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🇰🇷 South Korea /Health & Science

Care That Starts by Asking “How Are You?” Seen as a Step Toward Publicly Funded Nursing

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • A pilot program at South Korean nursing hospitals has reduced one patient’s monthly caregiving bill from 750,000 won to 350,000 won while giving caregivers more time for patients.
  • The government plans to assess the pilot and consider applying health insurance to nursing costs, potentially reducing eligible patients’ out-of-pocket share to about 30%.
  • Hospitals and experts warn that direct employment and shortages of caregiving staff could hinder expansion, while others call for broader reform of the nursing-hospital system.

“How are you feeling today?” became a meaningful question for a bedridden patient at Seoulsan Nursing Hospital in Ansan. Before joining a government caregiving pilot, Lee Bok-min, 78, could barely speak with a caregiver. One dispatched worker looked after at least six patients. Now, nursing-care workers have time to talk with him as well as provide basic care.

Lee’s monthly caregiving bill also fell from 750,000 won to 350,000 won after he was selected for the program in June. The pilot, which began in April 2024, supports patients with the highest or high medical-care needs who also hold the first or second level of long-term-care eligibility. As of the end of July, 654 patients had been selected across 19 nursing hospitals in 10 areas, including Ansan, Busan and Daegu.

How are you feeling today?

· Kim Ok-sunA caregiver at a nursing hospital asks a bedridden patient about his condition.

The program has also changed working conditions for some caregivers. Kim Ok-sun, a 63-year-old caregiver at the hospital, said she previously worked 24-hour shifts every other day while caring for 10 patients. Under the pilot, she works eight-hour shifts and cares for five or six patients, allowing her to provide better care. However, direct employment is not mandatory, and only eight of the 19 participating hospitals directly employ caregivers.

The public support and management system for caregiving services themselves is far too inadequate.

· Kim Won-ilA civic group policy committee member argues that a public caregiving system needs to be established.

The pilot ends in October, and the government plans to convert it next year into a broader pilot applying health insurance to nursing-hospital caregiving costs. Officials are considering lowering eligible patients’ share from the current 100% to about 30%, while selecting 500 nursing hospitals with at least 100 beds and directly employed caregivers. Hospitals say staffing remains the main obstacle. A survey of 7,167 caregivers at 227 hospitals found that only 10% were directly employed and 82% were aged 60 or older.

Civic groups and academics say public support and management systems must come first. They also argue that South Korea should redefine the roles of nursing hospitals and nursing homes before expanding insurance coverage. The Health Ministry said it would finalize the direction of the program after evaluating the current pilot and gathering expert opinions, while first developing standard training for domestic caregivers before considering foreign workers in stages.

The high-cost, nursing-hospital-centered care structure should be changed first. Before providing caregiving costs through health insurance, the functions of nursing hospitals need to be redefined.

· Seok Jae-eunA social welfare professor calls for structural reform before expanding insurance coverage.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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