Starting in 2018, people who are diagnosed with a suspected case of high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer will be provided with a second medical checkup for free, as part of their national healthcare plan, to confirm whether or not the disease is present. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its second comprehensive plan for national medical checkups from 2016 to 2020 on July 28.

According to the ministry's proposed plan, people will no longer have to pay KRW 4,480 in order to confirm a case of high blood pressure or diabetes. Free medical examinations for cancer used to only cover stomach or colorectal cancer, but under the new plan liver cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer will be included on the list. About 1.4 million people are expected to benefit from the new expanded plan each year.

Last year, among citizens diagnosed with the above diseases, only 38 percent went on for a second opinion. With the new policy, the government is hoping to increase that number to 70 percent.

Health consultations with healthcare professionals post-checkup, which are highly effective in preventing such chronic diseases, will be expanded, too. Under the prior policy, only people aged exactly 40 and 66-years-old were provided with the service, but it will now be offered to people every 10 years starting from the age 40. The plan aims to provide more consultation opportunities so that people will be able to focus on forming healthier day-to-day habit.

The new plan also includes a provision for individual medical checkup results, comparisons with big data and customized information related to a patient's condition through smartphone apps. Standards to designate clinics to provide medical checkups to the handicapped will be established so as to make such services more accessible to citizens with movement impairments. Finally, the government will expand services for families in lower socio-economic brackets, too, including a project to provide aid workers for older or handicapped people going for a medical checkup.

By Yoon Jihye
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: National Cancer Center
wisdom117@korea.kr