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gay in korea
Joined: 13 Jan 2010
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 Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:53 am Post subject: MRI on the Korean National Health plan |
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So how much does a doctor ordered (non-elective) MRI cost with the national insurance coverage? What's the wait like?
Thanks |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:11 pm Post subject: Re: MRI on the Korean National Health plan |
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| gay in korea wrote: |
So how much does a doctor ordered (non-elective) MRI cost with the national insurance coverage? What's the wait like?
Thanks |
Same or next day service and depending on what they are scanning and the hospital you go to the cost will be from 250k - 1 million.
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mmstyle
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: wherever
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Seoul National Uni Hospital quoted me 350,000 won for an MRI the summer before this past one. That said, some of their basic prices have gone up (example,the health check price), but that will at least give you a ball park. |
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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| If it is of your brain, the MRI will cost about 780,000 |
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the ireland
Joined: 11 May 2008
Location: korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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I got one on my knee a few years ago and it cost 300,000won. Insurance doesn't cover it, it does however (or so I was told) cover some of the surgery that you might have to have should they find something wrong with you on the MRI.
I was lucky enough that my boss paid for my MRI without me even asking him or wanting him to do it.
The insurance covered a lot of my expenses for physio, doctors visits, x-rays etc. I think the first time I went I paid 8,000 for an x-ray, visit to the knee specialist, physio for an hour and medicine. I used to pay something like 2,000 for each physio session. |
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[email protected]
Joined: 28 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| brento1138 wrote: |
| If it is of your brain, the MRI will cost about 780,000 |
I was quoted 400,000 for a brain scan when I had a really severe headache....and then the doctor was furious when I refused. I told him that I wanted to try migraine medication first, to see if that was all that was wrong, and he insisted that I needed an MRI. Luckily I didn't cave in as my headache went away the next day after taking migraine tablets and I have never had another headache since.
Dealing with Korean doctors is like managing small children....I got into a fight with a doctor at the same hospital when he wouldn't prescribe me antibiotics for a sinus infection....despite having sinus problems for nearly 30 years he was obstinate about the fact that I didn't know what I was talking about....finally he "diagnosed" me with a nose infection and gave me the antibiotics I originally asked for....but at least he felt better by calling my sinus infection a nose infection.
In short....the insurance will pay nothing for an MRI, but I would HIGHLY recommend that you get a 2nd opinion before shelling out hundreds of dollars for a procedure you might not need. Korean doctors are really something else. They are good at performing procedures, but their diagnostic skills are appalling. |
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jizza
Joined: 24 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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| my ankle MRI cost me about 300,000 Won. As far as I know, MRI's are not covered by insurance, but there are numerous places to get an MRI so this drives costs down somewhat. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| I second what others have said, get another opinion. MRI's, while helpful, are also harmful. Lot's of x-rays and radiation involved, best to avoid them if you can. Get a second opinion that you absolutely NEED the MRI before you do it. |
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oldfatfarang
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: On the road to somewhere.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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| [email protected] wrote: |
Dealing with Korean doctors is like managing small children....
... They are good at performing procedures, but their diagnostic skills are appalling. |
I hear you. I once had K doctor (Seoul National Uni Hospital) diagnose me as 'dirty'. Thanks mate.
His sidekick - gave me a lecture about how Kimchi cures cancer (while I was waiting out in the corridor).
I also hear you about performing procedures. I checked his treatment on the internet, and he was following the recommended treatment - word for word.
Good luck, and don't get sick here. |
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morrisonhotel
Joined: 18 Jul 2009
Location: Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| oldfatfarang wrote: |
| [email protected] wrote: |
Dealing with Korean doctors is like managing small children....
... They are good at performing procedures, but their diagnostic skills are appalling. |
I hear you. I once had K doctor (Seoul National Uni Hospital) diagnose me as 'dirty'. Thanks mate.
His sidekick - gave me a lecture about how Kimchi cures cancer (while I was waiting out in the corridor).
I also hear you about performing procedures. I checked his treatment on the internet, and he was following the recommended treatment - word for word.
Good luck, and don't get sick here. |
I had surgery in my podunk town two weeks ago. I found the doctor to be excellent with the original diagnosis, good at the procedure but I've found the follow up checks to be somewhat lacking (as in I'm in and out the door in less than 30 seconds). No idea if that's representative of the medical care here more generally, but I haven't been impressed.... |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| I second what others have said, get another opinion. MRI's, while helpful, are also harmful. Lot's of x-rays and radiation involved, best to avoid them if you can. Get a second opinion that you absolutely NEED the MRI before you do it. |
FALSE:
MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) uses NO ionizing radiation - it uses a powerful magnetic field to align the magnetization of some atoms in the body, then uses radio frequency fields to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner�and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body.
In lay terms, you sit in a large magnet and they scan the change in the field to see inside your body.
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warmachinenkorea
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| I second what others have said, get another opinion. MRI's, while helpful, are also harmful. Lot's of x-rays and radiation involved, best to avoid them if you can. Get a second opinion that you absolutely NEED the MRI before you do it. |
FALSE:
MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) uses NO ionizing radiation - it uses a powerful magnetic field to align the magnetization of some atoms in the body, then uses radio frequency fields to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner�and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body.
In lay terms, you sit in a large magnet and they scan the change in the field to see inside your body.
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+1 MRI's are different than X-rays. |
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globalgourmand
Joined: 11 May 2011
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| Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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Would really be helpful if those who've had (or have been quoted) on MRI prices on the lower spectrum would say where! 
I'd send my husband to a neighboring city if we'd save 1-200K! |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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I had an MRI done on my knee and it was 330,000W. What was annoying was that when I had confirmed the price the week before, it was originally 240,000. Then apparently there was some sort of cost increase mandate and the price just happened to jump 2 days before I got my MRI.
330,000W is still dirt cheap compared to what it would have cost back home. I'm not sure if it helped my doctor make any sort of accurate diagnosis though. |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:01 am Post subject: |
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| shostahoosier wrote: |
I had an MRI done on my knee and it was 330,000W. What was annoying was that when I had confirmed the price the week before, it was originally 240,000. Then apparently there was some sort of cost increase mandate and the price just happened to jump 2 days before I got my MRI.
330,000W is still dirt cheap compared to what it would have cost back home. I'm not sure if it helped my doctor make any sort of accurate diagnosis though. |
That is still quite cheap. A couple of years back I remember being quoted between 550,000 and 900,000 from a few different hospitals for a knee scan in Seoul. |
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