South Korea to reform laws to prevent health insurance exploitation by foreigners

South Korea is discussing possible amendments to its laws as concerns growing over the increasing number of foreigners abusing loopholes in the country’s private healthcare insurance services.

Chinese foreign residents have been singled out, as following diagnoses of cancer or brain disorders in their home country, the alleged exploiters make themselves dependents of Chinese citizens with F-2 or F-5 visas living in South Korea. This, in turn, makes them eligible for health insurance programs offered by private insurers.

According to a report from Pulse News Korea, the rising number of these occurrences has subsequently raised concerns over possible vulnerabilities in the private insurance programs in the country. A report from a Korean publication found that the highest 30 payouts for foreigners in South Korea were between $9,842 and $40,910. Seven of the top 10 payouts involve Chinese beneficiaries or those of Chinese nationality.

Some of these beneficiaries were also accused of having violations, being believed to have exploited the inherent vulnerability in insurance coverages that Korean insurers find it hard to identify the local medical history of records. These accused Chinese individuals also allegedly did not report their pre-existing medical conditions and history to secure insurance coverage in the country, a stark contrast to local customers with these conditions who often struggle to get themselves insured.

As a response to these developments, the South Korea Ministry of Justice proposed raising the limit in investment requirements for the Public Utility Investment Scheme. The investment cap needed for residency will be raised in hopes of making it harder to exploit the healthcare insurance system in the country.

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