Health insurance outlays up 6.6% in 2015

South Korea's health insurance outlays rose to 57.95 trillion won ($50.98 billion) last year, an annual report showed Tuesday, partly on the back of more senior citizens requiring medical attention.

According to the report by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Corporation, the total amount to cover medical examinations, hospitalizations and drug purchases rose 6.6 percent on-year in 2015.

On average, a South Korean visited a hospital or clinic a total of 19.3 days last year, it said.

The report showed that the money used to cover senior citizens aged over 65 jumped 11.4 percent on-year to 22.23 trillion won in 2015.

An average of 3.62 million won was spent by a single senior citizen to get checkups and treatment at hospitals last year, the report showed.

Most of the medical spending by senior citizens were to treat high blood pressure, followed by teeth and gums, and acute bronchiolitis, the report showed.

South Korea has one of the fastest aging populations in the world, as advances in medical know-how and greater interest in maintaining good health has resulted in longer life expectancies.

The ratio of senior citizens aged 65 and over in South Korea rose to an all-time high in 2015, data by Statistics Korea showed. (Yonhap)