The government is transitioning manual therapy, which previously had varying prices across hospitals as a non-covered service, into the health insurance system under a managed coverage category, while limiting insurance-covered sessions to a maximum of 15 times per year.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that starting today, July 1, manual therapy will be subject to managed coverage, allowing patients to receive treatment at a cost of 43,850 won per session with a 95% co-payment rate.
Compared to the previous average cost of approximately 110,000 won per session, this measure is expected to stabilize prices.
The managed coverage system is a framework that incorporates services into health insurance with a high co-payment rate when they are deemed medically necessary but require usage management due to concerns over over-treatment or misuse.
With this measure, the number of health insurance-covered manual therapy sessions is limited to twice a week and a total of 15 times per year.
However, in cases with clear medical findings, such as joint stiffness following surgery or fractures, patients may be granted up to 24 sessions per year based on a physician's assessment.
As the system takes effect in July of this year, the annual limit will be applied in full for the remaining six months of the year.
Manual therapy performed for personal needs, such as fatigue recovery or posture correction, rather than based on a physician's medical judgment, will not be covered by health insurance or private indemnity insurance, and patients must pay 100% of the medical expenses out of pocket.