The national audit agency has informed the presidential transition committee that its inspection of health insurance spending by related agencies has identified problems.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection(BAI) and the transition committee on Tuesday, the audit agency reviewed data from last November and December analyzing how the health ministry, the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service managed and spent health insurance funds.

The BAI has been carrying out inspections on the agencies since 2018 after the healthcare budget balance shifted to a deficit.

The transition committee said the latest inspection focused on the agencies’ financial management system and the spending structure of health insurance funds.

Enumerating some problems it identified, the BAI noted overspending on medical fees and cases in which unregistered high-income businesspeople were recognized as dependents of policyholders. The agency said such problems arose due to the closed nature of decision-making systems for insurance policies.

The latest inspection is likely to have focused on spending on treatments that came to be covered by health insurance with the so-called "Moon Jae-in Care," the incumbent administration's policy to improve the national health insurance coverage.

Under this policy, the government expanded guarantees for infertility treatments, child dental care, and healthcare for severe cases of dementia from August 2017. The national insurance system also began to cover MRIs and sonograms.

The BAI is said to be drafting a report based on the latest inspection results.