employees)

The Monthly contribution = average monthly salary × contribution rate

average monthly wage = an annual salary ÷ months employed
An employee pays 50% of the contribution

If you need more information, you can call the National Health Insurance in Korea at their call center. (tel : 02-390-2000)

National Health Insurance Prepayment Methods

Since January 2008, prepayment method of contributions for foreigners and overseas Koreans has changed as indicated in the following table.