Korean Long Term Care Insurance Scheme LTCI Strengths

Strengths of the Korean Long-Term Care Insurance Scheme (LTCI)
As Kang, Park, and Lee (2012) point out, “with the rapid aging of the population, Korea introduced public long-term care insurance for older people in 2008.” It is important to note that South Korea’s long-term care insurance (LTIC) has a number of strengths. These will be highlighted in this text.
First, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific – UNESCAP (2016) points out that the LTCI scheme has greatly enhanced the welfare of not only the aging population, but also families taking care of older persons. This, according to the UNESCAP, is more so the case given that with the LTCI scheme, the country effectively transformed the long-term care services which were largely residual and selective into universal care services. It is important to note that prior to the introduction of the LTCI scheme, older person families had to foot all the bills associated with caring for their loved ones. Towards this end, the LTCI scheme has effectively relieved numerous families of this specific burden (UNESCAP, 2016). This is particularly beneficial given that as Kang, Park, and Lee (2012) observe, Korea’s population is aging rapidly. This could have occasioned a significant burden to families going forward. With the LTCI scheme, families can apportion resources to other needs such as education, food, and shelter. In the long-term, this is likely to positively impact the overall economic wellbeing of the nation.
Secondly, by design, the LTCI scheme effectively improves and enhances the quality of life of the country’s senior citizens. This is more so the case given that as per the scheme’s provisions, “the elderly aged 65 yrs. and older or persons less than 65 who have geriatric diseases are eligible for benefits through an assessment process certifying the presence of disability in physical and cognitive functioning” (Kang, Park, and Lee, 2012). With the LTCI scheme, the country’s retirees can access better care and services – effectively alleviating their suffering as a consequence of various chronic conditions, most of which are associated with advancement in age. Such conditions include, but they are not limited to, back pain, diabetes mellitus, hypotension, cataract, Alzheimer’s disease, and arthrosis of the knee. As a matter of fact, according to Kang, Park, and Lee, (2012), it has been shown that in the older population “hypertension, cerebral infarction, arthrosis of the knee, and dementia were common conditions requiring health services.”
Third, under the LTCI scheme, beneficiaries have the discretion of selecting a service provider of their choice. This is a shift from the past whereby long-term care services were provider-centered. Instead, with LTCI scheme, long-term care services are now beneficiary-centered (UNESCAP, 2016). This move to enable beneficiaries to select or appoint service providers is likely “to enhance service quality by competition between providers” (UNESCAP, 2016).
Lastly, the LTCI scheme is responsive to the modern-day demands of healthcare insurance. In addition to establishing a system that efficiently assess who exactly needs care, the LTCI scheme, as UNESCAP (2016) points out, makes use of “the National Health Insurance scheme to finance its services” (20). In essence, the implementation of the LTCI scheme led to a very minimal increment in contribution to the National Health Insurance contribution. Also, the voucher system ensured that significant cost savings were made with the establishment of numerous for-profit providers of services (UNESCAP, 2016). The creation of care facilities that were publicly managed could have been a capital intensive undertaking.
References
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific – ESCAP (2016). SDD-SPPS Project Working Papers Series Long-Term Care for Older Persons in Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Long-term%20care%20for%20older%20persons%20in%20the%20Republic%20of%20Korea.pdf
Kang, Park, & Lee, (2012). Role of Healthcare in Korean Long-Term Care Insurance. J Korean Med Sci., 27(suppl.), 41-46.