South Korean patients who were in automobile accidents with the same diagnosis paid significantly different medical costs depending on whether they received traditional Korean medicine or Western medicine treatment, with the former costing around four times higher than the latter.

According to 2023 health and auto insurance statistics released on Monday by the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the average auto insurance claim for injuries to cervical joints and ligaments (such as dislocations and sprains) was 160,000 won ($115.73) for Western medicine and 677,000 won for traditional Korean medicine. For thoracic joint and ligament injuries, the average cost was 142,000 won for Western medicine and 540,000 won for traditional Korean medicine.

The average number of outpatient treatment days for cervical injuries was 3.7 days for Western medicine and 8 days for traditional Korean medicine. For lumbar spine injuries, the average duration was 3.8 days versus 7.7 days.

Total auto insurance spending on traditional Korean medicine treatment was hovering around the 1.62-trillion-won mark in 2024, up 43 percent from 2020’s 1.12 trillion won. Over the same period, Western medicine costs fell 8 percent from 1.21 trillion won to 1.11 trillion won and traditional Korean medicine’s share of total auto insurance medical expenses rose from 48 percent to 59 percent as a result.

The high traditional Korean medicine costs are attributed to frequent use of bundled prescriptions that include herbal medicines and manual therapy even for minor injuries. For patients classified with mild injuries of grades 12 to 14 in 2024, traditional Korean medicine auto insurance claims totaled 1.03 trillion won, or four times greater than 272.4 billion won for Western medicine.

The disparity has fueled criticism that excessive traditional Korean medicine treatments are driving up Korea’s auto insurance loss ratios, prompting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to propose a legislative revision that would require documentation for patients diagnosed with joint and muscle strain who seek treatment beyond the typical eight-week period. However, the Association of Korean Medicine strongly opposes the plan, indicating that a debate within the insurance industry will likely continue.

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