Trends in life expectancy among medical aid beneficiaries and National Health Insurance beneficiaries in Korea between 2004 and 2017

Abstract

Background Medical Aid beneficiaries in Korea are more likely to have poor health status and to receive insufficient healthcare services, but their life expectancy has not been compared with that of National Health Insurance beneficiaries.

Methods We used the National Health Information Database in Korea to obtain aggregate data on the numbers of population and deaths according to calendar year (2004 to 2017), sex, age group, and insurance eligibility (Medical Aid or National Health Insurance). Between 2004 and 2017, a summed total of 697,503,634 subjects (combining numbers of subjects for 14 years) and 3,536,778 deaths, including 22,417,216 Medical Aid beneficiaries and 499,604 associated deaths, were used to construct annual abridged life tables.

Results In 2017, the life expectancy of Medical Aid beneficiaries was 70.9 years, while that of National Health Insurance beneficiaries was 83.7 years. Between 2004 and 2017, life expectancy for Medical Aid beneficiaries increased by 8.7 years in men and 6.1 years in women, while life expectancy for National Health Insurance beneficiaries increased by 5.2 years in men and 4.5 years in women. The life expectancy difference between National Health Insurance beneficiaries and Medical Aid beneficiaries was especially great among men across all study periods. The life expectancy difference was 15.8 years for men and 8.9 years for women in 2017.

Conclusions The life expectancy of Medical Aid beneficiaries was shorter than that of National Health Insurance beneficiaries. The government should implement policies to deliver more adequate health care to Medical Aid beneficiaries.