Paying Direct Care Workers is a Huge Financial Burden for the Older Population in South Korea

The government of the Republic of Korea (hereafter, Korea) introduced the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) system in 2008.Due to the rapidly increasing number of individuals aged 65 years and over, the system requires reform to ensure its financial sustainability and reduce the financial burden on individuals.Thus, this study conducted an in-depth investigation of the financial burden on older individuals in Korea under the current NHIS system.The aims of this study were to present an overview of long-term services and support in Korea and to report on the challenges for older Koreans in receiving informal care.Based on the results, four suggestions were proposed to provide affordable long-term services and support: establish an integrated care and medical needs assessment system, introduce a comprehensive nursing service system, expand home and community-based care services (HCBS), and implement national-level long-term care workforce development and management.