South Korea’s health insurance outlays for examination and treatment rose 6 percent on-year in 2011, partly due to more senior citizens requiring medical attention, a state-run agency report said Sunday.

The National Health Insurance Corp. said the total amount spent to cover medical examinations, hospitalizations and drug purchases last year topped 46.2 trillion won ($40.1 billion).

This translates into an average payment of 940,000 won for every person covered by the country’s health insurance.

The latest findings said outlays to help senior citizens get checkups and treatment at hospitals reached 15.3 trillion won, up 8.8 percent vis-a-vis 2010. This accounted for 33.3 percent of all spending last year.

“Last year’s outlays for senior citizens reflect recent trends caused by older people living longer than before,” the NHIC said.

In the past decade insurance payments allocated to senior citizens grew an average 16.9 percent every year.

The health insurance provider, meanwhile, said it collected little over 32.9 trillion won in premiums last year, up 15.7 percent from the year before. Of the total, 79.4 percent came from people enrolled in corporate insurance coverage schemes. 

(Yonhap News)