Health ministry launches pilot to escort seniors to hospitals

The health ministry said Wednesday it will launch a pilot project on July 30 to help elderly patients navigate hospital visits with the assistance of professional care workers, aiming to reduce the burden on families who have traditionally accompanied seniors to medical appointments.

A total of 282 institutions, comprising 170 integrated home care providers and 112 nursing facilities, were selected through a public recruitment process to deliver the service. Care workers from these centers, including visiting caregivers and nurses at partnered facilities, will accompany beneficiaries from their homes to the hospital, assisting with registration, payments, examinations and collecting prescribed medications before returning them home safely.

The initiative targets long-term care beneficiaries rated from grade one to five who use integrated home care services or partnered nursing facilities. Participants can utilize the service up to a limit of 500,000 won per person in 2026, with costs shared according to the existing long-term care insurance co-payment rates.

Choi Bong-geun, the ministry's senior policy officer for the elderly, called the move a first step toward sharing the responsibilities of hospital travel and diagnosis that families have shouldered alone. "We will carefully review feedback from the field to ensure this becomes a service that seniors and their families can truly feel," he said.

Eun Sran, the ministry's first vice minister, added that providing sufficient and diverse care services is essential for seniors to live healthy lives within their communities, noting plans to continuously expand long-term care home services and actively introduce various new offerings.