China's Health Insurance Finances Transitioned to a Surplus of 5.5 Billion Won

The financial balance of the health insurance for Chinese nationals has transitioned into a surplus for the first time last year.

The health insurance finances for Chinese nationals, which had been recording chronic deficits, achieved a surplus of 5.5 billion won.

According to data on 'Foreigners' Health Insurance Financial Balance' submitted by the National Health Insurance Corporation to Seo Myung-ok, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, the health insurance premiums paid by Chinese nationals in 2023 amounted to 936.9 billion won, surpassing the benefit payments of 931.4 billion won by 5.5 billion won.

This marks a significant turnaround from deficits of 22.9 billion won in 2022 and 10.9 billion won in 2021. Notably, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were substantial deficits recorded: 110.8 billion won in 2017, 150.9 billion won in 2018, and 98.7 billion won in 2019, which had raised concerns over "health insurance exploitation."

Impact of Strengthened Criteria for Foreign Dependent Eligibility

This change is analyzed as being influenced by the policy strengthening the eligibility criteria for foreign dependents that came into effect in April last year.

According to the revised 'National Health Insurance Act,’ foreigners are now required to reside in South Korea for more than six months before qualifying as dependents under Korean health insurance.

In fact, if we look at the monthly health insurance financial balance for foreigners, there were surpluses of 58 billion won in January and 61.3 billion won in March of last year; however, after the legal amendment in April, the surplus surged to 81.2 billion won. This indicates that the system improvement has positively impacted the financial stability of foreign health insurance.

The overall surplus in the health insurance finances targeting foreigners has also expanded.

Last year, the foreign health insurance finances recorded a surplus of 943.9 billion won, an increase of 29.2% from the previous year’s 730.8 billion won.

However, the surplus amount from health insurance for Chinese nationals remains relatively small compared to other countries.

In the case of Vietnam, 193.3 billion won was paid in premiums, resulting in a surplus of 120.3 billion won, whereas China paid approximately five times more at 936.9 billion won but only achieved a surplus of 5.5 billion won.

Seo Myung-ok emphasized, "The health insurance financial balance for Chinese nationals turning into a surplus after recording deficits of over 100 billion won is encouraging," but added, "Further efforts will be necessary to prevent the controversy surrounding free riding by foreigners and to secure the financial soundness of the health insurance system."

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