Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Patients to pay full amount for checkups at large hospitals
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
Patients at general hospitals for medical checkups will be required to pay a doctors’ bill in full out of their own pockets, as part of government efforts to discourage those with minor illnesses from going to large clinics.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday that it is considering obliging patients to shoulder all expenses when they receive a medical examination at 317 general hospitals across the country in a bid to ease the overcrowded conditions there, and encourage patients to visit clinics in their neighborhoods.
Currently, those who have medical checkups at university-run hospitals pay the doctor fees in full, while patients seeing a doctor at general hospitals and small clinics pay only 30 to 50 percent of the total bill. The remaining portion is paid by the National Health Insurance.
Additionally, people going to university hospitals for a cold or other minor illnesses will be required to pay a greater portion of the medical treatment. Until now, excluding the medical checkup, patients paid 60 percent of hospital expenses and other treatment-related costs. From now on the patients’ burden will increase up to 80 percent to prompt those with minor symptoms to go to smaller clinics for treatment.