Foreign nationals' long-term health insurance arrears up 87.7% since end of 2023

The number of foreign nationals enrolled in the national health insurance program as local subscribers who have gone at least six months without paying their premiums has grown to more than 43,000 households as of July, an 87.7 percent increase from the end of 2023. While the overall number of long-term delinquent households among all local subscribers fell over the same period, both the number of delinquent foreign households and the total amount owed continued to climb.

According to data submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Dal-hee of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee by the National Health Insurance Service, 43,196 foreign local subscriber households had gone at least six months without paying their premiums as of July. That is up 20,178 households from 23,018 at the end of 2023. The total amount in arrears rose 19 billion won, or 73.1 percent, from 26 billion won ($19.3 million) to 45 billion won over the same period.

The number of long-term delinquent foreign households grew from 23,018 at the end of 2023 to 27,120 at the end of 2024, then to 34,349 at the end of last year. In just the first seven months of this year, the figure rose by another 8,847 households, or 25.8 percent — already surpassing the full-year increase of 7,229 households recorded last year. The total amount owed also increased by 7.5 billion won, from 37.5 billion won at the end of last year to 45 billion won as of July.

The trend stands in contrast to the broader picture for all local subscribers. From the end of 2023 through July, the total number of local subscriber households with arrears of six months or more fell from 936,000 to 925,000. The overall amount in arrears rose 2.5 percent, from 1.51 trillion won to 1.55 trillion won — a slower rate of increase than that seen among foreign subscribers.

As a result, foreign nationals' share of all long-term delinquent households rose from 2.5 percent at the end of 2023 to 4.7 percent as of July.

By nationality, Chinese nationals had the largest arrears as of July, with 11,076 households owing a combined 13.5 billion won. Vietnam ranked second with 8,946 households and 6.8 billion won, followed by Uzbekistan with 6,991 households and 5.5 billion won. The three countries together accounted for 25.8 billion won in unpaid premiums, or 57.3 percent of all foreign arrears.

Compared with the end of 2023, the number of delinquent households from Mongolia grew 2.5 times, while those from Uzbekistan and Vietnam rose 2.4 times and 2.3 times, respectively.

"Effective collection management must be carried out for the benefit of both Korean citizens and foreign subscribers who faithfully pay their premiums every month," Lee said. "I urge the service to closely analyze the state of foreign arrears by nationality and visa status, strengthen information sharing with relevant agencies responsible for residency management, and develop effective collection measures."