The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that health insurance coverage for COVID-19 treatments, Pfizer Korea's Paxlovid tablets and Gilead Sciences Korea's Veklury injections, will be applied starting from the 25th.
With health insurance now covering COVID-19 treatments, the existing system where the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency purchased medicines from pharmaceutical companies and supplied them free of charge to pharmacies and others will shift to a market distribution system where pharmacies or medical institutions purchase medicines directly from pharmaceutical companies for use.
Additionally, until now, only 'COVID-19 treatment designated institutions' could prescribe and dispense COVID-19 treatments, but from this day forward, insured patients can receive prescriptions and dispensing of COVID-19 treatments at regular pharmacies or medical institutions.
However, in cases where high-risk mild and moderate patients (between mild and severe) use government-supplied Veklury injections, prescriptions and dispensing are only possible at COVID-19 treatment designated institutions.
The patient's out-of-pocket cost is maintained at the current level of approximately 50,000 KRW, with 47,090 KRW per pack (30 tablets) of Paxlovid tablets and 49,920 KRW for Veklury injections (based on 6 vials).
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