Targeting US Market with Medical Insurance Product Development
(Published December 13, 2011)

–Gyeonggi Province developing low-cost HMO products in partnership with Korean insurance company
–Non-serious diseases consigned to Korean hospitals, serious diseases to outstanding provincial hospitals
 

– Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo visited the US in April of 2011. Here he poses for a commemorative photo during the Gyeonggi International Medicine Seminar and MOU Signing Ceremony at the New York Korean Hall with participants including New York Korean Society President Ha Yong-hwa and Gyeonggi International Medical Association President Kang Yong-koo. (G-Plus News)

Gyeonggi Province is developing medical insurance products for the US market in partnership with a Korean insurance company based in the US.

The province announced on December 13^th that it is co-developing health maintenance organization (HMO) -type products with four US insurance companies, including Firstline General Insurance Agency (FGIA), to provide medical services by linking Korean hospitals in the US and exceptional hospitals in Korea.

An HMO is a pre-paid form of medical insurance in which members submit an annual or monthly insurance fee, entitling them to all medical services within the associated budget. It is generally less expensive than other insurance policies.

Using this type of HMO, Korean hospitals in the US conduct simple diagnoses and treatments, while for more costly and serious diseases including cancer, HMO members can receive treatment at hospitals in Korea where fees are relatively less expensive. Henceforth, nine professional hospitals in the province including Ajou University Hospital will participate in this insurance arrangement.

Due to expensive insurance fees, even fairly affluent middle-class citizens face difficulties in obtaining family medical insurance in the US. As such, the province revealed that it will target the US medical market with competitively priced insurance products.

The director of the provincial Health and Welfare Bureau, Kim Yong-yeon, stated: “Gyeonggi Province has the largest number of first-rate hospitals in Korea with the cutting-edge equipment as well as world-leading technologies and services.” He continued, “With a number of outstanding hospitals participating in this project, clients will receive medical services that are differentiated from current medical tourism, which usually focuses on one hospital.”

The manager of the Gyeonggi North America office, Lee Tae-mok, who leads visitors to Korea, said, “We realized that medical issues are one of the biggest problems Koreans face in the US. Due to the excessively high fees, it’s difficult to use insurance. And if people join an inexpensive insurance program, they face high deductibles at the hospital. In view of this situation, we began developing our insurance policy products.”

To develop the insurance products, the province is inviting eleven people from four Korean insurance companies, a Chinese tour company association in the US, a professional medical lawyer, and Korean doctors through the LA Global Medical Business Center (LA GMBC) from December 13^th to 16^th. The province will present Korea’s medical system and service quality, including its cosmological and well-being medical experience, and undertake the investigations and discussions necessary to develop the products.

In particular, the province expects the inclusion of a Chinese tour company association in this visitor group to expand business opportunities. If this invitation can help promote the medical insurance products among various ethnic communities, Korean hospitals in the US will be able to easily secure customers from various demographic segments.

Director Kim Yong-yeon said, “The success of this system will attract customers of other ethnicities.” He continued, “We included Chinese tour companies within the US in the visitor group for this purpose.”

On December 14^th, the Ministry of Health & Welfare and the province will introduce the government’s global medical service training initiative, Korean hospitals with advanced equipment, and medical products customized for the US to the visiting group, while the latter will hold the ‘Korea-US Global Medical Service Workshop’ and give a presentation on medical product development.

Meanwhile, the province’s entry into the US medical market kicked into high gear when a provincial delegation headed by Governor Kim Moon-soo visited North America last April. During his visit, Governor Kim asserted, “We’ll find out what we can do for Koreans and strive to achieve it.” He also signed an MOU with the Korean societies of New York and LA to establish a health and medical network.

The ‘Korea Medical Seminar’ was held in New York and LA with ten in-province hospital presidents and 500 participating Koreans. During the event, Governor Kim said, “Trust and take pride in our mother nation. You can play an important role in introducing the superior quality of Korean medicine to the US.”

The province installed the LA GMBC in the province’s North American office last July and implemented a Korean medical support service via remote video counseling. This location is now the bridge that connects the province to the medical market of the US.

Remote video counseling connected exceptional hospitals of the province last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to provide easy and convenient medical counseling free of charge in the Korean language. So far, 130 Koreans have used the service. Six hospitals participate in this service including the Catholic University of Korea St. Vincent’s Hospital, Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Bucheon, Myeongji Hospital, and SAM Medical Center.

– G-News Plus News | Noh Sun-ik rohsoon45@naver.com

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201112131458443093C052&s_code=C048