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Medical Expenses for Trauma According to the Type of Medical Insurance  

Park, Heeseung (Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Jung, Yooun Joong (Department of Nursing Team, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Kim, Young-Hwan (Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Kim, Tae-Hyun (Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Km, Min Ae (Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Kyoung, Kyu Hyouck (Department of Surgery, Inje University College of Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital)
Kim, Jung Jae (Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Hong, Suk-Kyung (Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center)
Publication Information
Journal of Trauma and Injury / v.25, no.4, 2012 , pp. 178-187 More about this Journal
Abstract
Purpose: In Korea, the nation's medical expenses were 12 billion won in 2010. The medical costs for individuals can also be overwhelming. If a patient has sustained severe trauma, his/her insurance company responsible may pay only part of the medical bills. In Korean, there are diverse types of medical insurance, such as health insurance, automobile insurance, and industrial accident compensation insurance. And each insurance system has a different type of payment system. Our study will be essential for establishing the optimal medical expense payment system. Methods: From January to December 2011, we retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 161 patients who were admitted to our hospital's emergency room after having undergone severe trauma. Of those 161 patients, 125 were retrospectively reviewed. Written permission was obtained from all of the patients. We analysed the demographic characteristics, clinical outcomes, data of the trauma, type of the patient's insurance, and the entire bill when the patient was discharged. Results: Seventy-one patients had health insurance, 48 automobile insurance, and six industrial accident compensation insurance. High-deductible insurance included health insurance and industrial accident compensation insurance, with the deductibles up to 20.6% and 19.1%, respectively. We attempted to analyze the cause of the high deductible rate. In patients with health insurance, medicines, primarily sedatives, pain killers, antibiotics, and fluids. comprised a large proportion. On the other hand, industrial accident compensation insurance deducted for a high-grade hospital room charge. Conclusion: We found that medical expenses were diverse according to the type of insurance. In particular, health insurance forced patients to pay too much of the medical expenses. Therefore, in Korea we should try to identify the insurance problems and improve the wage system.
Keywords
Trauma; Intensive care unit; Health insurance;
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