Personal expenses for treatment may increase
There is no precedent for downgrading the infectious disease class
Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom presides over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in response to COVID-19 held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 11th. On this day, Prime Minister Kim said that starting next week, the results of the rapid antigen test for experts will be recognized as it is without additional PCR test. 2022.3.11/News 1
The government announced on the 16th that the number of confirmed cases of the new corona 19 virus infection reached 400,000 a day, and it is considering a plan to exclude COVID-19 from the first-class infectious disease. As a result, there is a forecast that government support related to Corona will be suspended or reduced, such as the charge for PCR testing at public health centers, which is currently free. The government explained, “Although support and quarantine measures may vary, it is a matter to be decided based on the relevant budget, quarantine situation, and field opinions.”
Discussion on lowering the level of Corona Class 1 infectious disease
In a non-face-to-face back briefing on the afternoon of the 16th, the head of the general coordination team at the Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters of the Orthodox Ordinance said, “If the level is lowered, medical expenses support or quarantine measures may change.”
Team leader Jeong explained the medical response system and quarantine obligations according to each stage, saying, “It is not fixed and may vary depending on the characteristics of the disease.”
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), infectious diseases in Korea are divided into grades 1 to 4, and different cases are reported and management systems are applied differently for each grade. For a first-class infectious disease, epidemiological investigations such as movement traces are conducted, and if the patient refuses to be investigated, forced investigation and hospitalization can be performed. Self-quarantine is mandatory, and hospitalization, treatment, and living expenses are provided for infected patients.
For example, as of March, the government provides living support expenses of 100,000 to 150,000 won per household to families with confirmed cases of COVID-19, a first-grade infectious disease, and provides up to 45,000 won a day for paid vacation expenses.
Isolation is not mandatory for class 2 infectious diseases, and the movement of confirmed patients is not traced, but 11 types designated by the Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be quarantined and hospitalized. Tuberculosis, a second-grade infectious disease, does not track movement, but provides treatment expenses to patients as an infectious disease that requires isolation and hospitalization.
Level 3 is a disease that must be reported if infected, but does not require isolation. Class 4 infectious diseases are not subject to all reports, and there is no quarantine. If we look at these stages, it is predicted that if the level of infectious disease of Corona 19 is lowered, the quarantine duty will disappear, and accordingly, the patient may bear the cost of treatment and living expenses.
“The government does not review the fee-for-service PCR of public health centers”
Currently, the government will provide full support for ‘Paxrovid’, an oral treatment for mild patients, and ‘Actemra,’ a treatment for critically ill patients. The gene amplification test used to confirm the corona virus is free, and the rapid antigen test at the hospital is also claimed by health insurance, but these benefits can be charged.
Citizens who visited an otolaryngology clinic in downtown Seoul on the 11th are waiting to be tested for rapid antigen ・PCR for novel coronavirus infection./News 1
Kim Yu-mi, head of the daily quarantine management team, said, “The self-pay treatment and living expenses of infectious diseases are supported within the budget range according to hospitalization and quarantine measures. It is decided through opinions.” Team leader Kim also said, “We are not considering charging a fee for PCR testing conducted at public health centers.”
The governments mention of downgrading the COVID-19 rating seems to be a way to streamline the medical response system. On this day, Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom said, “The quarantine authorities ask the medical community to discuss with the medical community a plan to adjust the class of infectious disease currently designated as Class 1 to suit the changed situation so that the daily medical system can respond to Corona.”
Currently, grade 1 infectious diseases must be subjected to negative pressure isolation, but from level 2 infection there is no obligation to isolate negative pressure facilities. From level 3 onwards, there is no need to isolate at all. In the medical field, it has been pointed out that in a situation where the number of corona patients is rapidly increasing, measures for a “first-class infectious disease” become an obstacle to responding to patients.
Earlier, the Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Association said on the 3rd, “The response to a first-class infectious disease was possible when there were several hundred confirmed cases per day. However, since the classification system of infectious diseases was changed from the four-group system to the grading system in 2020, there has been no case of lowering the class 1 infectious disease to a lower level.
