# Non-covered price trends by year

> Year-to-year changes in Korean non-covered prices are shown here as nominal medians and as medians adjusted for consumer prices.

Because the disclosed items and institutions change each year, read the trend as indicative.

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

## How have non-covered prices changed by year?

The table lists each item’s nationwide median for recent years once several disclosures are collected.

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

## Why adjust for consumer prices?

A nominal rise can simply follow general inflation; the adjusted median shows the change beyond it.

**Variables that move non-covered prices**

| Variable | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Hospital type | Staffing, equipment and overheads differ by type |
| Region | Rents and labour costs differ by region |
| Equipment and materials | Device or product choice changes the cost |
| Number of sessions | Some items are priced per session and repeated |

## Why should year-to-year comparisons be read with care?

The list of disclosed items and the range of institutions have changed over time.

## 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.

## How does this site calculate the distribution?

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

Real median = nominal median × CPI of the base year ÷ CPI of the year.

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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 non-covered price trend?

### Are non-covered prices in Korea rising?

It differs by item. The trend table shows nominal and CPI-adjusted medians once several years are collected.

### Which year is the base for the adjustment?

The base year is shown in the basis section with the CPI snapshot.

### Why does an item have no data for some years?

It may not have been on the disclosure list that year.

### Is the trend for the same institutions every year?

No. The set of disclosing institutions changes, so the trend is indicative.

### Can I see the trend for one region?

The trend tool lets you choose an item; regional trends are added once enough years are collected.

## What should you read next?

- [Is the median or the minimum the better reference?](https://kmedprice.org/articles/median-or-minimum)
- [Why do we show price ranges, not hospital names?](https://kmedprice.org/articles/why-ranges-not-names)
- [Non-covered share of medical spending](https://kmedprice.org/statistics/share-of-spending)
- [Non-covered median trend calculator](https://kmedprice.org/tools/trend)

## 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)
- [Consumer price index](https://kosis.kr/) - Statistics Korea (KOSIS)
- [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)