The Central Disaster Management Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Director: Minister Kwon Deok-cheol) announced it would pay a total of KRW 318.1 billion in compensation on December 28 (Tues) following the Loss Compensation Deliberation Committee (LCDC) deliberation and resolution on December 23.
From April 2020 to December 2021, the total amount paid for loss compensation is KRW 3.8427 billion. The average treatment cost is KRW 3.6732 billion for 415 medical institutions, and compensation for losses following the government order is KRW 169.5 billion for 53,627 institutions. At the 21st round, a total of 312.3 billion won will be allocated to 259 medical institutions, 309.3 billion won to COVID-19 treatment medical institutions (220 places), and 3 billion won to hospitals that diagnostic screening clinics (39 places).
Compensation items include losses caused by hospital beds used for patient treatment and unused beds (up to November 30, 2021) and losses due to a decrease in the number of non-COVID-19 patients after the COVID-19 pandemic. Among 309.3 billion won to 220 hospitals, 295.5 billion won (95.5%) would be paid for securing COVID-19 patient beds, and 3.6 billion won (1.2%) to compensate for the reduction of non-COVID patients.
Since August 2020, medical institutions, pharmacies, and general businesses can have claimed compensation to central or local governments for complying with business closure, business suspension, or disinfection orders in the course of the COVID-19 response. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters will continue to improve the loss compensation standards for organizations via the deliberation and resolution process by the Loss Compensation Deliberation Committee.
* The LCDC deliberates and decides on loss compensation matters under the Infectious Disease Prevention Act (Article 70).
The Central Disaster Management Headquarters in the MOHW has been paying compensation for losses at medical institutions that treat COVID-19 patients in the form of an estimate (i.e., partial payment of a provisionally calculated loss before the loss is finalized) every month since April 2020.
To read the original press release from the Korean government, click the link
