▲ Ministry of Health and Welfare
As the number of recipients for long-term care insurance continues to grow amid rapid population aging, the government has decided to finalize next year's long-term care rates and insurance premiums by October of this year, with a strong focus on expanding home-based services.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it has formed the 7th Long-Term Care Committee and held its 3rd meeting today (August 14) to discuss the long-term care insurance rates and financial operation direction for 2027.
The Long-Term Care Committee is an organization established under the Minister of Health and Welfare to deliberate on major issues concerning long-term care insurance.
Chaired by the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, the committee consists of 16 to 22 members, including one vice chairperson.
In accordance with the Act on Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly, the ministry deliberates on the elderly long-term care insurance rates and premium rates through this committee every year.
During today's 3rd committee meeting, members discussed the basic direction for long-term care insurance rates and financial operations for 2027, examined long-term care financial conditions, and exchanged views on future meeting schedules.
According to the ministry, as of the end of last year, long-term care insurance revenue stood at 13.6715 trillion won, while expenditures reached 13.4323 trillion won.
The government plans to discuss improvements to next year's rate system with key objectives of strengthening long-term care security and creating a stable working environment by improving treatment for care workers and other care providers.
In addition, the government aims to determine an appropriate level of insurance premium rates that considers expenditure scale, such as the number of long-term care recipients and rate increase rates, while maintaining appropriate levels of cumulative balance and reserves to ensure the system's sustainability.
Next year's rates and long-term care insurance premium rates are scheduled to be finalized after October, following discussions by the Long-Term Care Working Committee and other bodies.
Hyun Soo-yup, First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, diagnosed, "As the number of long-term care recipients is expected to increase rapidly due to super-aging, we must continuously monitor financial issues. Diverse service demands, such as integrated care, are emerging, and expanding home-based services is also a crucial task. The policy paradigm is shifting so that elderly people can spend their later years in the places where they have lived for as long as possible."
Vice Minister Hyun added, "Moving forward, we will qualitatively improve long-term care services so that they can be felt on the ground while maintaining a balanced consideration of the public burden and the conditions of the insurance finance."
(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Yonhap News)
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