Health · Healthcare & Policy · 2 hrs ago
Unclaimed South Korean medical refunds rose 85% from 2020 to 2022
South Korea's National Health Insurance Service refunds patients when their yearly covered medical costs exceed a set limit.
Unclaimed refunds rose from 15,759 cases in 2020 to 29,126 in 2022, after patients failed to apply before a three-year deadline.
The total amount left unclaimed grew from 12.738 billion won to 22.12 billion won over the same period.
Low-income people made up a growing share of the cases, while people aged 60 or older accounted for 73.8% of cases in 2022.
Patients can arrange for future refunds to be paid automatically into a designated bank account, but some people miss notices sent digitally or by post.
The figures have renewed calls to reduce reliance on applications, and the service plans to deduct unpaid insurance premiums and related charges from refunds to people with long-term arrears.
Unclaimed South Korean medical refunds rose 84.8%, from 15,759 cases in 2020 to 29,126 in 2022.
The total unclaimed amount increased 73.7%, from 12.738 billion won to 22.12 billion won.
Low-income people made up a growing share of those who missed refunds, while the share among higher-income people fell.
People aged 60 and over accounted for 73.8% of refund cases that expired in 2022.
A lawmaker called for changes to the application-based system, which can leave older people and low-income households behind.
- Who
- South Korean National Health Insurance Service members and their dependants eligible for medical cost refunds.
- What
- Refunds left unclaimed until the three-year limitation period expired increased from 2020 to 2022.
- When
- The figures compare 2020 and 2022; the report was published on October 16, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Eligible people must apply to receive the refunds, and some may have difficulty accessing or using electronic notices and applications.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
There were 15,759 cases of refunds that went unclaimed until the limitation period expired, totaling 12.738 billion won.
The number of expired unclaimed refund cases reached 29,126, totaling 22.12 billion won.
Yonhap reported the figures and a lawmaker’s call to improve the application-based system.
- Unclaimed cases in 2020
- 15,759
- Unclaimed cases in 2022
- 29,126
- Unclaimed amount in 2020
- 12.738 billion won
- Unclaimed amount in 2022
- 22.12 billion won
- Low-income share of cases
- 56.7% in 2020; 64.2% in 2022
- People aged 60 and over among 2022 cases
- 73.8%
1 source
What people are saying
The main beneficiaries of the medical expense cap system are low-income people and older people, who may have difficulty opening electronic documents or applying, and day laborers may not have a fixed residence.
We need to consider ways to improve this application-based system, which also entails considerable administrative waste for the service.