Check What the National Health Checkup Includes in Your 40s

Who gets the general health checkup, and how often?

The National Health Insurance Service divides eligibility as follows: heads of regional households and employee subscribers, household members and dependents aged 20 and over, and Medical Aid recipients aged 20 to 64. The usual interval is 2 years, and 1 year for non-office employee subscribers. The annual screening period is January 1 to December 31. The Service pays the full cost of the general health checkup, and for Medical Aid recipients the state and local governments pay.

To check whether you are eligible this year, log in and look under Health Moa, then My Health, then Look Up Screening Eligibility, on the Service's website, or contact the Service.

What are the common tests everyone takes?

The common items in the Service's general health checkup guide are below.

How to read fasting glucose among the blood tests is covered in our post on fasting glucose and HbA1c.

What should you check at age 40 and in your 40s?

In the Service's table by sex and age, the starting age and interval differ by item.

• Dyslipidemia: from age 24 for men and age 40 for women, at 4-year intervals. So the testing ages in your 40s are 40, 44, and 48 for both men and women, but that doesn't mean a man's first test is at 40. The items are total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
• Hepatitis B: for people at age 40. People who are already carriers or are immune are excluded.
• Depression: an item taken once between ages 40 and 49.
• Lifestyle assessment: age 40 is included in the target ages.
• Dental plaque test: an item included in the oral exam at age 40.

These items are not added every time throughout your 40s. Check with the Service not only your age but also your earlier test history and whether you are eligible in a given year.

Which national cancer screenings can you get in your 40s?

Here are the items related to your 40s from the Service's cancer screening guide, in a table.

The Service identifies the liver cancer high-risk group from insurance benefit records and past screening results. Don't conclude on your own that you are eligible just because you have a history such as cirrhosis or hepatitis B or C, or a virus test history. Look it up. The out-of-pocket costs in the table are for the set national cancer screening items. People in the lower 50% by health insurance premium (as of November of the previous year) who are selected as national cancer screening participants, and Medical Aid recipients, pay nothing. Sedation or polyp removal and similar services may cost extra.

For people with the cancer special calculation benefit, the relevant cancer item is deferred, and they can register as additional participants if they wish. For colorectal cancer, there are also deferrals based on factors such as a recent colonoscopy. That people in their 40s haven't reached age 50, the starting age for national colorectal cancer screening, doesn't mean you can put off seeing a doctor when you have symptoms.

Where can you look at your checkup results again?

On the Service's current website, there is a Checkup Results Lookup menu under Health Moa, then My Health. Rather than hunting for the old menu name in the 2023 guide, verify your identity and check from the current menu. Having your earlier results ready makes it easier to ask about changes at an appointment.

You can think of preparing for a visit in this order: eligibility lookup, booking a screening institution, and getting your earlier results ready. The Service advises fasting after 9 p.m. the night before and limiting food and drink on the day, and recommends a morning checkup. It explains that for an afternoon test you need to keep at least 8 hours of fasting. However, people taking only the colorectal cancer stool test or the breast and cervical cancer tests aren't subject to fasting, so check the instructions from the institution you booked.

When should you contact a medical institution?

What each result means and whether further tests are needed are decided by your doctor after seeing the results. For whether you are eligible, whose turn it is this year, and whether you qualify for a copay exemption, contact the National Health Insurance Service. If you have symptoms, see a doctor without waiting for a screening date. This post organizes publicly available screening guidance and does not replace an individual screening decision.