Dementia and paralysis demand exhaustive care and attention from other people and can destroy families by creating discord among members that have to provide care. There are countless accounts of bitterness within families and severed ties between siblings as they fight over who will take care of parents suffering from dementia and paralysis.

Long-term medical insurance coverage for senior citizens involves the state caring for such patients. If individual citizens pay 4.05 percent more each month in their health insurance coverage fees (monthly average W2,700) then families with people suffering from dementia and paralysis can have them taken care of at medical institutions for a cost of between W400,000 to W600,000 a month (US$1=W1,030). Until now, such care cost between W1 million to W2 million a month. For just W10,000 a day healthcare workers will visit and bathe patients, and for W160,000 a month a nurse will make four-hour home visits five days a week. Japan, Germany and other advanced countries introduced similar measures some time ago.

One out of every 10 Korean households has a patient suffering from dementia, but that's expected to rise to one in five 15 years from now. In order to ensure the smooth operation of medical insurance coverage for such patients, we must increase the number of senior healthcare facilities. In Seoul, with a population of 10 million, there are only 72 senior healthcare facilities, capable of handling only 4,000 patients. There are no such facilities in the 11 cities, counties and districts across the country. Facilities have long lines of families on waiting lists.

Most importantly, we must let senior citizens live with dignity as human beings until the day they pass away. This is possible only when those who are willing to care for them with all their heart are hired as healthcare providers and offered consistent training even after they are hired.