Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Patients to pay up to 50% more for medical treatments during Chuseok holiday
A patient is transferred from an ambulance outside an emergency room at a hospital in Seoul's Dongjak District, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
The government announced on Thursday that people using hospitals or pharmacies during the Chuseok holiday will face an increase in costs of 30 to 50 percent compared to usual.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Saturday, Night, and Holiday Medical Expenses Additional System will be applied during the five-day Chuseok holiday from Sept. 14 to 18.
The system allows medical institutions to receive additional medical fees and medication expenses when treating patients or dispensing medicine at night, Saturday afternoon and holidays, and was introduced to compensate employees for overtime work.
Accordingly, medical institutions can charge patients an extra 30 to 50 percent for treatment from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day, on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and on all public holidays. Also, local clinics and pharmacies will charge an additional 30 percent on Saturday.
Specifically, patients who seek treatment at a local clinic on weekdays should pay 5,283 won, or 30 percent of the first-time examination fee, which is 17,610 won this year. In the case of primary medical institutions such as local clinics, patients pay 30 percent of the medical expenses covered by health insurance and the remaining 70 percent is paid by the National Health Insurance Service.
However, patients visiting a local clinic on a Saturday, holiday, or at night will be charged 6,868 won, which is 30 percent more compared to weekdays when patients pay 5,283 won.
The ministry has decided to provide additional compensation to small and medium-sized hospitals and clinics that stay open during the Chuseok holiday by providing additional medical insurance fees amid the nationwide medical staffing shortage.
Hospital and pharmacy fees have been applied with a 30 percent additional rate for public holidays, but this year, the additional rate will be raised temporarily to 50 percent over the Chuseok holiday.
Even if medical expenses or preparations rise temporarily, they will not be applied during this Chuseok, and the burden on patients will remain the same.
In addition, specialist medical examination fees at regional emergency medical centers and specialized emergency medical centers will also be raised during the long weekend.
During the week before the holiday and the week after, the government plans to pay 3.5 times the consultation fee before the emergency treatment by adding 100 percent to 150 percent of the consultation fee for specialists in emergency rooms.