Health ministry closes integrated care forum with focus on sustainable funding

The health ministry said Tuesday it held the fifth and final forum on integrated community care, turning the discussion to how the program will be funded and how costs should be divided between the central government and local authorities.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare hosted the event at B&D Partners in Yongsan District, Seoul, under the theme "Fiscal Tasks for the Successful Implementation of Integrated Care."

The forum series has examined the program's present and future, its target population, its delivery system, its supply infrastructure and community cooperation across five sessions.

Lee Young-sook, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, presented on the 2027 integrated care budget and directions for securing resources, setting out options for raising funds as care demand grows, including a special account, a fund and a comprehensive subsidy. Oh Byung-ki, a doctor and head of the economic and industrial research office at the Jeonnam Research Institute, examined the local fiscal issues raised by medical and long-term care programs, proposing improved criteria for allocating state subsidies, an adjusted cost split between metropolitan and basic local governments, and joint services across regions.

A panel discussion followed, chaired by Byun Jae-kwan, policy chair of Care and Future. Participants included experts in taxation, local administration and health care from the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the Korea Local Tax Institute, Seoul Medical Center, Kangnam University, the Busan Research Institute and the health ministry, along with local government officials and journalists.

"For integrated care to take a stable place in people's daily lives, it is important to expand the services that are needed and, at the same time, to build the financial foundation that will support them on a continuing basis," said Eun Seong-ho, head of the ministry's population and social services policy office. "As various measures for securing resources and sharing costs have been put forward, I hope this forum serves as an opportunity to look at practical applicability and specific measures together."