#Mr. A visited an orthopedic surgeon last July due to stiff muscles in his left arm. At the hospital, both arms were x-rayed and intramuscular injections were administered. Afterwards, I followed a physical therapist and quickly received four treatments, including massage physical therapy, electrotherapy, and injections, without even knowing what the treatment was. Just as he was about to calculate, Mr. A was surprised. He thought it would be expensive, around 50,000 won, but the hospital told him to pay 120,000 won. Mr. A, who had to pay the bill in tears, confessed, “I felt bad because I felt like the treatment was too much.”

It is common for medical institutions, such as orthopedics, to encourage patients to receive non-covered treatment without informing them of the price. According to the current ‘Medical Service Act’, medical institutions must inform patients in advance of the details and prices of non-covered treatment. However, because there are no separate punishment provisions, this provision is not properly observed in practice. It is pointed out that the system needs to be improved as it is a violation of the law and causes problems such as inflating the cost of non-covered medical treatment and deepening the avoidance of essential medical care.

According to Article 45 of the Medical Service Act on the 20th, the founder of a medical institution must notify the cost of non-covered medical treatment as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare so that patients or their guardians can easily find out. Brochures listing non-covered medical care items and prices must be placed in an easily accessible location, and organizations that operate websites must also post related information here. There is also an obligation to verbally explain the items and costs to patients in detail before receiving non-covered treatment.

However, there are frequent cases where the obligation to explain the price of non-covered treatment is not kept. Mr. B said, “My elementary school child said his finger was sore, so he went to an orthopedic surgeon and took an “I was embarrassed,” he said. “I thought it was around 10,000 won, but it came out to be 37,150 won, which is more than twice that amount.” She added, “The child’s finger was fine the next day, but if she had known메이저놀이터 it was uncompensated treatment, she would not have bothered to receive it.”

There are many cases posted online of people receiving uncompensated treatment without knowing the price and receiving excessive bills. Mr. C said, “I went to the orthopedic surgeon because my back hurt, and they said there was no problem on the “ It was around 20,000 won, so I was sad to hear that he had received expensive treatment,” he said.

It is analyzed that the reason why this is not well observed in the field even though there is an obligation to explain is because there are no punishment regulations. A lawyer specializing in medical care said, “If you look at the Medical Service Act, there is an obligation to notify non-compensated treatment, but if this is not followed, the Ministry of Health and Welfare only issues a correction order, and there are no punishment provisions such as fines, so it is not effective.” He added, “The Medical Service Act does not disclose patient rights, etc. He pointed out, “It is necessary to impose a fine of up to 1 million won on a person, and there is a need to introduce punishment regulations to a similar extent for violations of the obligation to notify non-covered medical treatment.”

There are also arguments that the government should control non-covered treatment, such as preventing the ‘tying and selling’ of non-covered treatment to health insurance patients. Nam Kyung-kyung, policy director of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, said, “If medical institutions do not provide explanations regarding non-covered treatment, they should not only be severely punished, but also control non-covered treatment. In Australia, the government sets the price range for non-covered treatment and sets the price range for non-covered treatment.” “It is controlled internally, and in Japan, it is prohibited to mix non-coverage treatment when treating patients with health insurance,” he said.

At the same time, he said, “Non-covered treatment is the biggest means of generating profit for hospitals, but we are completely defenseless by allowing tie-in treatment and not controlling prices,” adding, “However, if it is an essential treatment and it is not covered, there is a need to quickly reimburse it.” .