MOHW to Set Next Year's Budget at 148.7697 Trillion Won, Increase State Support for National Health Insurance

[Financial News] The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has drawn up a 2027 budget proposal of 148.7697 trillion won, up 8.2% from this year's main budget. Including the Future Response Fund, which covers the child basic allowance and child-rearing support payments, total spending rises to 152.4328 trillion won, an increase of 10.9%.
 The government approved the 2027 MOHW budget proposal at a State Council of South Korea meeting held on the morning of the 1st.
 Next year's budget focuses on regional and essential care, financial support for National Health Insurance, stronger care and social safety nets, and the development of health care AI and the biohealth industry. In particular, state support for National Health Insurance has been set at 13.8 trillion won, about 1.1 trillion won more than this year. Of that amount, 11.8 trillion won will come from the general account, equal to 12.3% of expected National Health Insurance premium revenue next year. Another 2 trillion won will be provided from the Health Promotion Fund, about 765 billion won more than this year and equal to 65% of expected tobacco-related revenue.
 The budget also includes expanded spending on medical aid. For severely disabled people who receive livelihood benefits, the government will abolish the support-obligor standard, increasing the number of medical aid recipients by about 30,000. It will also expand basic medical fee support to 138,000 more people. For sickness allowance, 2.45 billion won has been reflected as operating funds for next year's pilot program. A plan for a full-scale rollout is now being prepared.
 A new special account worth 1.26 trillion won will be created for regional and essential care. Priority will go to areas far from the Seoul metropolitan region and to public medical institutions. The government will also support local governments so they can design medical services tailored to local conditions. Tuition and housing costs will be provided to 490 students in the regional doctor selection track, while the number of contract-based regional essential doctors will be expanded to 448.
 Investment in health care AI and the biohealth industry will also be strengthened. The government will spend 38.7 billion won on a PHR-based AI and medical image sharing project, and 34.9 billion won on building a National Health and Medical Data Hub and Sovereign AI. It will newly allocate 37.7 billion won to support the commercialization of AI care robots and 14.5 billion won for related R&D.
 To foster biohealth unicorn companies, the government will newly provide 5 billion won in vouchers to 13 young startups. It will also push ahead with a K-healthcare integrated hub platform that includes expanded skin big data, overseas expansion for K-beauty, and non-face-to-face medical consultation services for foreign patients.
 Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong said, "We prepared the budget with a focus on expanding regional, essential and public health care so that high-quality medical services are guaranteed no matter where people live."

[email protected] Jung Sang-hee Reporter