In the future, the ‘Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund’ provided to patients with hypertension and diabetes when they practice 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 the health management of patients with hypertension and diabetes and those with health risk factors.
The ‘Health Lifestyle Practice Support Fund’ is a project that provides financial incentives (accumulated points for use) when patients with hypertension and diabetes or those included in the health risk group among general health check-up recipients practice healthy lifestyles such as walking and education. From the 15th, the management type used by patients participating in the primary care chronic disease management project will be improved to automatically deduct the medical expenses within the range of points held when paying at participating clinics.
With this improvement, a system has been established to allow patients to pay medical expenses within the range of points they hold after receiving treatment at participating clinics in the primary care chronic disease management project without issuing a health practice card. In addition, the preventive type, in which the health risk group participates, will expand the pilot project area from 15 to 50 regions from the 15th. The pilot project, which started in July 2021, has continuously received requests for regional expansion, and the preventive type target area will be expanded to 50 regions nationwide to provide broader participation opportunities.
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 to manage patients with hypertension and diabetes,” adding, “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.”