보건복지부 영문홈페이지

- On November 2nd (Tuesday), the Ministry of Health and Welfare holds a public hearing on

□ On November 2nd (Tuesday) at 2 pm, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will hold a public hearing  on the institutionalization of Health Management Services at Ham-Choon Hall of Seoul National University Hospital.

 ○ The purpose of this public hearing is to listen to different ideas from different groups of people and to seek for a desirable way to implement the system of health management services, in regards to the Bill on Health Management Services which had been brought up at the National Assembly on May 17th.

 ○ Though many sectors and interest groups have agreed upon the social need for establishing a system for health management services,

   - some groups of physicians have expressed concerns about deterioration of primary healthcare facilities and invasion of physicians' rights,

   - and civic groups have expressed concerns about an increase in national health expenditures with the introduction of new services.

□ Thus, this public hearing will be a meaningful occasion where relevant interest groups, such as the government, members of the medical community, the academia, civic groups, and the media, can express their stance on the health management services and hold a discussion on how it should be implemented.

 ○ The public hearing will start with the opening statement of Kang Min-kyu, Director of Health Policy of the Ministry, on the brief outline of the new law and main debate issues.

 ○ Then, stakeholders representing different groups will debate on the stance on health management service legislation and its implementation.

  - The debate will be attended by stakeholders including Korean Medical Association, Korean Hospital Association, the Association of Korean Oriental Medicine, Korean Nurses' Association, and the Korean Dietetic Association;

  - the Pan-National Campaign Headquarters against Privatization of Healthcare and for Strengthened National Health Insurance Coverage, which had expressed disapproval towards the institutionalization of health management services;

  - public health centers which currently run health management service voucher programs on a pilot basis, private organizations, academic experts, and members representing media groups.

□  Choi Won-young, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, who will participate at this public hearing, has commented,

 ○ “The health management service system will be a revolutionary system in the field of health and medical services. Though it still needs a lot of improvement, this can be done in the process of developing the system."

 ○ In addition, he has expressed strong determination for institutionalizing health management services, as he commented, "We need to take action now to reduce rapidly growing burden of disease due to population aging and increase of chronic illnesses. I would like to ask for everyone's attention and cooperation to ensure that the right services can be introduced."

□ Through this public hearing, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will collect different opinions and comments and review them  thoroughly.

 ○ The Ministry will also strive to complement the bill as it gets reviewed at the National Assembly.