"Cracking Down on Over-treatment"... Government Investigates Medical Fees at Over 4,900 Animal Hospitals

Completion of Animal Hospital Treatment Fee Survey by First Half of Next Year and Disclosure
Standardization of Top 100 Frequent Treatment Items by 2024

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government will investigate the medical fees of over 4,900 animal hospitals nationwide and disclose the results by June next year.

Starting January next year, animal hospitals must post in advance the fees for major medical services such as consultations, hospitalization, and X-ray examinations. By 2024, a standard for 100 disease names and medical procedure items used in animal hospitals will be developed and distributed.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the "Key Policy Implementation Plan for the Companion Animal Medical Field" containing these details on the 6th.

This plan was prepared as part of implementing the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's core national agenda in the agriculture and food sector, "Guaranteeing the Life of Companion Animals and Spreading Animal Protection Culture."

Although about 26% (6.06 million households) of all households in Korea raise companion animals, increasing demand for animal hospitals, there have been growing complaints due to large variations in medical fees between hospitals and the lack of accurate information on each medical service item.

Accordingly, the government decided to investigate the current status of medical fees at animal hospitals together with consumer groups and animal medical-related organizations and disclose the information by region.

By the end of this year, the research service related to the design of the medical status survey will be completed, and from January next year, a survey will be conducted on over 4,900 animal hospitals nationwide regarding medical fees by service item, calculation basis, and frequency of treatment. The results are planned to be disclosed by June next year. After analyzing the minimum, maximum, average, and median costs by region, the information will be provided on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs website and other platforms.

The government will also standardize and distribute major disease names and medical procedure steps to prevent variations in medical fees caused by differences in disease names and treatment items among hospitals.

Initially, 40 standardization items were planned to be developed by 2024, but with an increased budget for the field next year, the target items have been expanded to 100.

To guarantee consumers' right to know, from January next year, costs for important medical items such as consultation, hospitalization, X-ray examination, and vaccination must be posted inside animal hospitals. Animal hospitals with two or more staff must post fees starting January next year, and those with one or more staff must post fees starting January 2024.

Additionally, from January next year, animal hospitals are required to explain the expected costs of major treatments such as surgeries to consumers in advance. This measure addresses cases of excessive billing due to lack of prior notice of surgery costs. Major treatments include internal organ, bone, joint surgeries accompanied by general anesthesia, and blood transfusions with general anesthesia.

Once the medical fee survey and standardization of medical items are completed, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to increase the number of items exempt from value-added tax (10%) to alleviate the burden of animal hospital medical fees.

From next year, the costs and frequencies of major medical procedures to be posted at animal hospitals will be surveyed, and tax exemption will be pursued in consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Considering the legal enforcement date, tax exemption is expected to be possible after 2024.

Along with this, the government plans to initiate a research service from January next year to review the introduction and method of a standard fee system for animal hospitals. To enable companion animal owners to respond efficiently to medical accidents and disputes, the government is also considering a measure requiring animal hospitals to provide medical records upon consumer request. However, to prevent side effects such as misuse of drugs by non-experts using the medical records, the purpose of providing medical records will be limited to "verification of animal medical accidents."

Lee Dong-sik, Director of the Quarantine Policy Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "To ensure that the investigation and disclosure of medical fees and standardization of medical items proceed smoothly, we will operate the 'Animal Medical Development Council,' a public-private consultative body involving the animal medical community, consumer groups, animal protection organizations, and experts, to gather stakeholders' opinions and closely monitor progress."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.