Gyeonggi Province Increases Mental Health Treatment Subsidies for Vulnerable Elderly by 80%

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province has increased psychiatric treatment subsidies for elderly people, a vulnerable population in mental health, by 80% compared to the previous amount.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 10th that it has increased the budget for the "Elderly Depression Treatment Cost Support" project, a health promotion public health initiative for the elderly, from the existing 30 million won to 130 million won through budget adjustments by project under the Integrated Mental Health Promotion Project, which is Gyeonggi Province's mental health initiative budget.

With the budget increase, the annual support limit per person for the "Elderly Depression Treatment Cost Support" project has been finalized at 360,000 won, which is 1.8 times higher than the previous 200,000 won.

The "Elderly Depression Treatment Cost Support" project provides depression treatment subsidies to elderly residents aged 60 and older in Gyeonggi Province and has been implemented since 2013.

The province explained that the elderly depression treatment support project started earlier than other mental health support projects, so the support amount was set lower, and the province decided to increase the support amount to ensure equity among support recipients.

The annual number of people supported by this project is estimated at approximately 700 people. The increase in support amount will be applied starting from applications submitted on August 10.

The province will only increase the support amount this year, but starting next year, it plans to abolish the current support criterion of 120% of the median income, and reduce blind spots in treatment by providing treatment support regardless of income level.

Those interested in applying for "Elderly Depression Treatment Cost Support" can contact the applicant or guardian at city/county Mental Health Welfare Centers or Suicide Prevention Centers.
Support funds are provided in the form of retroactive settlement after receiving treatment first.

Eom Won-ja, Director of the Mental Health Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "For the elderly, the 2020 suicide rate in Gyeonggi Province for those 80 years and older was 63.9 per 100,000 people, which is the most serious among all age groups," and added, "Through this expansion of the treatment cost support project, we hope that elderly people will detect and maintain treatment of their conditions early."

Meanwhile, in addition to the psychiatric treatment cost support project for the elderly, Gyeonggi Province is also implementing various projects such as "Youth Mind Care," which provides up to 360,000 won per year in outpatient treatment fees to young people aged 19 to 34 in Gyeonggi Province who have been first diagnosed with a psychiatric condition within the last 5 years, without regard to registration with mental health welfare centers or income criteria.