The Health Insurance Policy Review Committee (Commissioner) that will deliberate and decide on the health insurance budget for two years from this year until 2027 has been confirmed.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 12th, the list of the 9th-term Commissioners has recently been finalized, and appointments have been completed.
The Committee decides on the health insurance premiums paid by the public and the medical fees received by doctors. The Vice Minister serves as the Chairperson, with eight representatives from subscriber organizations (two each from labor and management representatives, and one each from civic, consumer, agricultural, and self-employed organizations), eight representatives from provider organizations (six from the medical field and two from the pharmaceutical field), and eight public interest representatives (two civil servants, one from the National Health Insurance Service, one from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, and four experts) participating in equal numbers.
In the previous 8th term, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions participated as worker representatives, but in the current 9th term, their respective affiliated organizations—the Korean Health and Medical Industry Workers Union and the Korean Medical Industry Workers Union Federation—will participate.
Among civic organizations, the YWCA Federation, which participated in the 8th term, has been replaced by the Korea Consumer Agency. The consumer organization, the Korea Patients' Organization Federation, will also participate again following the previous term. The representative participant has been changed from Ahn Ki-jong to Lee Eun-young.
The agricultural and self-employed organizations have changed. The Agricultural Management Association and the Restaurant Association, which participated in the previous term, are replaced by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the National Small Business Federation in this term.
All four expert public interest representatives have been replaced. They include Dr. Shin Hyung-woong from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Professor Ham Myung-il from Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Professor Cho Min-woo from Ulsan University College of Medicine, and Professor Kim Eun-young from Chung-ang University College of Pharmacy.
Provider organizations participating in the Committee remain the same. They include the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Hospital Association, the Korean Dental Association, the Korean Oriental Medical Association, the Korean Nurses Association, and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio Association.
The participation of the large private insurance union, which had been controversial, was canceled. The Ministry of Welfare requested recommendations for Commissioners from 130 public and private enterprise unions earlier last month, but there were criticisms in the market that private insurance could exert influence over the operation of public health insurance. Ultimately, it was decided that private insurance unions would not participate as Commissioners.