암 환자의 민간의료보험 가입 실태와 관련 요인

• Published in: Journal of preventive medicine and public health Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 150 - 154
• Main Authors: 임진화, 김성경, 이은미, 배신영, 박재현, 최귀선, 함명일, 박은철, Lim, Jin-Hwa, Kim, Sung-Gyeong, Lee, Eun-Mi, Bae, Sin-Young, Park, Jae-Hyun, Choi, Kui-Son, Hahm, Myung-Il, Park, Eun-Cheol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한예방의학회 01.03.2007
• Subjects: 예방의학; National Health Programs; Health; Private sector; Insurance; Cancer
• ISSN: 1975-8375; 2233-4521

Objectives : The aim of this study is to identify factors determining the purchase of private health insurance under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea. Methods : The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. It includes cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer. Data were gathered from the hospital Order Communication System (OCS), medical records, and face-to-face interviews, using a structured questionnaire. Clinical, socio-demographic and private health insurance related factors were also gathered. Results : Overall, 43.9% of patients had purchased one or more private health insurance schemes related to cancer, with an average monthly premium of \65,311 and an average benefit amount of \19million. Females, younger aged, high income earners, national health insurers and metropolitan citizens were more likely to purchase private health insurance than their counterparts. Conclusions : About half of Korean people have supple-mentary private health insurance and their benefits are sufficient to cover the out-of-pocket fees required for cancer treatment, but inequality remains in the purchase of private health insurance. Further studies are needed to investigate the impacts of private health insurance on NHI, and the relationship between cancer patients' burden and benefits.