The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) said it has created over 35 billion won ($30.8 million) worth of economic value through international cooperation programs, including the export of its review system.

As developing countries growingly suffer from rising medical costs amid the population aging and the surge of new medical technologies, they are benchmarking HIRA to expand their health insurance expense management system, HIRA said.

In 2017, HIRA exported its system to Bahrein for the first time in the world. HIRA is helping the island country in the Persian Gulf build the health insurance review system by 2020 and supporting the maintenance and repair for the next five years.

The export of the system to Bahrein is worth 33.5 billion won, and it will create more than 200 jobs in the private software development industry, according to HIRA.

Another business of HIRA is consulting foreign countries for improving public health policies.

HIRA began overseas consulting programs in 2014. Until 2016, the agency provided 900 million won worth of consulting for six countries – Indonesia, Peru, Ghana, Ethiopia, Colombia, and the Philippines.

This year, HIRA will offer advice for China, Indonesia, and India.

In September last year, the agency completed consulting for Cambodia’s building of Payment Certification Agency, in collaboration with the World Bank. HIRA will continue $200,000 Cambodia project this year, including the operation of a training program for officials from PCA.

“Korea has proved competence in the health review system by exporting the system to Bahrein,” HIRA President Kim Seung-taek said. “HIRA will promote the excellence of the nation’s health insurance system in the world and contribute to economic advancement through the healthcare industry.”

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