[Breaking] Government "Significantly Strengthening Surgery Fee Increase for Severe Pediatric Patients Under 6"

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 29th that it will significantly improve the age-based additional fees for high-risk and high-difficulty pediatric surgeries and introduce and support regional policy fees for high-risk neonatal care.

They explained that the age-based additional fees for surgery, treatment, and anesthesia for 281 high-difficulty surgical procedures for children under six years old will be greatly expanded, reflecting the difficulty and risk of the surgeries.

The Ministry stated, "Starting from May, the age-based additional fees for surgery, treatment, and anesthesia for 281 procedures designated as high-risk and high-difficulty surgeries will be significantly increased. The age-based additional fees, which were previously applied at a higher rate only for newborns weighing less than 1500g and children under one year old, will be expanded to children under six years old, and the additional fee rate will be raised substantially from a maximum of 300% to 1000%."

They added, "When the age-based additional fee is applied, for example, in the case of patent ductus arteriosus closure surgery, a high-risk and high-difficulty surgery required for premature infants weighing less than 1500g, the total surgery fee will increase approximately 2.5 times, from the existing 7.11 million KRW to 17.69 million KRW."