With election day on March 9th, South Korea is in the final months of presidential election campaigning, however, an unexpected issue has recently been brought up by one candidate, hair loss. South Korea has a national health insurance program, and presidential candidate Lee Jae-Myung has rolled out a proposal as part of his campaign to have hair loss treatments covered by insurance. Since this proposal was announced, it has started a major debate in South Korea.
While some people think Lee’s proposal is nothing more than a campaign ploy, the truth is that Lee has started a very important discussion, which needs to happen in more countries. Not only is this discussion brings to light the vast numbers of people experiencing hair loss, but South Koreans are having real discussions about the causes of hair loss and the emotional toll that hair loss can cause. These types of discussions are so important so that those experiencing hair loss can feel more comfortable sharing their experiences and hopefully receive treatment.
We do not know what the outcome of the South Korean election will be or if this proposal would even be passed if Lee won, however, we will keep a watchful eye on this in the coming months. In the United States, I think we are still far away from having hair loss treatments covered by insurance, but hopefully, we can start having open and honest discussions about hair loss to get this debate started.
