Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses at Healthcare Facilities to Rise by 30-50% During Lunar New Year Holiday

Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Increase by 30-50% During the Holiday
Patients with Appointments on the 27th Only Pay Regular Weekday Fees

During the Lunar New Year holiday period, out-of-pocket medical expenses at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies will increase by 30 to 50%. However, patients with appointments on the 27th, which has been designated as a temporary public holiday, will only need to pay the usual weekday out-of-pocket costs, as they would on a regular weekday.

On the 13th, a pediatric specialty hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul was crowded with children and their guardians. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on January 23, the Lunar New Year holiday period is subject to what is known as the "Saturday, Nighttime, and Public Holiday Additional Fee System." Under this system, all medical institutions are allowed to charge additional consultation and dispensing fees when providing medical services or prescriptions during nighttime hours (from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day on weekdays), Saturday afternoons, and public holidays (including Sundays).

Thanks to this system, medical institutions can add 30 to 50% to the basic consultation, anesthesia, treatment, and surgery fees, while pharmacies can add 30% to the basic dispensing fee, dispensing fee, and medication guidance fee. These additional charges are billed to the National Health Insurance Service as insurance benefits and to patients as out-of-pocket expenses.

In particular, when patients receive treatment or prescriptions at local clinics or pharmacies not only on Saturday afternoons but also on Saturday mornings (from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), they are required to pay an additional 30% fee.

However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, in order to guarantee citizens' right to rest and stimulate domestic demand, has decided to apply the public holiday surcharge system to the 27th, which has been designated as a temporary public holiday. Nevertheless, if medical institutions charge patients with appointments on this day only the regular weekday out-of-pocket costs, they will not be penalized for discounting consultation fees. Article 27, Paragraph 3 of the Medical Service Act stipulates that discounting medical fees is considered an act of soliciting or brokering patients for profit and is subject to penalties.

Accordingly, in principle, even patients with appointments would have to pay an additional 30 to 50% in out-of-pocket expenses if they receive treatment at hospitals or clinics on this day. However, since the 27th was suddenly designated as a temporary public holiday, patients with appointments may end up paying more than expected for their medical expenses.

In principle, since it is a public holiday, it would be illegal for medical institutions not to charge the additional holiday fees. However, to prevent complaints and confusion in the medical field, the government has decided to make an exception for patients with appointments on this day.