The "eight-week rule" for auto insurance, whose introduction had been repeatedly delayed amid opposition from the medical community and some medical consumer groups, has cleared the Ministry of Government Legislation. The Korean medicine community still opposes adopting the eight-week rule, drawing industry attention to whether the system will ultimately be implemented.
According to the financial authorities on the 2nd, a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Automobile Damage Compensation Act that includes the eight-week rule recently passed the Ministry of Government Legislation review. The eight-week rule requires patients with minor injuries from car accidents (injury grades 12–14) to provide additional proof of medical necessity if they receive treatment for more than eight weeks. Under the revision, patients with minor injuries who want treatment for eight weeks or longer must submit materials on the severity of injury and treatment progress and request a review from the Traffic Accident Compensation Supervisory Service (TACSS) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The TACSS will examine the case and notify the patient, the insurer, and others of the review outcome.
The government revised the Enforcement Decree of the Automobile Damage Compensation Act in Jun. last year and decided to implement the eight-week rule on Jan. 1 this year. However, the Korean medicine community and consumer groups opposed it, saying it restricts the treatment rights of patients with minor injuries, delaying implementation. At the time, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties criticized it during a National Assembly audit, and the government ultimately decided to reconsider the introduction of the system from scratch.
Subsequently, in Jan. this year, the Financial Supervisory Service gave notice of a revision to the detailed enforcement regulations for insurance supervision work and set Mar. 1 as the introduction date for the eight-week rule. However, amid renewed opposition from the Korean medicine community, the introduction date was postponed to the 1st of this month, and even that was delayed. After three deferrals, the enforcement decree revision containing the eight-week rule passed the Ministry of Government Legislation review. The eight-week rule will be finalized for implementation after approval by the Cabinet meeting.
The Korean medicine community still strongly opposes introducing the system. The Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) recently said in a statement, "We will respond firmly to any attempt to infringe on the people's right to treatment and will mobilize all means to block it to the end."
The government and the insurance industry believe that excessive treatment by some customers is raising the loss ratio of auto insurance, increasing premium burdens for all policyholders. According to auto insurance statistics from the four major non-life insurers last year—Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, KB Insurance, and DB Insurance—among patients with minor injuries who received treatment for more than eight weeks after car accidents, 138,991 (87.9%) were Korean medicine patients. The insurance industry views this excessive treatment structure in Korean medicine as a factor driving premium hikes.
An insurance industry official said, "As Korean medicine hospitals specializing in car accidents have sprung up everywhere, the moral hazard of some patients is translating into harm for all auto insurance policyholders," adding, "If the system is implemented in the first half of this year, we expect it could prevent next year's auto insurance premium increases."