Blood Cancer (Leukemia/Lymphoma) Chemotherapy Cost Calculator
This calculator estimates the out-of-pocket cost of blood cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma) treatment in Korea and keeps the same pure calculation model as the Korean page. Blood cancers are not solid tumors that are surgically removed; they are systemic diseases treated with chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, and cell therapy. The model covers induction and consolidation chemotherapy for acute leukemia, lymphoma combination regimens (R-CHOP for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, ABVD for Hodgkin lymphoma), autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), and CAR-T cell therapy (Kymriah) — all on 2026 Korean rules, and all with National Health Insurance (NHI) benefit coverage, the cancer special-case 5 percent copay, and, critically, the annual out-of-pocket ceiling that protects patients from the huge sticker price of transplant and CAR-T.
Treatment types and covered fees
Acute leukemia (AML, ALL) starts with induction chemotherapy to reach complete remission (for AML, usually the cytarabine plus anthracycline "7+3" regimen), which requires a 3-to-5-week admission in a protective clean room during the febrile neutropenia period. The model uses about KRW 31,000,000 covered for the induction course (ward and clean-room fees added separately), which reaches roughly KRW 40,000,000 total with a clean-room stay — consistent with a real patient bill of KRW 44,458,095 and about KRW 4,000,000 self-pay. Consolidation chemotherapy (for example high-dose cytarabine, HiDAC) then repeats in cycles.
Lymphoma is treated with combination chemotherapy repeated every 3 to 4 weeks: R-CHOP (rituximab plus CHOP) for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma over 6 to 8 cycles, ABVD for Hodgkin lymphoma. R-CHOP is about KRW 2,000,000 covered per cycle (rituximab is covered), ABVD about KRW 800,000. Autologous transplant uses about KRW 34,000,000 covered (multiple myeloma, relapsed lymphoma) and allogeneic transplant about KRW 58,000,000 (acute leukemia, MDS, with donor cost and graft-versus-host disease risk). CAR-T (Kymriah) has a drug price of KRW 360,039,359 plus a KRW 1,829,784 procedure fee — about KRW 362,000,000 covered.
- The clean-room (protective isolation) fee is covered and added at about KRW 200,000 per day for induction and transplant.
- The covered ward fee is KRW 100,000 per inpatient day; lymphoma combination chemo is usually outpatient (no ward fee).
- Cycle-based treatments multiply the per-cycle covered fee by the number of cycles.
- Only Kymriah is reimbursed among CAR-T products; Yescarta and Carvykti are not yet covered (fully self-pay if used).
How much does a stem cell transplant cost?
Autologous HSCT has a covered total of roughly KRW 30,000,000 to 50,000,000, and allogeneic HSCT roughly KRW 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 including donor cost. These are mostly paid by NHI; the patient pays far less because of the 5 percent special-case copay and the annual ceiling. Real patient bills land around KRW 6,400,000 to 6,800,000 for autologous transplant, higher for allogeneic.
Two things push the patient share above a flat 5 percent: the roughly 3-week peri-transplant window is billed at a 50 percent selective-benefit rate, and single-room clean-room surcharges plus some non-covered drugs are 100 percent self-pay. Note also that private indemnity often reimburses only 40 percent of the donor cell-collection cost for allogeneic transplant, which is a frequent dispute — check the policy.
Why CAR-T (Kymriah) costs KRW 360 million but the patient pays a few million
Kymriah has a drug price of about KRW 360,000,000, but since NHI coverage began in April 2022 the patient burden dropped dramatically. With the cancer special-case 5 percent copay the nominal self-pay is about KRW 18,000,000 (360M times 5 percent), but the out-of-pocket ceiling then caps the annual covered self-pay at the income-decile limit (about KRW 870,000 to 8,430,000 in 2026). For a middle (5th decile) patient the ceiling is about KRW 1,730,000, so most of the KRW 18,000,000 is refunded and the real burden falls to roughly KRW 1,730,000.
The calculator makes this explicit: it shows the pre-ceiling covered self-pay, the income-decile ceiling, the refund, and the post-ceiling self-pay. For ultra-high-cost covered care (allogeneic transplant, CAR-T) the ceiling — not just the 5 percent rate — is the real financial backstop. The ceiling applies only to covered items (not non-covered rooms or drugs) and is refunded after the fact, so plan cash flow accordingly.
Cancer special-case copay and the out-of-pocket ceiling
Leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma all register for the cancer special-case program (code V193): a 5 percent covered copay for 5 years when registered within 30 days of diagnosis, using the same code as solid tumors. Ordinary inpatient treatment otherwise uses 20 percent, and outpatient chemotherapy 30 to 60 percent by hospital level. The 5 percent applies only to covered items — upper-grade rooms, non-covered supportive drugs, and caregiver cost stay at 100 percent.
The annual out-of-pocket ceiling refunds covered self-pay above the income-decile limit and is the key protection for allogeneic transplant and CAR-T. Both are grounded in National Health Insurance Act Article 44 and Enforcement Decree Article 19 with annexes 2 and 3. The estimate separates the covered self-pay (after ceiling), room surcharge, non-covered supportive care, caregiver cost, private indemnity, and the Korean medical expense tax credit (3 percent of salary threshold, 15 percent credit rate, no KRW 7,000,000 cap for cancer patients as severe-disease patients under Income Tax Act Article 59-4).
Disease type drives the treatment path
The disease selector is informational and routes guidance: AML uses induction/consolidation and allogeneic transplant; ALL uses multi-agent induction, CAR-T, and allogeneic transplant; DLBCL uses R-CHOP with autologous transplant or CAR-T; Hodgkin lymphoma uses ABVD; multiple myeloma uses combination chemo with autologous transplant. One important exception is chronic myeloid leukemia (CML): it is managed with daily oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (imatinib/Gleevec, dasatinib, nilotinib), so the targeted and immuno cancer drug cost calculator (monthly drug price times months) fits better than this chemotherapy and transplant model.
This is a cost-planning estimate based on 2026 Korean rules, not medical advice. Public single-price tables for chemotherapy, transplant, and CAR-T do not exist, so figures are defensible market estimates that vary with disease subtype, risk group, regimen, complications, and transplant type. Confirm details with the treating hematology team, the insurer, and the hospital quote.
This calculator is based on Korean rules (2026 National Health Insurance cancer special-case program and out-of-pocket ceiling, Income Tax Act Article 59-4 medical expense tax credit, and market cost estimates for blood cancer chemotherapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and CAR-T cell therapy). Figures are planning estimates, not medical advice, an insurer decision, or a hospital quote.