The government designated North Gyeongsang Province's Andong (Iljik-myeon, Namseon-myeon and Imha-myeon) and Uiseong-gun (Danchon-myeon) as special disaster zones on Aug. 3, then added South Gyeongsang Province's Geoje and Tongyeong (Sanyang-eup and Bongpyeong-dong), which suffered severe damage from heavy rainfall, on Friday. Pictured are water-damaged and broken fixtures and waste piled up in front of a flooded shop in Okpo-dong, Geoje. [Yonhap]
The government designated North Gyeongsang Province's Andong (Iljik-myeon, Namseon-myeon and Imha-myeon) and Uiseong-gun (Danchon-myeon) as special disaster zones on Aug. 3, then added South Gyeongsang Province's Geoje and Tongyeong (Sanyang-eup and Bongpyeong-dong), which suffered severe damage from heavy rainfall, on Friday. Pictured are water-damaged and broken fixtures and waste piled up in front of a flooded shop in Okpo-dong, Geoje. [Yonhap]

Residents affected by the heavy rainfall that struck the Gyeongsang region this month will receive reductions in national health insurance premiums as well as additional benefit coverage for dentures and assistive devices.

The National Health Insurance Service announced Wednesday that it will roll out relief measures — including premium reductions and expanded benefit support — for residents in flood-hit areas of Andong and Uiseong-gun in North Gyeongsang Province, and Geoje and Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province, following their designation as special disaster zones.

For health insurance subscriber households in the designated zones that sustained damage, the service plans to reduce monthly premiums by 30 to 50 percent for three months, depending on the extent of the damage, and waive late fees for up to six months. Households that suffered both personal injury and property damage will receive a six-month premium reduction.

The service will also suspend enforcement actions — including seizure notices and asset seizures — for six months against locally enrolled households and employer workplaces in the special disaster zones that have fallen behind on payments.

Under the relief process, the Ministry of Interior and Safety will conduct damage assessments in the special disaster zones to identify households that suffered personal or property losses. The National Health Insurance Service will then apply its premium reduction guidelines to implement the cuts and waive late fees based on the severity of each case.

The service will also provide additional benefit coverage to residents in the special disaster zones who lost or had damaged dentures, hearing aids or other disability assistive devices due to the flooding, once local governments confirm the damage.

Normally, dentures require a seven-year gap before re-coverage, while disability assistive devices require between six months and six years. If damage is confirmed as resulting from a special disaster, however, residents can receive additional benefits even before those replacement cycles or durability periods have elapsed.

"We will swiftly push forward with health insurance premium reductions and additional benefit support to ease the financial burden on residents affected by the sudden heavy rains, and to relieve some of the hardship faced by the elderly and people with disabilities," National Health Insurance Service President Kang Cheong-hee said. "We will continue to do our utmost to help disaster-affected residents return to their daily lives as soon as possible."


thlee@heraldcorp.com