From March 1, 2021, foreigners in Korea are obliged to apply for National Health Insurance. How much is health insurance in Korea? It depends on the package, and if foreigners residing in Korea(holding the foreigner’s registration card) do not apply for insurance, they’ll have to pay an extra amount every month. So, apply for the National Health Insurance for international students as an example, let’s take a look at the tips of the National Health Insurance from Ziptoss!
South Korea boasts a robust and comprehensive health insurance system that provides coverage to its citizens and residents. The National Health Insurance (NHI) program, established in 1989, offers universal healthcare coverage, ensuring access to medical services for all. Under this system, individuals contribute to insurance premiums based on their income level, with the government subsidizing those who are unable to afford the full cost. The NHI covers a wide range of services, including hospital visits, surgeries, prescription medications, and preventive care. Additionally, South Korea has a separate system for long-term care insurance, catering to the needs of the elderly and disabled population. With its emphasis on affordability, accessibility, and quality of care, South Korea’s health insurance system stands as a model for other nations striving to achieve universal healthcare coverage.
Insurance for international students
International students with different types of visas require different times to apply for health insurance:
1. D-2 foreign student visas, F-4 foreign students, and D-4-3 junior and senior foreign students enter the country for the first time after obtaining the alien registration certificate. In the case of re-entering and holding an alien registration card, the entry base date should be the same day of re-entry.
2. International students in other courses such as D-4 language training do not need to be insured from the date of entry, but the day after your 6-month stay is the day for application.
Insurance deduction time point and late fee
You can choose to pay for health insurance in Korea on the 1st of each month. For example, if you enter South Korea on July 10, you do not need to pay the insurance for that month. But if you are in Korea on July 1, you will need to pay the insurance for the month of July. If you don’t pay, you will have to wait until next month when you enter the country, and you need to pay a late fee.
Since it was implemented in March this year, foreigners entering the country before March 2021 will need to pay the insurance for March, and it will be allocated to the next 10 months (if paid in installments). If you have not paid the fee for March and will return to your country midway, remember to call the main office of the National Health Insurance, explain the situation to the staff, and pay the fee before leaving the country. For those who entered the country after March, there’s no need to follow the instructions above, you can just simply follow the usual instructions.
Late fee
If the fee is not paid on time, a late fee will be given. Within 30 days, 1,500 won per day, and after 30 days, 6,000 won per day. If payment in your balance affects the extension of visas and various types of residence permits, the dues of more than 500,000 won will be reported to the Legal Department.
*PS: If you haven’t joined before, but belong to a group that joined, if you haven’t received the relevant bill for more than two months, please call customer service.
Payment method
Bank transfer
The National Health Insurance will send a payment bill every month, just like the utility bills in South Korea. Just follow the bank account on the bill and transfer the given amount to online banking or an ATM. There will also be a KakaoPay QR code on the payment slip. Just use KakaoPay to scan the QR code to pay. If you don’t have Kakao Pay, you can go to a convenience store with the payment slip and use the QR code to pay; For automatic transfer, you can call the National Health Insurance’s service hotline to set up an automatic payment, but remember to keep the balance in your account sufficient to avoid issues.
The Health Insurance app
Download the National Health Insurance app and you can directly manage and pay your balance.
Welfare
Medical treatment reimbursement
The reimbursable part will be automatically deducted when you go to the doctor to check out. Usually, you only need to bear 30%-60% for outpatient treatment, and you only need to bear 20% for hospitalization.
*Cosmetic surgery, dental cosmetic surgery, MRI, sleep endoscopy, weight loss medicine tonics, etc. are not included.
Inclusions:
Free medical examination once every two years. Foreigners with National Health Insurance can enjoy the benefit of free medical examination once every two years, just like Koreans. When you want a physical examination, you can call to make an appointment. The customer service will confirm your name, login ID, etc., and send you a text message indicating that the appointment is approved. Then you can go to the hospital for a medical check-up on the day of the appointment by text message.
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Physical examination items
- Height
- Weight
- Blood test
- Urine test
- X-ray
- Oral cavity
- Extrauterine examination(for women)
The medical examination report will be mailed to your home in 2-3 weeks.
Apart from this, if you are interested to know more about Places you should visit in South Korea during Autumn then visit our Health category.
