Wide gap between prices for single hospital rooms

By Bae Ji-sook

Staff reporter

Some hospitals charge up to nine times that of others for using a single room ㅡ separate from "special treatment" or "VIP rooms" ㅡ as well as other examination fees that aren't covered by National Health Insurance, a civic watchdog revealed Wednesday.

According to the Health Right Network's research on 44 general hospitals nationwide, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital in western Seoul topped the list by charging 497,000 won per day, about nine times Chosun University Medical Center's 55,000 won. The hospital later explained that the fee was for a VIP room, which was designated for wealthy people.

Chungnam National University Hospital placed first for positron emission tomography (PET), a nuclear medicine diagnostic device, at 1.5 million won, about 2.2 times that of Chonbuk National University Hospital at 700,000 won.

Moreover, most hospitals do not leave proper pricing information on their websites, leaving many patients confused.

"Since many state-of-the-art examination procedures are not covered by health insurance, cost is a decisive factor for patients. The hospitals are obliged to detail such information. However only six of them, including the Paik Hospital franchise, placed the price tags on the main page of the website, allowing easy access," said Sung Nam-hee, spokeswoman for the group.

병원간 1인 병실료 9배 차이

시민단체 건강세상네트워크는 수요일 여러 대형대학병원들이 특별치료실이나 VIP실을 제외한 1인실의 가격이 다른 곳에 비해 많게는 아홉 배 이상 높다고 밝혔다.

국내 대형대학병원 44곳을 조사한 이 단체의 자료에 따르면 서울 이화여대 목동병원이 1인실 하루당 497,000원을 받아 1위에 올랐다. 이는 조선대병원 1인실 55,000원의 아홉 배다.

이화여대 병원은 이같이 높은 병실료는 부유한 사람을 위한 VIP실이라고 설명했다.

충남대병원은 방사선 의료진단기기인 전신PET 진료에 1,500만원을 받아 1위를 기록했다. 이는 전북대병원의 진료비인 70,000만원의 2.2배다.