J Korean Med Assoc.  2016 Oct;59(10):750-752. 10.5124/jkma.2016.59.10.750.

Health policy for 20th National Assembly

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ecpark@yuhs.ac
  • 2Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

The 20th National Assembly of Korea was called to order on April 13, 2016. The National Assembly is invested with the authority to play a significant role in influencing healthcare policy. There are many pending issues in healthcare policy that the Assembly needs to address in this term. The low fertility rate and population aging that Korea faces can exert a major impact on the healthcare system, as aging will lead to an expansion of non-communicable diseases, which can place a high burden on society. This requires strengthening the social security system, including National Health Insurance. A paradigm shift is necessary, in which healthcare providers are organized in the National Health Insurance using approaches such as the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Patient_Centered Medical Home (PCMH), and people are offered choices similar to the US Medicare Advantage Program. Additionally, it is essential that healthcare accessibility is enhanced by covering catastrophic medical costs and guaranteeing patient safety through quality improvement so that healthcare costs are kept within an affordable range. Therefore, the 20th National Assembly must overcome differences in ideology to improve the healthcare system with the aim of promoting national health.

Keyword

Health policy; National Assembly

MeSH Terms

Accountable Care Organizations
Aging
Birth Rate
Delivery of Health Care
Health Care Costs
Health Personnel
Health Policy*
Humans
Korea
Medicare Part C
National Health Programs
Patient Safety
Patient-Centered Care
Quality Improvement
Social Security

Reference

1. Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Amended by Constitu-tion No. 10(October 29, 1987).
2. Chung CK, Choi JW, Lee SW, Chung JG, Chung GH. Theories of policy sciences. Cheongju: Daemyung Publisher;2015.
3. Park EC. Health care policy. Korean Society for Preventive Medicine. Preventive medicine and public health. Seoul: Kye-chuk Munwhasa;2015. p. 737–744.
4. Obama B. United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. JAMA. 2016; 316:525–532.
5. Park EC, Jang SI. The diagnosis of healthcare policy problems in Korea. J Korean Med Assoc. 2012; 55:932–939.
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