의료비 본인부담 상한 넘긴 226만명에 3조760억원 환급…1인당 평균 136만원

Last year, 70-year-old Mr. ㄱ received medical treatment at a university hospital for a spinal cord injury, resulting in personal medical expenses of 1,606,000 won, not including co-payments and non-refundable charges. Similar personal expenses were incurred at other medical institutions, totaling 283,000 won. However, the personal responsibility ceiling prevented Mr. ㄱ from paying a total of 1,889,000 won, of which only 89,000 won was his share.

Over 226 million individuals exceeded their personal responsibility ceiling for hospital bills last year and are receiving a total of 3.760 trillion won in refunds. The average refund per person is 136,000 won. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Administration announced that the process of issuing refunds starting on the 31st will begin.

The personal responsibility ceiling is determined based on an individual's income level, and any amount exceeding this ceiling will be refunded by the administration. Excluded from the target are deductions and allocated amounts, with an individual's ceiling ranging from 89,000 to 1,074,000 won. This year's reimbursements target 226,2605 individuals, an increase of 5.9% from last year's 213,057,776 people.

The total amount refunded is 3.760 trillion won, a 10.2% increase from last year's 2.7920 trillion won. This is the first time the total refunds have exceeded 3 trillion won. The recent 10 years have seen the total reimbursement exceed 3 trillion won for the first time. The average refund per person is approximately 136,000 won.

The benefits primarily target low-income and elderly individuals. The 1-5th income quintile, amounting to 201,6503 people, account for 89.1% of the total beneficiaries and will receive 2.3556 trillion won, or 76.6% of the total refunds. Individuals aged 65 and above make up 57.9% of the total beneficiaries (131,0761 people) and also account for 67% of the total refunds (2.596 trillion won).

The beneficiaries will begin receiving information about their application starting on the 31st, with electronic documents being sent first, followed by postal mail for those who do not respond or do not use electronic documents. Those with pre-registered payment consent accounts will receive refunds in subsequent months starting on the 2nd without needing to apply again.