[Sportschosun, Jang Jong-ho] Health insurance premiums that the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) overcharged subscribers or that were mistakenly paid and therefore had to be refunded totaled about 4.2477 trillion won over the past five years, data showed.
According to data submitted by the NHIS to Rep. Baek Jong-heon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee representing Geumjeong-gu, Busan, the total amount of health insurance premium overpayments recorded over the past five years was about 4.2477 trillion won, involving approximately 15.459 million cases.
By year, the figures were 722.3 billion won in 2021, 697.4 billion won in 2022, 695 billion won in 2023, 930.6 billion won in 2024 and 938.6 billion won in 2025. Another 263.8 billion won had already been recorded as of Aug. 31 this year, indicating that substantial health insurance premium overpayments have continued to occur annually.
In particular, last year's overpayments of 938.6 billion won represented a 29.95% increase from 722.3 billion won in 2021, highlighting the need to improve the health insurance premium assessment system.
Of the overpayments recorded over the past five years, a total of 45.5 billion won had not been returned to health insurance subscribers. Of that amount, 38.2 billion won remained unpaid, while 7.3 billion won was transferred to the state because the statute of limitations had expired.
The number of unreturned overpayments stood at 410,000 cases worth 16.9 billion won among regional subscribers and 134,000 cases worth 28.6 billion won among employee subscribers. The unreturned amount was therefore higher for employee subscribers than for regional subscribers.
Health insurance premium overpayments occur not only because of duplicate or erroneous payments, but also when premiums already paid must be refunded following the retroactive loss of a subscriber's eligibility, changes to premium assessment data or adjustments to the assessment.
The NHIS said it was taking measures to notify subscribers of refunds and accept applications through various channels, including its official website, mobile app and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's National Secretary service, Guppi. However, significant amounts remain unpaid, prompting calls for more proactive measures.
Rep. Baek Jong-heon said, "Because health insurance premiums are mandatory payments directly tied to people's quality of life, accuracy in calculating and assessing premiums is of paramount importance," and emphasized, "Rather than simply refunding overpayments after the fact, authorities must analyze the reasons overpayments continue to occur and devise fundamental measures to minimize errors at the assessment stage."
Jang Jong-ho, Reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
