Medial spending for elderly patients is soaring as the country ages rapidly.

According to the National Health Insurance Service on Wednesday, there were 6.45 million over-65s covered by state health insurance last year. That was an increase of 29 percent from 2010.

The proportion of elderly people among health insurance subscribers rose from 10.2 percent to 12.7 percent over the same period. But medical spending for the elderly increased more sharply, soaring 78 percent from W14.52 trillion to W25.19 trillion (US$1=W1,150).

The average monthly medical cost per elderly patient jumped 38 percent from W237,784 to W328,599. And the proportion of spending for elderly patients among all payouts increased from 32.2 percent to 38.7 percent.