The debate on the pros and cons of a bill granting the National Health Insurance Corporation special judicial police authority is heating up as it passes the Bill Review Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly.
There is a conflict between the argument that health insurance financial leakage should be prevented by eradicating illegally opened medical institutions, such as office hospitals, and the concern that granting investigative rights to the National Health Insurance Corporation, the insurer, could lead to excessive investigations and human rights violations.
In a statement on the 12th, the Korean Medical Association said, "We express deep regret and anger that the National Health Insurance Corporation Special Envoy Bill was passed by the Legislative and Judiciary Committee's Legislative Subcommittee despite repeated opposition from the medical community," and pointed out, "It is clear legislative monopoly that the ruling party pushed through a bill that was scrapped in the 21st National Assembly and whose many loopholes were revealed in the recent audit of government affairs."
The Korean Medical Association argued, "Giving mandatory investigation rights to the National Health Insurance Corporation, which is a stakeholder that reviews and pays nursing benefits, is a measure that seriously undermines the fairness and objectivity of the investigation." They added, "If the prosecutors' right to command the investigation is abolished, if independent investigation rights are granted to the Corporation's employees, excessive investigation and separate investigation will be abused, and even good-intentioned medical institutions will suffer serious damage due to hasty payment withholding measures."
The Korean Medical Association said, “The National Health Insurance Corporation’s special envoy is only unnecessarily increasing the size and authority of a large public institution that has been criticized for its negligent management and moral laxity with taxpayers’ money,” and added, “The true solution is to strengthen prior verification and police investigation capabilities centered on medical professional groups, and establish a cooperation system between investigative agencies.”
The Korean Medical Association held a rally at the National Assembly building this afternoon to oppose the introduction of the National Health Insurance Corporation's special envoy and called for the withdrawal of the bill.
The Korean Hospital Association also issued a statement, saying, "The National Health Insurance Corporation is an insurer, not a medical institution supervision or investigation agency, and granting investigative rights to the Corporation may damage the legal relationship between insurers and medical institutions and cause unnecessary conflict and distrust," and expressed concern, "It may diminish the autonomy of medical fields and ultimately have a negative impact on the public's stable use of medical services."
He continued, "In order to eradicate illegal medical institutions, we must strengthen the expertise and collaboration of existing investigative agencies, rather than granting new authority to specific agencies," and added, "It is desirable for the National Health Insurance Corporation to support investigative agencies, and for the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments to strengthen their responsibilities and roles as investigators."
In response, the National Health Insurance Corporation and the labor community are refuting the claims of doctors and hospital groups and are urging that the special envoy bill be passed as soon as possible.
According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, on the 10th, Chairman Kang Cheong-hee met with Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Association Chairman Lee Dong-wook, who visited the hospital to protest against the special envoy, and said, "We have established safety measures to address issues such as human rights violations and abuse of authority that the medical community is concerned about."
The National Health Insurance Corporation announced that it plans to substantially guarantee medical institutions' right to explanation and regularly listen to and consult with the medical community's opinions regarding on-site investigations.
The National Public Transport and Social Services Union and the National Health Insurance Union said in a statement, "The claims of the Korean Medical Association and others are nothing more than malicious misdirection of public opinion," and "The scope of the special envoy's duties as specified in the legislation is strictly limited to charges of illegal establishment and license lending by non-medical personnel, and accusing this of being an abuse of authority is clearly false propaganda."
The union emphasized, “Concerns about human rights violations and abuse of investigative power can be thoroughly controlled institutionally,” and “blocking leaked health insurance finances is a way to relieve the burden of increased insurance premiums on the public and secure public finances to strengthen essential medical care and health insurance coverage.”
He emphasized, "In order to protect the public's insurance premiums and block illegal medical institutions that are proliferating, it is urgent to improve the system, including the corporation's investigative authority that goes beyond the limits of the current administrative investigation."
