Comparison between the Aged Care Facilities Provided by the Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) and the Nursing Hospitals of the National Health Insurance (NHI) for Elderly Care in South Korea

Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) was created for the elderly, to provide various types of medical and care services, along with the National Health Insurance (NHI). However, the elderly must choose one of these systems, which leads to some of them being unable to receive services and care/medical care based on their needs, because the LTCI only provides limited services, regardless of the needs of the elderly. In order to establish the best solution between the LTCI and NHI, I conducted a utilization effect analysis; using the difference in difference (DID) and difference in difference in difference (DDD) methods with National Health Insurance Services-senior (NHIS-senior) cohort data from 2008 to 2013. The results of the study confirmed that medical expenses are significantly reduced for LTCI users (B = −3.176, p ≤ 0.001). Furthermore, when the services meet the older person’s needs, the overall medical expenses are significantly reduced (B = −1.034, p = 0.05). These results clearly show that the LTCI is much more suitable for those who need care services. To provide services that more efficiently fulfil their needs, and for better population coverage from the two different systems (the NHI and the LTCI), collaborative work, such as a linkage system, is required.