[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The price of multifocal intraocular lenses, which are not covered by insurance among the artificial lenses used in cataract surgery, was found to vary by up to 15 times depending on the hospital.
On the 21st, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that it analyzed 37 cases with confirmed costs out of 135 damage relief applications related to cataract surgery received by the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center from 2015 to June this year, revealing these findings.
Even for the same multifocal intraocular lens, the amount charged to consumers varied by up to 8.5 times (330,000 to 2,800,000 KRW) at hospital-level medical institutions. At clinic-level institutions, the difference was as much as 15.2 times (330,000 to 5,000,000 KRW). The total surgery cost, including examination fees, also varied from 1,540,000 KRW to 9,830,000 KRW depending on the hospital.
According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Agency from June 28 to July 23 targeting 410 consumers who had experienced cataract surgery, 25.4% answered that they did not know whether the intraocular lens implanted in their eyes was monofocal or multifocal. Nearly half, 49.8%, were unaware that monofocal intraocular lenses are covered by insurance benefits, while multifocal lenses are not. Among the consumers who reported experiencing side effects after surgery, which accounted for 29.3%, the main issues were glare (33.3%), decreased vision (29.2%), and inflammation (23.3%).
58.5% of respondents pointed out the need for hospitals to explain treatment costs and side effects before surgery, and 37.3% expressed the opinion that standards should be established to prevent excessive prescription of expensive non-covered items. This survey was conducted both face-to-face and online, with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±4.84 percentage points.
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