The economic cost of direct smoking in South Korea.

Background: Smoking not only causes negative health outcomes for individuals but also causes an economic burden to society. This study estimated the socioeconomic costs of direct smoking in South Korea in 2020.

Methods: We used the prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach to estimate the sum of the direct (medical, transportation, and caregiving) and indirect (productivity loss due to health service utilization and premature death) costs of 41 smoking-related diseases.

Effects of private health insurance on medical expenditure and health service utilization in South Korea: a quantile regression analysis.

Background: Despite universal health insurance, South Korea has seen a sharp increase in the number of people enrolled in supplemental private health insurance (PHI) during the last decade. This study examined how private health insurance enrollment affects medical expenditure and health service utilization.

Methods: Unbalanced panel data for adults aged 19 and older were constructed using the 2016-2018 Korea Health Panel Survey.