The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) recently announced it will conduct a public survey through July 17 to select items for next year's disclosure of non-covered medical service fees.
Any Korean citizen can participate through the internet URL or QR code posted on HIRA's website and social media accounts. Among participants who complete the survey and consent to providing personal information, 200 will be selected by lottery to receive small prizes.
Non-covered medical services refer to treatments not covered by national health insurance, meaning patients must bear the full cost. Because hospitals set their own prices, fees vary from one institution to another.
Under the Medical Service Act, the government publishes pricing information for non-covered services — which differ by institution — on HIRA's website and mobile app (Geongang-e-eum) to guarantee the public's right to information and strengthen rational healthcare choices.
According to the "2025 Non-Covered Medical Service Fees" released last year, average prices rose for 367 out of 571 items (64.3%) common to both 2024 and 2025. Among these, Scheimpflug photography, an ophthalmological examination disclosed for the first time this year, showed the widest price gap between institutions. Overall, the lowest fee was 5,400 won (at a tertiary hospital in Seoul) and the highest was 2 million won (at a clinic in Seoul's Seocho District), with an average of 126,000 won. Even among clinics alone, prices ranged from 100,000 won to 2 million won — a 20-fold difference.
Manual therapy, the largest non-covered item by volume, saw its average price rise 1.3% from the previous year. Across all institution types from tertiary hospitals to clinics, the highest fee nationwide was 600,000 won and the lowest was 300 won. The median was 100,000 won. Even when limited to clinics, the range remained wide at 500,000 won to 300 won.
The average fee for pneumococcal vaccination rose 1.4% to 120,000 won overall. Tertiary hospitals saw a 12.3% increase from 87,000 won to 98,000 won. The median fee at tertiary hospitals jumped 30.8%, from 84,000 won to 110,000 won.
The overall average price for dental implants fell 1.6% year-on-year to 1.188 million won. By material, however, GOLD (1.7%) and PFG (2.0%) saw average price increases, while METAL, PFM, and zirconia remained flat or declined. The average fee for acupuncture-point injection therapy edged up 0.2% to 13,000 won, with general hospitals posting the steepest rise at 21.1%.
