Boeun County to subsidise travel for children seeking pediatric care outside district
In short
Boeun County in North Chungcheong Province plans to pay transport costs for children under 7 who travel elsewhere for pediatric care, at 50,000 won per visit and up to 200,000 won a year. The county has put a draft ordinance out for public comment until Oct 13 before sending it to the county council. The county's only pediatric care provider, Boeun Hanbang Hospital, stopped its pediatrics service in April, leaving families to travel to Cheongju and other nearby areas.
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Boeun County in North Chungcheong Province said on Oct 5 that it plans to provide travel subsidies to children who go outside the county for pediatric care. Under the plan, children under 7 living in Boeun would receive 50,000 won per visit, up to a maximum of 200,000 won a year, Yonhap reported. Newsis also carried the plan, headlining Boeun as a county without a pediatrics department. [ 1 , 2 ]
The county has put a draft ordinance — the Boeun County ordinance on transport cost support for children receiving pediatric care — out for legislative notice. It will collect residents' opinions until Oct 13 and then submit the bill to the county council, according to Yonhap. No start date or application procedure for the subsidy was given in the reports. [ 2 ]
The measure responds to a gap in local pediatric care. Boeun Hanbang Hospital, the only medical institution in the county providing pediatric care, stopped operating its pediatrics department in April, Yonhap reported. Children who need pediatric care and their guardians now have to seek medical institutions in nearby areas such as Cheongju. [ 2 ]
The county said the support is intended to ease the burden on children and their guardians caused by the gap in pediatric care in the area. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The measure illustrates how rural South Korean counties are coping with gaps in medical services after local clinics close, using cash support rather than restoring a clinic. It offers a small, bounded form of relief to families in one county; whether the county council approves it, and whether it changes where children actually receive care, is not yet known.
Key facts
- Boeun County said on Oct 5 it will subsidise transport for children who travel outside the county for pediatric care [ 1 , 2 ]
- Eligible are children under 7 living in Boeun, at 50,000 won per visit and up to 200,000 won per year [ 2 ]
- The county put a draft ordinance on transport cost support for children receiving pediatric care out for legislative notice [ 2 ]
- Residents' opinions will be collected until Oct 13, after which the bill is to be submitted to the county council [ 2 ]
- Boeun Hanbang Hospital, the only medical institution in the county providing pediatric care, stopped operating its pediatrics department in April [ 2 ]
- Children needing pediatric care and their guardians must go to medical institutions in nearby areas such as Cheongju [ 2 ]
- The county said the support is meant to ease the burden on children and guardians caused by the gap in local pediatric care [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Boeun County plans to support transport costs for children who receive pediatric care outside the county [ 1 , 2 ]
- The subsidy is 50,000 won per visit and up to 200,000 won per year for children under 7 living in Boeun [ 2 ]
- Boeun Hanbang Hospital stopped its pediatrics service in April, leaving the county without a pediatrics department [ 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the county council will pass the ordinance The county said only that it will collect residents' opinions until Oct 13 and then submit the bill to the council; no council decision has been reported.
- When the subsidy would start and how families would apply for or receive it The documents describe eligibility and amounts but not the application or payment process or a start date.