Hospital charges for children to be slashed

The government plans to push to slash hospital charges for children aged 15 and younger, the Health Ministry said Sunday.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it had launched a discussion on the plan to expand the coverage of health insurance as part of efforts to reduce financial burdens facing parents. 

When children in the age group are hospitalized, the government will support 95 percent of medical fees through the health insurance, falling in line with one of the key election pledges of President Moon Jae-in, designed to tackle Korea’s low birthrate.

“We are in the process of reviewing the plan, nothing specific has been confirmed,” said an official from the ministry. “As the plan will result in increasing health insurance fees, we will sufficiently discuss it with civic organizations before pushing for it.”

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)