Excessive Treatment After Car Accidents Persists... Medical Fees 400 Billion Won Higher Than Western Medicine

Herbal Medicine Consultation Fees Account for 58%... Surpassing Western Medicine
Average Consultation Fees Three Times Higher than Western Medicine
Overtreatment Increases Due to 'Set Billing' and '10-Day Herbal Prescription'

Among automobile insurance claims, Korean traditional medicine treatment costs have far surpassed Western medicine treatment costs. This is analyzed to be due to the average treatment cost being more than three times higher for Korean traditional medicine and the concentration on minor injury patients, leading to rampant over-treatment.

Korean Traditional Medicine Treatment Costs Widen Gap with Western Medicine

According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service on the 27th, last year, Korean traditional medicine treatment costs amounted to 1.4636 trillion won. This is more than three times the 459.8 billion won recorded in 2016. In contrast, Western medicine treatment costs decreased by 12.4% during the same period, from 1.1988 trillion won to 1.0506 trillion won.

Due to this trend, the proportion of Korean traditional medicine in total treatment costs has overtaken Western medicine. It was only 27.7% in 2016 but exceeded half at 58.2% last year. During the same period, the share of Western medicine treatment costs shrank from 72.3% to 41.8%.

This has led to analysis that 'over-treatment' in Korean traditional medicine institutions such as Korean traditional hospitals and clinics is excessive. Although Korean traditional medical institutions account for only 15.2% of all medical institutions (as of 2021), their treatment costs exceed half of the total.

In particular, over-treatment in Korean traditional medicine was prominent in treatment costs for minor and moderate injury patients under automobile insurance. Treatment costs for minor injury patients in Korean traditional medicine increased by 143% between 2017 and 2021. Treatment costs for moderate injury patients also rose by 174.3% during the same period. In contrast, Western medicine showed the opposite trend, with treatment costs for minor and moderate injury patients decreasing by 16.9% and 4.6%, respectively.

The average treatment cost was also overwhelmingly higher for Korean traditional medicine. According to major large-scale non-life insurance companies such as Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, DB Insurance, and KB Insurance, the average treatment cost for minor injury patients (grades 12-14) under automobile insurance last year was 1,083,000 won for Korean traditional medicine and 335,000 won for Western medicine. While the gap was about twice as much in 2017, it widened to three times last year.

Average Medical Expenses for Car Insurance (Source: Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, DB Insurance, KB Insurance)

Over-treatment Inducing 'Set Claims' Persist... Prescriptions for 10 Days of Herbal Medicine

This is attributed to the entrenched practice of 'set claims,' where similar purpose and effect treatment items are claimed simultaneously without clear standards. Some Korean traditional hospitals have induced over-treatment by recommending set claims for complex treatments regardless of the patient's symptoms or injury severity.

Also cited as a problem is the atmosphere of prescribing the maximum limit of 10 days of herbal medicine per prescription without clear criteria based on symptoms or injuries. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, herbal medicine treatment costs, which account for the largest portion of Korean traditional medicine treatment costs, more than doubled from 123.7 billion won in 2016 to 280.5 billion won last year. Although most patients were minor injury patients, 75.9% of all patients were prescribed herbal medicine for 10 days or more.

Moreover, the prescribed herbal medicine was often not properly consumed. According to a survey by the consumer group 'Consumers Together,' only 25.8% of patients took all the prescribed herbal medicine. The main reason (multiple responses allowed) was 'because it was bothersome' at 28.6%. This was followed by 'because I thought it would not be effective' (22.3%), 'because I could not trust the herbal medicine' (21.0%), and 'because there was too much' (9.6%).