우리나라 저소득층의 의료보장 실태와 개선방안에 관한 연구

A large amount of evidence indicates that disease is related to social class as well as historical and special background. The relationship between disease and social class appears large when it is considered in terms of the relationship between disease and poverty. People having lower income and education are vulnerable to disease and unlikely to access to medical resources because of their economic difficulties. Medical demand rate, treatment rate, and untreatment rate(per 100 persons)' are heavily influenced by standard of living. As standard of living goes up, medical demamd rate(treatment rate + untreatment rate) goes down; As standard of living goes down, untreatment rate goes up. It is also true, especially among people covered by public medical protection and public medical assistance, that economic difficulty is one of main obstacles making people hesitate medical service. Our society has to encourage lower class people having work ability to keep their health through periodic medical checks and make them participate in such activities as job search and voluntary works. Public assistances are also needed to have unhealthy lower class people secure basic living measures such as housing, health care, income etc.. More than anything else, we have to expand medical security system to make it cover sudden the unemployed deprived of social security network.