Hair today, gone tomorrow: Gov't backpedals on coverage for balding treament after backlash

The government is backing down on a plan to expand national health insurance coverage for hair loss treatment after fierce backlash from patient groups and criticism over gender equity.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday canceled a public forum to discuss national health insurance coverage for hair loss treatment, which was initially set to take place on Saturday. 

The decision appears to have been driven by growing public concern that the proposal would prioritize hair loss treatment over more pressing medical needs and strain the state health insurance budget.

“We called off a planned public forum on expanding national health insurance coverage for hair loss treatment,” the ministry said in a press release.

The event was expected to invite about 200 members of the public and medical experts to debate whether hair loss treatments should be funded by the state health insurance budget and how broadly that coverage should be expanded.

The decision to cancel the forum seemingly casts doubt on whether the government will move forward with its previously planned proposal to expand insurance coverage for hair-loss medications later this year.

Ahead of the forum, the ministry conducted an online survey between June 12 and 19 on whether hair loss should be treated as a medical condition or as a cosmetic or age-related issue that individuals should pay for themselves.

"With a wide range of views already expressed ahead of the forum, we concluded that the issue of expanding state health insurance coverage to hair loss requires more time for careful review," the ministry said.

The proposal has sparked growing backlash from medical groups and patient organizations, which argue that expanding coverage for hair loss could divert limited health care resources from more urgent medical needs.

“Expanding insurance coverage for hair loss treatment is a populist policy that strikes at the very foundation of the national health insurance system by upending its core principles of medical necessity and priorities in coverage,” the Korea Severe Disease Association said in a statement.

The Korean Medical Association, the country's largest doctors' group, echoed the sentiment.

"Expanding insurance coverage for hair loss treatment without first assessing policy priorities and its fiscal impact could undermine the sound management of the national health insurance system,” the doctors' group said. 

The proposal also faced criticism online that it would primarily benefit young men.

Because the hair loss medications being considered for national health insurance coverage are not approved for use in women, critics argued the policy would largely benefit men in their 20s and 30s.

“If the government announces only insurance coverage for hair loss medication, women in their 20s and 30s will turn away [from the party],” Jeong Min-cheol, a vice chair of the ruling Democratic Party's policy committee, wrote on X on June 17. “If youth policies continue to appear focused on men, it will only push away a key support base that has already begun drifting from the party."

The ministry has been reviewing broader insurance coverage for hair loss treatment after President Lee Jae Myung said that “hair loss is a matter of survival” during a ministerial briefing in December of last year.

Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong took a more cautious stance at the time, saying, “Medically diagnosed forms of hair loss are already eligible for insurance coverage in certain cases."

Six months later, the health minister said that the ministry had "completed its internal review at the working level” during a town-hall meeting on June 11.

“The ministry will determine whether to proceed after gathering public opinion later this year,” Health Minister Jeong added.

Although the ministry would no longer pursue a standalone public debate on hair loss treatment, it said it would continue exploring policies to improve young people's health.

"Although the public forum has been canceled, we will continue developing policies that address the health needs of young people and the broader public while strengthening national health insurance coverage," the ministry said.

BY CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]