Korean Medical Health Care

Korea National Health Insurance

Korea National Health Insurance (NHIS) is required after you have been in Korea for a few months in a non-SOFA status, unless you have another qualifying health care insurance such as TRICARE. TRICARE is a qualified health care insurance in Korea, and can be used to waiver the NHIS requirement by submitting an Application for Exclusion to Korea NHIS. See the form here.

Read more about this topic in NHIS Guidance for Foreigners.

When the Korean Government sends you a notice informing you to enroll in NHIS you can opt out with a Employee Health Insurance Withdrawal Application sent back to the health care office.  Here's How:

• Download a Tricare Eligibility Letter from DMDC milConnect from the the Correspondence/Documentation menu, the eCorrespondence, Proof of Coverage tab.
• Take the TRICARE letter to your local Korea NHIS office
• Create an Employee Health Insurance Withdrawal Application byfilling out an Application for Exclusion for Health Insurance for Overseas Nationals and Foreign Workers form.  Contact with the NHIS call center (contact info below) for detailed exception conditions.
• This process will cancel Korea NHIS. It's pretty easy and fast.
  
  

About NHIS

Korean National Health Insurance is similar to U.S. Medicare Parts A & B, but does not have the age 65 requirement. According to those who use it, the cost is similar to Medicare.  Generally, if you have NHIS you will not be able to go directly to the Medical Centers as with TRICARE, rather you will have to be referred by a local Korean doctor, so seeing a doctor will usually be first.

If you have NHIS and TRICARE, NHIS is considered Other Health Insurance (OHI) and pays first. Then you will have to submit a claim with TRICARE to try and get reimbursed for the remainder that NHIS doesn't pay, but be warned it is not guaranteed TRICARE will cover it.

NHIS does not have a catastrophic cap like TRICARE does, so your out-of-pocket costs will probably vary greatly for expensive procedures.

NHIS does offer a free annual dental check and eye exam, although any procedures need as results are of course paid for.

Some retirees decide to not enroll in Medicare and go solely with NHIS. While we all have our own situations to satisfy, there are some disadvantages to this:

• You are no longer eligible to use TRICARE
• You have no health care coverage when you to go to the U.S.
• You lose the option to seek treatment at a Military Treatment Facility at any military base world-wide.
• If you decide later to get TRICARE back, there is a huge Medicare enrollment penalty of a 10% increase for every year past 65 you did not have Medicare in monthly Medicare Part B premiums.

Help Finding Korean Medical Services

Find a doctor

Choosing a doctor isn’t the same as finding a restaurant or nearby attraction. A well know source to help with this is the U-MEDI platform https://www.u-medi.com, which provides detailed profiles and medical information of doctors, including their qualifications, clinical experience hospital quality, patient reviews and more. From family doctors to psychiatrists, OB/GYN, neurologists, cardiologists, plastic surgeons. allergists, dermatologists, Korean traditional medicine and more, They can help you find a specialized doctor specific for your health needs.

Find a Hospital

Below you will see a link to the NAVIGATING KOREAN HOSPTIALS HANDBOOK created and provided (and updated annually) by the Brian D. Allgood Army Hospital (BDAACH) on USAG Humphreys.  It is an invaluable resource that will tell you pretty much ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW about, in a word, World-Class Korean hospitals and medical centers.

Hospital interpretation

Almost all of the major hospitals in Korea speak English or have excellent translation programs available. All the major hospitals also have excellent English speaking International Service Centers, the same centers that process TRICARE etc.

When admitted to a Korean hospital, it is the family’s responsibility to care for the patient, such as getting them to and from the bathroom, bathing, and just basically taking care of the patient as a nurse might do in the US. It is very common for them to be with the 'most' of the time.

Having Both TRICARE and NHIS

Some retirees choose to have both NHIS while keeping TRICARE. Everyone's situation is different, so this might work for some, but you must weigh the coverages and costs to see if this is right for you.  Generally it would not be worthwhile, but your specific families situation would dictate what is best for you. Some things to consider:

• NHIS is Other Health Insurance (OHI), so it becomes your medical bills first payer
• Double insurance payments: paying for NHIS and Medicare PArt B for TRICARE
• Filing with TRICARE as the second payer is not guaranteed to get your out-of-pocket money back
  
  

NHIS Contact Information

Tel. 1577-1000 Dial 7 for information on foreign languages
Tel. 033-811-2000 Service in foreign languages, including English