Starting next year, the age for receiving child allowances will be gradually increased, and integrated medical and care services for the elderly and disabled will be fully implemented. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its work plan on the 16th, focusing on expanding the age for child allowances, nationwide expansion of integrated medical and care services, and reducing medical expenses. The vision is to build a strong welfare nation where all citizens are happy, with four main goals: strengthening national responsibility for care, establishing a basic living safety net, enhancing regional, essential, and public healthcare, and innovating health and welfare for the future.
First, integrated care services that allow the elderly and disabled to receive medical, nursing, and care services at their current residence will be fully implemented from March next year. To this end, home medical centers and integrated home care institutions will be expanded, and the target of customized care services for the elderly will be increased. New services with high demand, such as intensive support for discharged patients and frailty prevention management, will also be introduced. Support will be provided for the development of region-specific care services, and home medical infrastructure will be expanded in medically underserved areas through the participation of public medical institutions and hospitals. A roadmap for the establishment of an integrated care delivery system and the construction of an information system will also be gradually promoted.
The age for receiving child allowances will be raised by one year each year, reaching under 13 years old by 2030. Additional allowances will be provided to children in non-metropolitan and depopulated areas. Medical support for pregnancy and childbirth will also be expanded, increasing the target for fertility testing support and raising the medical expense support limit for premature babies to a maximum of 20 million won. Moonlight Children’s Hospitals will be expanded to address the gap in pediatric care during nights and holidays. In the field of care for the disabled, daytime and after-school activity services for people with developmental disabilities will be increased, and the professional allowance for caregivers of the most severely disabled will be raised. The pilot project for ‘community independence support for the disabled,’ which will be implemented nationwide from March 2027, will be gradually expanded, and activity support services for daily life will also be gradually expanded.
The standard median income will be raised to the maximum level, providing a livelihood benefit of up to 2.07 million won per month for a four-person household. The target for national pension insurance premium support for low-income regional subscribers will be expanded, and a project to support the first national pension premium for young people will be promoted with the goal of introduction by 2027. Military service and childbirth credits will also be expanded to strengthen old-age income security. Additionally, to reduce the burden of medical expenses, the criteria for medical benefit dependents will be gradually eased, and efforts will be made to reduce the burden of nursing care costs in nursing hospitals. The procedure for listing rare disease treatments will be improved to increase treatment accessibility. The suicide prevention response system will also be strengthened. High-risk mental and psychological groups will be identified early through counseling processes for vulnerable groups and linked to support, and AI will be used to monitor suicide-inducing information.