# Medical Certificate prices in Korea

> The non-covered price of medical certificate (general diagnosis) in Korea is shown as the distribution of prices that institutions disclosed to HIRA, split by hospital type and region.

No institution is named, and groups of fewer than five institutions are hidden.

Written by the Korea Non-covered Medical Price Statistics editorial team on October 21, 2026. Canonical address: https://kmedprice.org/statistics/medical-certificate.

## What is the price range of medical certificate (general diagnosis) in Korea?

The nationwide distribution by hospital type is shown below once the latest disclosure is collected (unit: per certificate).

(Data table: to be filled after the reference date is confirmed)

## Why does the medical certificate (general diagnosis) price differ by hospital type?

Hospital types differ in staffing, equipment and overheads, and each institution sets its own non-covered price.

**Four hospital types used in the distribution**

| Type | Typical role |
| --- | --- |
| Clinic | Outpatient care in the community |
| Hospital | Inpatient care with 30 or more beds |
| General hospital | Inpatient care with 100 or more beds and required departments |
| Tertiary general hospital | Designated hospitals for severe and complex conditions |

## Which regions report higher medical certificate (general diagnosis) prices?

The regional medians below compare provinces and cities; regions with fewer than five institutions are hidden.

(Data table: to be filled after the reference date is confirmed)

## Is medical certificate (general diagnosis) covered by national health insurance?

Certificate fees are not insurance benefits. The Ministry of Health sets upper limits for common certificates, and institutions disclose their fees.

Coverage depends on the diagnosis and the insurance criteria in force. Use the coverage self-check for a first orientation and confirm with the institution before treatment.

## How has the medical certificate (general diagnosis) median changed by year?

Nominal and inflation-adjusted medians are shown once several years of disclosure are collected.

(Data table: to be filled after the reference date is confirmed)

## How is the non-covered price data collected?

Institutions report their non-covered prices under a Ministry of Health notice, and HIRA publishes them; this site aggregates the published file.

The reporting and disclosure standards are set by the Ministry of Health and Welfare notice on non-covered medical fees. HIRA publishes item-level prices by institution. This site downloads the published file, keeps only the item, region, hospital type and price columns, and groups them before anything is saved.

## What should foreign patients check before paying for medical certificate (general diagnosis)?

Ask which type of certificate you need, because different certificates have different fees.

- Ask for the price and what it includes before treatment.
- Check whether the item is listed as non-covered on your receipt.
- Keep the itemised receipt for insurance claims at home.

## How does this site calculate the distribution?

Disclosed prices are grouped and summarised by this site; individual institution prices are never stored or shown.

For medical certificate (general diagnosis), each group is one item × region × hospital type; nationwide and all-type groups are calculated from the same rows.

Quartiles use linear interpolation between ranked prices. Groups with fewer than five institutions are hidden so that no single institution’s price can be inferred. The aggregation script is published with the site so that this rule can be checked.

## What can this price data not tell you?

It shows disclosed prices, not what any one patient will pay, and it cannot show the quality of care.

- Disclosed prices can differ from the amount actually billed.
- The scope of disclosed items and institutions changes from year to year.
- Price and treatment results cannot be linked using this data.

Korea Non-covered Medical Price Statistics shows the distribution of prices disclosed to HIRA, not the price at any particular institution, and it introduces or recommends no hospital. The relationship between price and treatment results cannot be judged from this data. Disclosed prices can differ from the amount actually billed. For a specific institution, use HIRA’s official non-covered price service.

## What basis are these numbers on?

| Data | Reference date | Site calculation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HIRA non-covered fee disclosure (aggregated) | To be filled after the reference date is confirmed | Min, Q1, median, Q3, max by item × region × hospital type; groups under 5 institutions hidden; institution names discarded |
| Yearly medians (nationwide, all hospital types) | To be filled after the reference date is confirmed | Real median = nominal × CPI(base year) ÷ CPI(year) |
| Consumer price index (annual average) | To be filled after the reference date is confirmed | - |

## What else do people ask about medical certificate (general diagnosis) price?

### How much does medical certificate (general diagnosis) cost in Korea?

Prices vary by institution. This page shows the minimum, median and maximum disclosed to HIRA by hospital type once the latest data is collected.

### Where can I see the medical certificate (general diagnosis) price at a specific hospital?

Only on HIRA’s official non-covered price service. This site does not show prices by institution.

### Is a higher medical certificate (general diagnosis) price a sign of better care?

The relationship between price and results cannot be judged from this data.

### Why are some groups hidden?

Groups with fewer than five institutions are hidden so that no single institution’s price can be inferred.

### Is the disclosed price what I will pay?

Not necessarily. The amount actually billed can differ, so ask the institution before treatment.

## What should you read next?

- [Why do we show price ranges, not hospital names?](https://kmedprice.org/articles/why-ranges-not-names)
- [Is the median or the minimum the better reference?](https://kmedprice.org/articles/median-or-minimum)
- [Non-covered price explorer](https://kmedprice.org/tools/price-explorer)
- [Covered or non-covered self-check](https://kmedprice.org/tools/coverage-check)

## Where do these numbers come from?

- [Non-covered medical fee disclosure (by item and institution)](https://www.hira.or.kr/npay/index.do) - Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA)
- [Standards for reporting and disclosure of non-covered medical fees (notice)](https://www.law.go.kr/행정규칙/비급여진료비용등의보고및공개에관한기준) - Ministry of Health and Welfare (Korea Law Information Center)
- [Rules on the Standards for National Health Insurance Care Benefits (Annex 2: non-covered items)](https://www.law.go.kr/법령/국민건강보험요양급여의기준에관한규칙) - Korea Law Information Center