Hwaseong Special City's Public-Private 2 Million Won Infant Insurance Receives High Praise as Nation's First
[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] The 'vulnerable class infant insurance support project' launched in earnest from April by Hwaseong Special City and the Hwaseong City Welfare Foundation is receiving strong positive response.
This project targets 48 households receiving basic living, medical care, and housing assistance that have infants born after January 1 of this year. Currently, administrative welfare centers in each eup, myeon, and dong are proactively guiding the project to caregivers applying for relevant benefits, and those notified can apply through the Hwaseong Family Center. Target households receive insurance premium support worth approximately 2 million won per infant.
Insurance enrollment is through 'Guardian Angel Dream Tree Our Child Insurance,' a lump-sum product jointly developed by the Hwaseong City Welfare Foundation and Dongyang Life. It covers surgery and hospitalization expenses as well as treatment costs from illness and injury, reducing medical expense burdens needed for infants from early birth.
The application process has also been simplified. When a caregiver submits an insurance application form, they visit the Hwaseong Family Center to complete the insurance contract with a family center staff member present. Subsequently, an insurance planner explains coverage details and contract matters, concluding the enrollment process.
The project's total budget of 100 million won was secured through designated donations from Shinsung E&T, a local Hwaseong company (CEO Hur Hwan). This infant insurance project, the nation's first public-private cooperation model, has garnered recognition as establishing a new welfare milestone by pooling community efforts to complete a medical safety net for children.
The city and Hwaseong City Welfare Foundation's background for planning this project reflects a strong determination to resolve social inequality where income gaps directly lead to medical gaps.
According to 2024 'Korean Welfare Panel Survey' data released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, △private medical insurance enrollment rates for low-income households reach only 45.13% and △fall short of even half the general household enrollment rate of 91.63%.
This distinctly illustrates the 'medical safety net polarization' phenomenon in our society. General and high-income households are well-prepared for severe illnesses and high medical expenses through dual protection from national health insurance and private insurance, while low-income households lacking insurance premium payment capacity face structural problems and risks where they must rely solely on public insurance.
The city and Hwaseong City Welfare Foundation, recognizing this issue, judged that existing one-time cash support under the guise of birth encouragement bonuses or initial childcare expenses has limitations in resolving welfare blind spots and structural medical inequality.
Accordingly, the city's 'vulnerable class infant insurance support project,' taking its first steps, has been highly evaluated among welfare experts as an advanced policy model by establishing a solid 'long-term protection foundation' allowing infants to receive continuous protection from various diseases and accidents they may encounter during their growth.
Mayor Jung Myeong-geun said, "While our city has achieved three consecutive years as number one in births, it is important not to rest on this achievement but to carefully reduce differences in starting points that exist beneath the surface for children. I believe a truly number one city is one where all children born in Hwaseong can grow up equally healthy and safe regardless of wealth and income," adding, "Based on our city's capabilities as demonstrated when we first nationwide established a basic social affairs division, we will serve as a reliable protective fence through infant insurance so that parents in Hwaseong do not suffer heartache over hospital bill concerns."