A Crisis Caused by Confusion in the Concept of Essential Healthcare

Abstract

Korean society is currently experiencing a crisis in essential healthcare. While the government has expanded essential healthcare, it has been unable to provide essential medical services through private medical institutions due to a shortage of public medical institutions. Legislators have proposed a bill to resolve the shortage of medical personnel, but the obscurity of some of the key concepts contained in the bill has so far prevented it from becoming law. One fundamental problem in solving the current crisis is that there seems to be no agreement on what essential healthcare is. Widely understood concepts help form the basis for communication and empathy, reduce conflicts, and lead to efficient discussions on policymaking. This commentary argues that to overcome the current crisis all relevant parties must come to an agreement on what essential healthcare is.