After President Lee Jae-myung mentioned the need to apply health insurance for hair loss treatments, Discussions between the government and local governments to support hair loss treatment costs are reignited.It is becoming.
While the Ministry of Health and Welfare is reviewing health insurance coverage, some local governments are restarting or expanding hair loss treatment cost support projects.
Among Seoul’s 25 autonomous districts, only Seongdong-gu continues to provide support for hair loss treatment costs. Seongdong-gu starting next month Resumption of youth hair loss treatment support project
Panoramic view of Seongdong-gu Office / Seongdong-gu Office
We plan to proceed with accepting applications. Those eligible for support are residents under the age of 39 who have lived in Seongdong-gu for more than 3 months, and 80% of the cost of purchasing oral hair loss treatments is supported, up to a maximum of 200,000 won per person per year.
Seongdong-gu has been operating this project since 2023, but temporarily suspended it in November last year due to budget limitations. The district enacted a related ordinance in 2022 and introduced a project to support youth hair loss treatment costs through consultation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Boryeong City, South Chungcheong Province, also began accepting applications for hair loss treatment expenses support from the 6th. Boryeong City is targeting citizens under 49 years of age who have lived there for more than 1 year. Support for both pharmaceutical and medical expenses up to 500,000 won per year for up to 2 yearsdo.
However, controversy surrounding hair loss treatment support continues.
Some local governments, such as Seoul and Daegu, previously reviewed related projects, but halted them due to intergenerational equity issues and controversy over tax waste.
File photo to help understand the article / GettyimagesBank
It has been pointed out that support for people with serious illnesses should be prioritized, and the issue of equity with the middle-aged and older people has been raised as a major issue.
A government-level review is also underway at the same time. Ministry of Health and Welfare The Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee discussed whether hair loss treatments should be covered by health insurance.He said he would do it.
We are also considering including a hair loss treatment in the ‘Youth Health Voucher’, which is worth approximately 120,000 won per year for young people aged 20 to 34 who have low medical utilization rates.
