Last Year, Car Insurance Acupuncture Treatment Costs Reached 1.5 Trillion Won... Doubled in 4 Years

Chuna Therapy and Pharmacopuncture Medical Fees Increase Over 18% Annually
Acupuncture, Cupping, and Herbal Medicine 'Set Billing' Still Common
Inpatient Fees Decrease Annually in Western Medicine, Increase 35% Annually in Korean Medicine

The cost of Korean medicine treatment within bodily injury medical expenses under automobile insurance liability compensation has been estimated to reach 1.5 trillion KRW. This amount has more than doubled compared to 2018. In contrast, the cost of Western medicine treatment during the same period decreased by over 200 billion KRW.

According to the report titled "Status of Korean Medicine Treatment Expenses under Automobile Insurance Liability Compensation after Strengthening Health Insurance Coverage" by the Korea Insurance Research Institute on the 23rd, the Korean medicine treatment expenses under automobile insurance liability compensation amounted to 1.4636 trillion KRW in 2022. This represents a 101% increase compared to 713.9 billion KRW in 2018. On the other hand, Western medicine treatment expenses decreased by 16.8%, from 1.2623 trillion KRW to 1.0506 trillion KRW during the same period.

Despite the inclusion of Korean medicine Chuna therapy and higher-grade rooms (2-3 person rooms) in Korean medicine hospitals as covered items in 2019 due to the strengthening of health insurance coverage, the rise in Korean medicine treatment expenses continues. In fact, per capita Korean medicine treatment expenses increased by 28.2%, from 754,000 KRW in 2019 to 967,000 KRW, whereas Western medicine treatment expenses decreased by 3.8%, from 664,000 KRW to 639,000 KRW during the same period.

Since the coverage of Chuna therapy in 2019, the growth rate of total usage under health insurance has slowed, but the increase continues under automobile insurance. According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the annual growth rates of Chuna therapy coverage under automobile insurance since 2019 were 42.3% in 2019, 18.7% in 2020, 19.0% in 2021, and 18.5% in 2022, significantly exceeding the inflation rate.

Jeon Yong-sik, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, explained, "Under health insurance, patients must pay co-payments, and since the perceived effectiveness relative to the co-payment is low, usage may decrease. On the other hand, automobile insurance often does not require co-payments, so the increasing trend appears to be maintained."

Following the coverage of Chuna therapy, other non-covered Korean medicine treatments such as pharmacopuncture and physical therapy have also increased. According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the average annual growth rates from 2019 to 2022 were 20.1% for pharmacopuncture and 22.1% for physical therapy, surpassing the 18.8% average annual growth rate of Chuna therapy treatment expenses. Additionally, expenses for other items such as higher-grade room fees, thermography, and Korean medicine external preparations (such as Korean medicine patches and complex extracts) more than doubled, increasing from 7.3 billion KRW in 2019 to 19.5 billion KRW in 2022.

Jeon stated, "The concurrent increase in other non-covered Korean medicine treatments seems to be caused by 'set billing' practices at Korean medicine hospitals. Recently, cases where acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, herbal medicine, pharmacopuncture, and Chuna therapy are performed simultaneously have been reported."

Regarding hospitalization fees under automobile insurance, fees at tertiary general hospitals decreased by an average of 7.0% annually. Fees at general hospitals and hospitals also declined by 12.6% and 5.1% annually, respectively. In contrast, Korean medicine hospitals and clinics saw an average annual increase of 34.7%. Although the hospitalization fees at Korean medicine hospitals and clinics were 75.7 billion KRW in 2018, which was less than those at general hospitals (139.1 billion KRW) and hospitals (98.3 billion KRW), they grew overwhelmingly to 185.1 billion KRW in 2022. This is attributed to the increase in single rooms classified as higher-grade rooms due to coverage and changes in regulations on the proportion of general beds, as well as the application of higher treatment fees.

Jeon pointed out, "Although a decrease in medical expenses was expected due to the coverage of previously non-covered treatments, medical expenses under automobile insurance are increasing mainly in Korean medicine treatments. This could act as a pressure for insurance premium increases due to unnecessary treatments."

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