• Jinwook Bahk, Hee Yeon Kang, and Young Ho Khang.
• Department of Public Health, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.
• Yonsei Med. J. 2020 Jul 1; 61 (7): 640-643.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which the magnitude of income inequality in life expectancy according to different categorization across beneficiary types under the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in Korea. We used population and death data in 2017 from the National Health Information Database of the NHIS. Income quintile groups were classified in four ways according to beneficiary type (employee insured, self-employed insured, and Medical Aid beneficiaries). Standard life table procedures were used to calculate life expectancy. The life expectancy gap between the lowest and highest income quintiles was the largest when the entire population was divided into quintiles without distinguishing among types of beneficiaries. In conclusion, we suggest that income quintile indicators in NHIS data, measured without distinguishing among types of beneficiaries, may best represent the magnitude of health inequalities in Korean society. This indicator could be used for future research on health inequalities, as well as for monitoring health inequalities in Korea.© Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2020.

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