In the future, the ‘Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund’ provided to patients with hypertension and diabetes for practicing healthy lifestyles such as walking and education will be automatically deducted when paying medical bills. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Corporation announced on the 14th that they would improve the pilot project of the Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund to strengthen health management for patients with hypertension and diabetes and those with health risk factors.
The ‘Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund’ is a project that provides financial incentives (points accumulation and use) to those who practice healthy lifestyles such as walking and education among patients participating in the primary care chronic disease management project or those included in the health risk group among general health check-up recipients. From the 15th, the management type used by patients participating in the primary care chronic disease management project will be improved to allow automatic deduction within the range of points held when paying medical bills at participating clinics.
With this improvement, even without issuing a health practice card, a system has been established to allow patients to pay medical bills within the range of points they hold after receiving treatment at participating clinics in the primary care chronic disease management project. Additionally, the preventive type, in which health risk groups participate, will expand the pilot project areas from the existing 15 to 50 areas starting from the 15th.
Lim Eun-jung, head of the Health Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, ‘We are continuously promoting system improvements, such as converting the primary care chronic disease management project into a main project for the management of hypertension and diabetes patients,’ and added, ‘We expect that more people will practice healthy lifestyles on their own through this improvement of the Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund.’ Park Hyang-jung, head of the Health Support Project Office at the National Health Insurance Corporation, emphasized, ‘We will continue to expand the pilot project of the Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund and improve convenience so that people can prevent and manage chronic diseases through self-directed healthy lifestyle practices.’