ArticleBMC health services research2026
Comparison of health care utilisation and spending among National Health Insurance and Medical Aid beneficiaries in Korea.
Article in BMC health services research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding the effect of out-of-pocket expenses on health service use is important for the financial sustainability of health care systems. This study compared health service use and spending between National Health Insurance (NHI) and Medical Aid (MA) beneficiaries in Korea.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective ecological study with a repeated cross-sectional design using nationwide health insurance claims data covering the NHI and MA beneficiaries in Korea from 2011 to 2023. We examined the demographic composition of the two groups and their health care utilisation by age. We compared per capita spending between the NHI and MA beneficiaries for common diagnoses. Lastly, we assessed changes in per capita health care spending and utilisation between the two groups over the study period by estimating average annual percent change.
resultsIn 2023, inpatient spending among MA beneficiaries (USD 3,011) was more than five times as high as that of NHI beneficiaries (USD 576), and the average length of stay among MA beneficiaries was 87.9 days, about 4.8 times that of NHI beneficiaries (18.4 days). The gap was most pronounced among male MA beneficiaries aged 30–49, with inpatient spending 13 to 14 times that of the NHI group and length of stay showing a similarly large difference. Outpatient and pharmacy spending and utilisation were also more than twice as high among MA beneficiaries. Elevated spending among MA beneficiaries was especially evident for musculoskeletal conditions and chronic mental health conditions. While both groups showed significant increases in spending and utilisation from 2011 to 2023, MA beneficiaries consistently had higher per capita spending (MA to NHI ratio, 3.3–3.6), with a fivefold gap in inpatient care.
conclusionsThe substantial gap in health care utilisation between NHI and MA beneficiaries highlights the need to investigate potential overuse. Developing strategies to limit unnecessary health service use while maintaining access is a crucial issue for ensuring a sustainable health care system.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.