Seoul, Jan 4: A total of KRW 122,377.9 billion has been confirmed for the 2024 budget of the Ministry of Health and Welfare through resolution of the National Assembly on December 21, 2023. The 2024 budget has increased by 12.1% or KRW 13,194.9 billion from the 2023 budget of KRW 109,183.0 billion.
The 2024 budget has been expanded mainly in support for the weak and social services (+ KRW 71.7 billion), greater focus on essential healthcare (+ KRW 57.0 billion), support for childbirth and childcare (+ KRW 33.3 billion), and mental healthcare (+ KRW 13.2 billion), as per a government statement.
“The government will spend KRW 8.5 billion on a pilot project involving 10 designated institutions to develop a nursing service system befitting the needs of geriatric long-term care hospitals, thereby alleviating the care burden for the public and raising the quality of nursing services,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
The government will newly provide KRW 2.0 billion for the treatment of incontinence and spend KRW 1.2 billion to expand the support for knee joint surgery by 1,000 persons from 2,183 to 3,183 in an effort to improve the quality of life for the elderly.
The “fringe benefit” available to severely handicapped persons to cover the additional expenses they incur due to their disabilities will be increased for the first time in 11 years from KRW 80,000 to KRW 90,000 per month (KRW 26.9 billion). A total of KRW 600 million will be newly allocated for education and expertise allowance (KRW 50,000 per month) for individuals who provide care services to persons with the most severe developmental disabilities.
Incentives will be provided on a temporary basis to help 41 public medical institutions including local medical centers carry out management innovation. Infrastructure augmentation will include introducing robotic surgery equipment (2 units, KRW 1.4 billion) for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and installing state-of-the-art equipment at local cancer centers (KRW 500 million).
KRW 4.2 billion will be spent to open 12 new local counseling centers aimed at helping at-risk pregnant women through counseling and anonymous childbirth in order to prevent out-of-hospital childbirths and child abandonment, given the fact that medical institutions are now required by law to report all childbirths.
The government will increase the monthly diaper subsidy for low-income families from KRW 80,000 to KRW 90,000, raise the infant formula subsidy (KRW 4.9 billion) from KRW 100,000 per month to KRW 110,000, open two regional support center for childcare (KRW 1.0 billion), and allocate KRW 10.8 billion for introducing a meal sanitation management subsidy for daycare centers.
Further, the government will spend KRW 900 million on assisting with the operation of facilities that treat and care for drug addicts and KRW 500 million on improving these facilities. In addition, the number of drug addicts eligible for financial support for treatment will be increased from 350 to 1,000.
The government will create a hospital bed availability information system and increase the number of beds allocated for accommodating emergency mental illness patients to facilitate timely hospitalization and treatment of persons with mental illness (110 beds, KRW 2.1 billion). Some KRW 700 million will be used to expand local community-based recovery support programs by operating three peer support shelters and two short-term shelters.
There will be an expansion of suicide prevention and counseling hotlines. KRW 1.7 billion will be allocated to support hiring additional 20 counselors earlier than scheduled to increase the counseling response rate amid the growing counseling demand, as well as to provide youths with counseling services via various media.
