Sickbeds for Foreigners will be Limited to 5% in Korea

Tagged: asia, Korea, tourists

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs in Korea recently announced a new ruling regarding the percentage of sick beds that will be allotted for foreign patients. According to the new ruling, only a maximum of 5% of total sick beds in several large hospitals should be made available to foreign patients. This is to prevent hospitals from prioritizing foreign patients over locals because of the potential income from them.

However, patients who have been in Korea for over 90 days are excluded from this ruling. Because they have been in the country for more than three months, they are already considered as domestic patients.

The announcement came just as the country takes steps in deregulating its hospitals and gearing towards an increase in medical tourists. The country is expecting to attract at least 100,000 healthcare tourists this year and next year. Aside from the deregulation of the industry, hospitals are now allowed to have domestic and international marketing campaigns.

Among those affected by the new ruling are Yonsei Severance Hospital and the Samsung Medical Center. Smaller hospitals are not affected by the 5% quota. The Ministry said the 5% quota may be raised in the future depending on the number of medical tourists that will visit Korea.