32.8% of medical tourism agencies operate without insurance, as the KHIDI fails to enforce crucial insurance policies.

The Korean Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is under scrutiny over its incompetent management of medical tourism agencies in Korea.

547 businesses have been operating without proper insurance, while the Medical Korea homepage falsely declares otherwise, according to a recent audit published on January 24, 2017.

Under current policies, medical tourism agencies are required to sign up for a form of insurance called ‘Guarantee Insurance’ in which ‘the insurer agrees to indemnify the insured against losses through fraud, dishonesty and breach of contract by a third party.’

Korean medical tourism agencies are mandated to sign up for a guarantee insurance policy that ensures a benefit package of at least 100 million won.

However due to poor regulation by the KHIDI, a considerable number of medical tourism agencies have been found running their businesses without carrying the guarantee insurance.

The Board of Audit and Inspection criticized KHIDI’s maladministration of medical tourism agencies while issuing grim audit results titled the ‘Evaluation of Developing Businesses in the Health Care Industry.’

According to the Board, a total of 547 medical tourism agencies out of 1,666 (32.8%) have operated without carrying the proper guarantee insurance. The duration of their operations varied from as little from 1 day to as many as 1,937 days.

To add insult to injury, KHIDI advertised all 547 institutions as properly adhering to insurance policies on a site called ‘Medical Korea’. The site is used as a medical tourism promotion platform used to introduce Korean health care to foreigners.

The Board asserted the necessity of proper operations, requesting KHIDI to take the appropriate measures, such as a correction order, if a medical tourism agency is found operating without guarantee insurance. The Board further criticized the data discrepancy advertised on the homepage, calling for ‘thorough maintenance of medical tourism agencies’ while especially condemning ‘false advertisement on a global page such as Medical Korea’.

The KHIDI announced in response that they will ‘take thorough measures to make sure that medical tourism agencies adhere to insurance policies and make sure that these businesses will not be able to operate without doing the same.’

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