Some 559 people spent more than W100 million of medical treatment via their health insurance last year, totaling approximately W70 billion in treatment fees.

According to the National Health Insurance Corporation on Monday, people in their 30s or younger comprised 70.5 percent of those spending more than W100 million on health insurance, followed by people in their 40s or older who accounted for 29.5 percent. Of the first group, people in their 10s, 20s, and 30s numbered 121, 92, and 76, respectively.

An NHIC official said, “Most of those who received more than W100 million from health insurance are suffering from rare and incurable diseases, including hemophilia, and the reason why expensive patients are concentrated on patents below 40 is they are more likely to rely on medication for survival.

Last year, 1.62 million people spent more than W3 million on health insurance, amounting to W9.3 trillion or 39 percent of the total medial fee (W24 trillion) paid out by the NHIC. One in five seniors aged 80 or more spent more than W3 million annually on medical care. In terms of gender, women spent more than men.

(englishnews@chosun.com )