Non-Covered Medical Expenses in South Korea Reach 422.1 Billion Won

The Ministry of Health and Welfare⁢ and the National Health Insurance ⁤Service released the⁢ results‌ of the ‘2023 Second Half Non-covered Reporting System’ on their website, revealing that non-covered⁢ medical expenses at medical institutions in the second half of last year were⁤ close to 422.1 billion won.

By department, orthopedics had the largest amount at 117 billion won, followed by neurosurgery, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and ‍adolescent medicine, ⁣rehabilitation medicine, and urology.

The⁣ non-covered treatment ⁣reporting system is a system in which medical institutions report non-covered treatment history to understand the status​ of non-covered treatment and guarantee the public’s right‍ to know about non-covered treatment information and right to choose medical care.

Key ‍Findings

• Total medical expenses for 594 items at hospital-level medical institutions in⁢ September⁣ 2023 amounted to KRW 422.1 billion.
• Hospitals accounted for the largest proportion at KRW 193.8 billion (45.9%).
• Orthopedic treatment costs ⁣accounted for the largest ⁢proportion​ at KRW 117 billion (27.7%).
• The top 10 items accounted for 45.3% of the total non-covered medical ⁤expenses.

Measures to⁢ Manage Non-Covered Treatment

The ⁢government plans to strengthen non-covered treatment management by establishing ​measures to manage non-serious excessive non-covered ⁢treatment that burdens the⁤ people’s medical expenses and health insurance finances.

In accordance with the first implementation‍ plan for medical reform, the government will‍ support rational medical ⁢choices for consumers by strengthening non-covered monitoring and‌ expanding information‌ provision.

The government will ⁣also ​promote overall non-covered ​standardization by​ collecting opinions from the​ medical field⁣ and developing non-covered ⁢standard treatment guidelines, standard names, codes, etc.

Restricting Concurrent Treatment Benefits

For non-serious non-covered treatments with a clear‍ tendency for abuse, such as manual ​therapy, ‌the government will consider‌ restricting concurrent treatment benefits ⁣if medical necessity is low.

The government‍ will also discuss ⁢ways to exclude from non-covered items ‍technologies ⁢that are ineffective or have safety⁤ issues through periodic re-evaluation of medical technology ⁤and verification of⁣ effectiveness.

Conclusion

The ⁤government will analyze the⁤ data⁣ collected through the reporting system to​ provide information that ‍is​ helpful for ⁤the ⁢people’s ‌actual use of medical services, and continue to strengthen non-covered monitoring, such as ⁣by expanding‍ the non-covered reporting system.

Kwon Byeong-gi, the director ‌of the Essential Medical Support Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, emphasized the importance of strengthening non-covered⁢ monitoring and promoting overall‌ non-covered standardization.