South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare will limit manual therapy to 15 sessions per year for most patients starting next month [1], [2].
The policy aims to reduce the financial burden on patients and prevent the over-utilization of manual therapy treatments nationwide [1], [2].
Under the new regulations, the government has established a managed benefit system for manual therapy. Standard patients will be limited to 15 sessions annually [1]. However, the ministry will allow up to 24 sessions per year for exceptional cases, such as patients recovering from surgery [1].
Financial structures for these treatments will also be standardized. The government-set fee per session is reported between 41,658 won [4] and 43,850 won [3]. Patients will be responsible for the vast majority of these costs, with health insurance covering only five percent of the fee [5].
Depending on the specific fee applied, the out-of-pocket cost for patients per session will range from 41,650 won [5] to 41,658 won [6].
This shift toward a managed benefit system allows the government to monitor the frequency of treatments more closely. By capping the number of sessions and fixing the price, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said the move is intended to lower overall medical expenses for the public [1], [2].
“Standard patients will be limited to 15 sessions annually”
This policy represents a transition from an open-access model to a managed-care approach for manual therapy in South Korea. By implementing strict session caps and a high patient co-payment rate, the government is attempting to curb 'over-treatment'—a common issue in elective physical therapies—while maintaining a baseline of accessibility for those with acute medical needs, such as post-surgical recovery.
