Health care costs for insured rise 12 pct in first half

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Health care costs for the insured in South Korea rose
11.5 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier mainly due to
heavy spending on major illnesses, a state-run agency said Wednesday.
Medical costs for the insured reached 19.11 trillion won (US$15.32 billion) in
the first six months of the year, compared with 17.14 trillion won a year
earlier, according to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.
Spending on stomach cancer-related diseases amounted to 126 billion won in the
first half, compared with 110 billion won a year earlier, while that for liver
cancer-related treatment also increased to 115 billion won from 98 billion won
over the cited period, the agency said.
Costs for lung and bronchial tubes-related illness rose to 118 billion won from
99 billion won, it added.
Spending on hospitalization increased 16 percent to 6.09 trillion won over the
cited period, and that on outpatient treatment gained 10.2 percent to 7.82
trillion won, it said.
sam@yna.co.kr
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