Gov`t must outline extent of health care plight

Blaming him for the financial crunch in the health care system, President Kim Dae-Jung fired Heath-Welfare Minister Choi Sun-Jung Wednesday. Kim`s abrupt sacking of the minister was interpreted as a sign of his firm resolve to allay mounting complaints from the public over the government`s policy failures in the health insurance field. The health insurance debacle was mainly caused by administrative and policy mistakes. Therefore, the mere dismissal of the responsible cabinet member is not sufficient. As the outgoing minister pointed out, the primary reason for the medicare turmoil was several years of low medical fees and premiums, insufficient payments and inadequate insurance premiums. Despite the dismal situation, the government integrated three categories of health insurance systems -- for office workers, public officials and the self-employed -- and, worse yet, coercively enforced a questionable policy of separating the professional roles of doctors and pharmacists in the absence of adequate preparations. This led the health care system to the brink of financial meltdown.

Newly appointed Health-Welfare Minister Kim Won-Gil said that, since preventing the health care system`s bankruptcy is the first priority, government financial assistance is needed. He added, however, that the ministry would come up with comprehensive countermeasures to supplement the initial band-aid solution. In order to hammer out viable remedial steps, it is necessary to determine the basic causes of the problem and decide who is responsible. When it comes to the question of responsibility, former health-welfare minister Cha Hung-Bong is open to the most blame. He announced that even if the divergent insurance systems were unified and the roles of doctors and pharmacists were separated, there would be no additional financial burden on the people. Furthermore, he sacked senior officials in the ministry on the grounds that they opposed the enforcement of the new medical systems. It is incomprehensible how such a policy ever came into being.

For the present, the health-welfare ministry alone is obliged to take full responsibility for the financial pinch in the health care industry. We must point out, however, that Cheong Wa Dae, the administration and the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) participated in the formulation and implementation of the new health insurance system. It also was one of President Kim`s major election pledges. Lately, the ruling MDP and the government attributed the health care crisis to collusion between doctors and pharmacists, excessive claims on the insurance fund and other immoral activities on the part of medical professionals. This was an irresponsible act. The Medical Association staged general strikes to protest the new medical system and rightly demanded the implementation of the reform system only after adequate preparations had been made. It pointed out that an additional 4.2 trillion won per year would be required for the proper implementation of the medical sector reform policy.

The health insurance fiasco arose from the paralysis of the government`s policymaking function. This type of folly must not be repeated. Accordingly, it is important to find out who made the bad decisions, exactly what went wrong and how such decisions were made. At this juncture, the government ought to publish a white paper on the state of the health care plight and let it serve as a lesson for the future.