Over 37,000 use integrated care in first 100 days, but 4 in 10 Koreans unaware of program

More than 37,000 people have received services under South Korea's community integrated care program in the roughly 100 days since it launched on March 27, but nearly four in 10 Koreans remain unaware the program is operating nationwide.

As of June 26, a total of 46,215 people had applied for or been registered under the integrated care program, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday.

The program is designed to let people who need care receive medical, nursing and daily support services where they live, rather than in hospitals or care facilities. The full national rollout began March 27.

Of those who applied, 37,304 were connected to integrated care services. Providers delivered a total of 123,595 service cases, averaging 3.3 per person.

By category, daily living support — including housekeeping and transportation assistance — accounted for the largest share at 43.1 percent.

Among all services provided, 62.6 percent came from national programs, while 37.4 percent were locally developed services tailored to regional conditions.

Measured by applications per 10,000 residents aged 65 or older, South Jeolla Province and Gwangju recorded the highest rate at 93.3, while Ulsan posted the lowest at 21.0.

In the combined South Jeolla Province-Gwangju special metropolitan area, neighborhood-level officials were required to make home visits to identify people in need of care.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to introduce a performance-based budget support system — rather than simply tracking output figures — to evaluate local governments annually and allocate program funding on a differentiated basis according to results.

While people in need are receiving help in their daily lives, the integrated care program has yet to take full root, the data suggest.

A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service, conducted by Macromill Embrain from June 15 to 19 among 2,000 adults aged 18 to 79 nationwide (margin of error ±2.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level), found that 42.9 percent of respondents were unaware the integrated care system had launched.

Among 500 middle-aged and older adults between 40 and 79 (margin of error ±4.4 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level), 38.0 percent said they had never heard of the program and knew nothing about it.

Despite the low awareness, expectations for the program ran high. Some 94.7 percent of general respondents said they believed the integrated care system, once established, would help ease the burden on family caregivers, and 93.8 percent said they would use the services if they needed care themselves.

The survey also found that 25.2 percent of middle-aged and older respondents — 126 people — had a family member in need of care. Of those, 55.6 percent said a family member, including themselves, was providing that care, and 90.5 percent of that group said caregiving was a burden.

When asked which integrated care service would be most helpful in the future, both the general public and the middle-aged and older group most frequently chose daily living support, each at around 40 percent.

When asked what additional services they would like beyond current offerings, both groups most often selected home rehabilitation visits.

Beyond the survey, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been visiting local governments across the country each week to gather feedback from the field.

Users have primarily complained about the inconvenience of having to apply for integrated care services in person, and have also raised concerns about uneven service levels across regions.

Local government program managers cited early budget exhaustion and mounting workloads as their main difficulties.

To address the inconvenience of in-person applications, the ministry will add an online application function to the second-phase integrated care support IT system this year.

To narrow service gaps between regions, the ministry plans to analyze the supply and demand of care services at the local government level through an integrated care survey, and incorporate the findings into the first basic plan for community integrated care as well as local government regional plans.

In areas with weak care infrastructure in particular, the ministry intends to continue providing differentiated budget support for locally tailored services next year, scaled to regional conditions, to expand customized care.

The ministry plans to hold the fourth Integrated Care Policy Committee meeting on July 7 and the inaugural Community Integrated Care Forum on July 8, where it will share the program's operational achievements and limitations to date and develop proposals for system improvements.

From July 6 through July 20, the ministry will also run a dedicated suggestion period during which local government civil servants can submit proposed improvements directly to the ministry.