Health Insurance Type and Premium Impact Cancer Mortality Rates

Research findings have revealed that cancer mortality rates vary significantly depending on the type and premium of national health insurance.

A joint research team led by Professor Hee-Taek Kang of the Department of Family Medicine at Severance Hospital and Professor Jin-Young Shin of the Department of Family Medicine at Konkuk University Hospital analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Service. The study found that cancer mortality rates differ depending on the type of health insurance and health insurance premiums.

The study’s results were published in the latest issue of the international journal ‘Journal of Personalized Medicine’.

To determine the impact of health insurance types and insurance premiums on cancer mortality, the research team surveyed 111,941 patients diagnosed with cancer over a period of one year from 2007 in the National Health Insurance Database (NHID). The patients were divided into workplace subscribers (76,944 people) and local subscribers (34,997 people). Each subscriber type was further divided into high, middle, and low categories based on insurance premium payments, and the mortality rate was analyzed.

The study found that the overall mortality rate for workplace subscribers was 0.940 times lower than for local subscribers. By gender, the mortality rate was 0.922 times lower for men and 0.925 times lower for women.

Furthermore, the cancer death rate among workers who fell into the higher insurance premium payment category was 0.880 times lower for men and 0.883 times lower for women compared to those in the lower category.

A similar pattern was observed among local subscribers. The cancer mortality rates of men and women in the higher category were 0.730 and 0.777 times lower, respectively, than those in the lower category.

The research team attributed these findings to the fact that employed subscribers receive regular cancer screenings, have greater access to medical care due to predictable income, and benefit from reduced medical expenses through actual cost insurance.

Professor Kang Hee-taek emphasized, “We confirmed that health inequality clearly exists, with cancer mortality rates differing depending on economic level.” He added, “Policy and legal national support is needed for the appropriate distribution of limited medical resources and health management.”