Doctors Push Back as Seoul Moves to Reform Decades-Old Medical Test Payment System (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government’s plan to reform how medical clinics are paid for lab tests has sparked strong opposition from doctors, who say the changes threaten their income and overlook the realities of clinical care.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Monday that it will end the decades-old practice under which local clinics receive bundled payments from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) for both lab tests and a 10 percent “management fee.”
Clinics currently pay subcontracted diagnostic labs out of this amount, often negotiating steep discounts that the government says have fostered excessive price competition and even kickbacks.
Under the new system, clinics and testing agencies would bill the NHIS separately, a change the ministry says will increase transparency and protect patient safety by curbing under-the-table deals that can undermine test quality.
The medical community, however, argues that the reform strips clinics of fair compensation for the time and effort involved in patient consultation, specimen collection, and explaining results. Doctors warn the move will immediately reduce their visible income from lab services.
In response, the government offered a compromise: reallocating the savings from the new system to boost doctors’ fees for consultations and checkups.
It said the adjustment will be reflected in this year’s review of the Relative Value Scale, which determines medical service reimbursement rates based on time, risk, and professional input.
Officials dismissed the likelihood of large-scale test boycotts, saying intense competition among local clinics would prevent widespread refusals to perform tests.
“Some clinics that had unusually high test volumes may see losses despite the compensation plan,” a senior ministry official said. “But outdated and opaque practices must be corrected to protect patient safety.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
