Democratizing Health Care: Welfare State Building in Korea and Thailand

286 Pages·2015·1.863 MB·English

by  Illan Nam (auth.)

ASIA TODAY
DEMOCRATIZING
HEALTH CARE
Welfare State Building in Korea and Thailand
Illan Nam
ASIA TODAY
Before 1820, Asia generated more than half of the world’s gross domestic product.
Since then, the region underwent a period of decay and decline. Today, Asia is in the
midst of a great transformation, and it is estimated that by 2035 it will be respon-
sible for more than one-half of the world’s gross domestic product. Propelled by three
decades of rapid economic growth, momentous political transitions, and intensified
regional integration, Asia is no longer simply a fast-expanding and evolving region;
it is increasingly the geopolitical epicenter of the global system itself. The goal of this
series is to offer readers a front-row seat to view and better understand this kaleido-
scope of regional change in all its dazzling dynamism and diversity. Who would have
thought in 1978, when Deng Xiaoping came to power in Beijing, that China would
soon begin a generation of double-digit economic growth? Who could have foreseen
that Asia would become the region where the world’s richest countries, Singapore and
Brunei, would live shoulder to shoulder with the world’s poorest, Afghanistan and
Laos? The Asia Today series is designed to respond to the growing demand for sus-
tained research and deep knowledge of contemporary Asia. It covers the full expanse
of this vast region—from China to India, Japan to Pakistan, Kazakhstan to Turkey,
Mongolia to Israel, Iraq to Indonesia. The series editors, Takashi Inoguchi and G. John
Ikenberry, aided by a 44-member advisory board, are dedicated to identifying fresh
and penetrating studies of Asia by the region’s foremost experts.
Series Editors
Takashi I noguchi , Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo and President, University
of Niigata Prefecture, Japan
G. John Ikenberry , the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International
Affairs,
Princeton University, Department of Politics, and the Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs
Published by Palgrave Macmillan:
Political Parties and Democracy: Contemporary Western Europe and Asia
Edited by Takashi Inoguchi and Jean Blondel
The Troubled Triangle: Economic and Security Concerns for the United States,
Japan, and China
Edited by Takashi Inoguchi and G. John Ikenberry
Japan, the US, and Regional Institution-Building in the New Asia: When Identity
Matters
By Kuniko Ashizawa
The Rise of Korean Leadership: Emerging Powers and Liberal International Order
By G. John Ikenberry and Jongryn Mo
Asia-Pacific Nations in International Peace Support and Stability Operations
Edited by Chiyuki Aoi and Yee-Kuang Heng
The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda: International Power and Domestic
Political Cohesion
By Kingsley Edney
The Australia-ASEAN Dialogue: Tracing 40 Years of Partnership
Edited by Sally Percival Wood and Baogang He
Japanese and Korean Politics: Alone and Apart from Each Other
Edited by Takashi Inoguchi
Japanese and Russian Politics: Polar Opposites or Something in Common?
Edited by Takashi Inoguchi
Ethics in Public Life: Good Practitioners in a Rising Asia
By Kenneth Winston
America, China, and the Struggle for World Order: Ideas, Traditions, Historical
Legacies, and Global Visions
Edited by G. John Ikenberry, Wang Jisi, and Zhu Feng
Democratizing Health Care: Welfare State Building in Korea and Thailand
By Illan Nam
Democratizing Health Care
Welfare State Building in Korea and Thailand
Illan Nam
Palgrave
macmillan
DEMOCRATIZING HEALTH CARE
Copyright © Illan Nam 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-53711-9
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication
may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication
may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In
accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London
EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author
of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One
New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
ISBN 978-1-349-55822-3
E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-137-53712-6
DOI: 10.1057/9781137537126
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the
Library of Congress.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
To my parents,
Chung Hyun and In Kyung Nam
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Contents
List of Illustrations i x
Acknowledgments xi
Notes on Names and References x v
Introduction: Health Reforms in Two Developing
Democracies 1
1 H ealth Regimes in Korea and Thailand 1 9
2 S olidarity Coalitions: Nongovernmental Organizations,
Bureaucrats, and Labor in Health Reforms 51
3 T he Crucible of Democracy Movements: Forging
Political Actors 7 3
4 P artners for Solidarity: Citizens’ Organizations and
Labor in South Korea 131
5 A llying for a “Big Bang” Reform: Progressive
Bureaucrats and NGOs in Thailand 1 69
Conclusion: Experts and Activists in Policy Making 2 05
Appendix 213
Notes 2 15
References 229
Index 265
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Illustrations
Figures
1.1 P ublic health expenditures as a percentage of total
health expenditures 20
1.2 C hanges to Thai insurance schemes after reform 21
1.3 Changes to Korean insurance schemes after reform 2 2
1.4 H ousehold out-of-pocket payments for health care 2 7
1.5 Public financing as a percentage of total health
expenditures 2 8
1.6 P ublic health expenditure/total health expenditures 40
1.7 M ap of Thai and Korean health regimes before and
after reform 45
1.8 M odels of health regimes 4 7
1.9 P ublic health expenditure/total health expenditure
against per capita income 4 9
Tables
1.1 I ncidence of catastrophic health payments 2 7
1.2 T hailand’s health financing schemes after UC reform 31
1.3 Timetable of insurance coverage 33
1.4 D istribution of population across insurance society
types (1997) 34
1.5 Wages by size of establishment (nonfarm
industries, 2006) 3 5
1.6 C hanges in employees’ contributions by firm size 3 8
1.7 C hange in contributions for workers by
income segments 39
A.1 C omposition of interviews 2 13