People stand in line to undergo COVID-19 testing at a temporary screening station in western Seoul on Jan. 5, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The gap in the mortality rate by income level did not widen during the outbreak of the coronavirus, thanks to the government’s implementation of a medical care system, that among others, offers financial support to cover medical expenses for those testing positive for COVID-19, a study showed Wednesday.
Researchers from Seoul National University Hospital analyzed the incidence and mortality rate of 7,590 individuals who tested positive for the new coronavirus by dividing them into two groups – medical care beneficiaries, and health insurance subscribers.
This study showed that the COVID-19 infection rate per 1 million people stood at 136.3 for health insurance subscribers and 424.3 for medical care beneficiaries, with their mortality rate estimated at 2.7 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.
However, when the results were adjusted to take into consideration age, gender and underlying diseases, the two groups showed no difference in the risk of death from virus infection.
“A simple comparison shows that the COVID-19 mortality rate of medical care beneficiaries is higher than that of health insurance subscribers. However, this has nothing to do with the difference in income level,” said Professor Lee Jin-yong, a member of the research team.
“Instead, the difference was caused by the fact that medical care beneficiaries are often elderly people with underlying diseases.”
The research team concluded that the results reflect well on the medical care system that covers all medical expenses for COVID-19 positive patients, coupled with personal efforts including the wearing of masks and social distancing.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
