[News Terms] 'Additional Fees' Increasing Starting Next Month

'Gasan Suga' is the health insurance medical fee that the government pays additionally for emergency treatment of critically ill patients.

The 'Suga' in Gasan Suga refers to the medical fee. The medical fee is the total price combining the money paid by the patient (out-of-pocket expense) and the money given by the National Health Insurance Corporation to the hospital for medical services. It can be considered the 'official medical price' decided by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, which comprehensively accounts for the cost of materials needed for treatment, labor costs of doctors and nurses, hospital facility operation costs, and more. Gasan Suga is the concept of additional medical fees paid by health insurance on top of this fixed medical fee.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare reflects on-site opinions that compensation should be focused on emergency treatment for critically ill patients to prevent the departure of essential medical personnel in fields such as emergency rooms, where compensation is low and life-saving is involved, and to efficiently utilize limited resources. Accordingly, it applies Gasan Suga to support additional medical fees.

A patient is being transported to the Emergency Medical Center at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced at the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee that from June, the health insurance Gasan Suga rate applied to surgeries for critically ill emergency patients will be expanded from the current 50% to 100%.

On holidays and during nighttime hours (18:00?09:00), it will be increased up to 200%. Emergency Gasan applies when final treatment for a critically ill emergency patient is completed within 24 hours of visiting the emergency room. The expansion of emergency Gasan will be applied first to regional and specialized emergency medical centers (42 locations) and regional trauma centers (14 locations), and according to the already announced emergency medical plan, the target institutions will be gradually expanded after gathering opinions on the classification, standards, and names of emergency medical institutions' responsibility treatment functions.

The main surgery fees for thoracic surgery will also be significantly improved. The list of some surgeries, including aortic dissection surgery and pediatric heart surgery, will be subdivided, and a new fee for cerebral perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass in heart surgery will be established to strengthen compensation.