Health Policy Manag.  2020 Dec;30(4):451-459. 10.4332/KJHPA.2020.30.4.451.

Public Perception on Coinsurance Rate of the National Health Insurance in Korea

• Cho HH
• Kim JE
• Hahm MI
• Kang EJ
• Kim SJ

• KMID: 2510237
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4332/KJHPA.2020.30.4.451

Abstract

Background
Although Korean government have been adopting several policies to expand coverage of National Health Insurance (NHI) program, the coverage rate is still below average across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. This study was to identify public perception on appropriateness of coinsurance rate and factors associated with coinsurance rate in National Health Insurance.
Methods
For this cross-sectional study, 507 participants over aged 20 years were recruited from telephone surveys. Respondents experienced at least one and more visiting medical facilities due to medical problems in last 12 months. Demographic factors, socioeconomic positions, and experiences on medical utilization were measured in order to identify factors associated with perception appropriateness of coinsurance rate.
Results
The 49.9% (n=209) of the public responded that the coinsurance rate of NHI program was appropriate. There were no differences in positive perception according to socio-demographic factors and experiences on medical utilization except for gender, residential area, and felt expensive when using medical services. People who felt burden of medical expenditure were more likely to perceive coinsurance rate inappropriate (odds ratio, 2.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.52–3.58)
Conclusion
In spite of the relatively low coverage rate of NHI, this study identified that 49.9% of the public perceived the current coinsurance rate was adequate. However, people who felt the burden of medical expenditure were still had a negative perception of the coinsurance rate needed to decrease the coinsurance rate.

Keyword

Public perception; Coinsurance rate; Health expenditures