Price gap widens for non-covered medical care, with shockwave therapy ranging from 70,000 to 175,000 won

A shockwave therapy session costs 70,000 won at one clinic in Gyeonggi Province and 175,000 won at one in Seoul, illustrating the widening price differences in South Korea’s non-covered medical services.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service released 2026 price information for 753 non-covered services on the 3rd. The disclosure system publishes institution-by-institution prices so people can compare treatment costs and make informed medical choices.

The number of listed services rose by 60 from last year’s 693. Of the 593 items included in both the 2025 and 2026 surveys, 337, or 56.8%, showed larger price gaps. That compares with 278 of 571 items, or 48.7%, in the previous survey.

Price differences were also visible in individual treatments. Prolotherapy for limb joints had a median price of 50,000 won and a highest price of 201,000 won at clinics. The median price for renal spray therapy was 20,000 won, compared with a highest price of 55,000 won. Zirconia implants had a median price of 1.1 million won and a highest price of 1.72 million won.

Average prices increased for 436 of the 593 comparable items. After accounting for the 3.2% consumer inflation rate, 145 items still rose faster than inflation. Average prices increased 1.9% for shockwave therapy, 0.9% for prolotherapy and 2% for renal spray therapy, while implant prices fell 0.9%. The ministry said differences can reflect treatment details, difficulty, staffing and equipment. Prices are available through the review service’s website and the Health e-eum mobile app.