The National Health Insurance Service is tightening eligibility reviews for foreign nationals after finding suspected forgeries and alterations in documents issued overseas and submitted to enroll in the health insurance program or to register dependents. The agency said it will block improper enrollment in advance by sharing document verification records among its branches nationwide and re-examining any paperwork previously flagged as suspect when it is submitted again.
The National Health Insurance Service said on the 13th that it will begin operating a verification record management system for supporting documents on the 14th to improve the accuracy and fairness of health insurance eligibility management.
The system follows the discovery of suspected forgeries and alterations in overseas-issued documents that some foreign nationals submitted to qualify for health insurance or to register dependents.
Until now, the agency has relied on official certification such as the Apostille to confirm the authenticity of family relationship certificates and marriage certificates submitted by foreign nationals. The Apostille is an international certification system under which an authorized body in the issuing country verifies the authenticity of a public document issued abroad.
But document formats and issuance and certification procedures differ from country to country, and submission channels have grown more varied with the spread of remote filing, making it difficult to judge authenticity precisely.
In response, the agency built a system that centrally manages suspected forgery cases and verification results identified at branches across the country. If someone with a past verification record submits documents again, the agency can check the existing record and re-examine whether the paperwork is genuine. Cases identified through various intake channels, including in-person and remote filing, will also be shared among branches nationwide and used in eligibility reviews.
The agency is also expanding cooperation with related government bodies. It plans to work with the Ministry of Justice and others to improve methods for verifying the authenticity of documents issued abroad, while also informing applicants in advance of the potential civil and criminal liability for submitting forged or altered paperwork.
"This system is intended to systematically manage verification records for supporting documents and to verify those documents more accurately," an agency official said. "We will minimize inconvenience for subscribers while preventing improper enrollment in advance, building a fair and trusted system for managing health insurance eligibility."