The Ministry of Health and Welfare's budget for 2024 has been fixed at about 122.37 trillion won ($94.06 billion), up 12.1 percent from this year. The budget for strengthening essential medical care increased by 57 billion won during the National Assembly deliberations.
The ministry said Thursday that it has finalized the 2024 budget and fund management plan by winning the National Assembly’s approval.
The ministry's 2024 budget is 122.377 trillion won, an increase of 13.194 trillion won from the 2023 budget of 109.183 trillion won, marking an increase of 12.1 percent.
The budget for strengthening essential medical care, drawing keen attention, grew by 57 billion won during the Assembly’s deliberation.
The increased amount included 51.4 billion won to strengthen the capacity of 41 public hospitals, including those in provinces, for incentives to innovate their management and 10 billion won to support equipment modernization at provincial medical institutions.
To support infrastructure, the ministry set aside 1.4 billion won for two robotic surgery equipment for diagnosing and treating epilepsy, 500 million won to build high-tech equipment for local cancer centers, 400 million won to set up a blood preparation and supply center, and 300 million won to purchase a disaster medical response vehicle for the Central Emergency Healthcare Center.
To further strengthen essential care, the ministry will;
-- Establish a regional emergency medical situation room
-- Introduce an ambulance for critically ill patients
-- Support for medical helicopters
-- Implement a pilot project to reorganize the emergency medical delivery system
-- Introduce an allowance for final treatment personnel on rotation in the region
-- Establish five 24-hour pediatric consultation centers
-- Promote five pediatric cancer hospitals
-- Support 255 nurses for education in the field of essential medical care
-- Subsidize 1 million won per month for pediatric and adolescent medicine specialists and full-time training assistants
In addition, the Assembly allocated 13.2 billion won more for mental health support.
That included 9 billion won to support the operating costs of drug addiction treatment and protection institutions and 500 million won for environmental improvement. The number of people supported for addiction treatment was expanded from 350 to 1,000.
To build a foundation for mental healthcare services, the ministry will spend 2.1 billion to establish a bed information system and expand 110 psychiatric emergency beds to enable quick hospitalization and treatment. It also will spend 7 billion won to strengthen community-based recovery support by operating three colleague support shelters and two short-term shelters.
Meanwhile, the 2024 budget for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) was finalized at 1.63 trillion won, as the National Assembly increased it by 22.5 billion won from 2023 during the deliberation.
The major increases included 4.01 billion won to support the management of TB patients in medical institutions and health centers, 2.4 billion won to identify the causes of health disparities between regions, 7.1 billion won to support medical expenses for rare diseases, 5.2 billion won to purchase poxvirus vaccines, 2.2 billion won to establish an advanced vaccine center, and 330 million won to establish a national cardiocerebrovascular center.