The interim evaluation results of the 'Integrated Support Program for Medical and Care Services,' which provides comprehensive care services for the elderly living in their residences, have been released. The service linkage matching rate was 87.8%, and the satisfaction rate for life support services was 89.1%, which were very high. However, it was found that some improvements are needed regarding housing support. There was also an effect of reduced expenditure on insurance premiums by the Health Insurance Corporation.
Yoo Ae-jeong, head of the Integrated Support Policy Development Center at the National Health Insurance Corporation, presented the analysis results of the interim evaluation of the integrated support pilot project at the 'Policy Forum on Integrated Support for Medical, Nursing, and Care Services' held at the Peace and Park Convention in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 13th.
The 'Integrated Support Program for Medical and Care Services' is designed to help the elderly live healthily in their later years at their residence. Previously, health care, health management and prevention, long-term care, and daily living support were provided individually, but now they are bundled into one program to provide services centered on the needs of users. Before the integration support was implemented, the elderly had to apply for the necessary projects and obtain approval directly, whereas with the introduction of integration support, by applying only to the integrated project, agencies discover and provide necessary services for the elderly.
The integrated support pilot project is overseen by the National Health Insurance Corporation and runs from July 2023 to December of this year. It will transition into a full-scale program starting next year, allowing municipalities nationwide to implement integrated support.
Yoo noted, 'We conducted an interim evaluation on 4,000 participants from a total of 6,000 who participated from the start of the project until April of last year,' adding, 'Although the project duration is short at one year, satisfaction has been reported to be high.'
Through the pilot project, the hospitalization rate in nursing hospitals and the admission rate to long-term care facilities also significantly decreased. The Health Insurance Corporation's expenditure also slightly decreased. When considering both health insurance and long-term care expenses, the participant group in the pilot project experienced a decrease in health insurance costs by 536,335 won compared to the non-participant group, while long-term care insurance costs increased by 123,408 won. This indicates that per capita expenditure for recipients from the Health Insurance Corporation decreased by 412,927 won.
Yoo explained, 'While we need to wait until we complete the three-year pilot program this year for accurate results, the system is quickly establishing itself compared to initial operations. However, we need to consider the issue of service quality due to resource disparities among municipalities.'
On this day, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its plan to expand the scope of the integrated support pilot project, which had been limited to existing seniors. It seems that the intention is to include the disabled and individuals with mental illness as targets for integrated care, thereby reducing social expenses and alleviating the burden on caregivers.
Lee Seon-sik, head of the Medical and Care Linkage Team at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, 'We will prioritize individuals with high medical and care needs while gradually expanding the target population,' adding, 'We will develop a method to assess the medical needs of individuals with mental illnesses by the end of this year and establish evaluation indicators.'