Trigeminal Neuralgia Procedure and Surgery Cost Planner Korea

Plan a South Korean trigeminal neuralgia budget from an itemized patient quote for a nerve block, percutaneous procedure, Gamma Knife, or microvascular decompression, plus medical and household costs.

Health cost scenario inputs

Enter Korea-related chronic care, eldercare, therapy, procedure, fertility, diagnostic, or medical tourism assumptions. Results are simplified planning estimates.

Procedure gross quote

₩5,600,000

Insurance or support amount

₩1,000,000

Estimated self-pay with reserve

₩5,060,000

Monthly reserve target

₩843,333

6 month plan

This South Korea-specific page is a quote-driven household budget planner, not a treatment recommendation, diagnosis, coverage decision, or insurer-payment guarantee. The exact Korean calculator separates covered patient share, full self-pay, non-covered care, imaging and consultation, anesthesia and materials, admission and room, medicine and follow-up, travel, care or companion cost, lodging, lost income, other household cost, and confirmed offsets. The HIRA Gamma Knife criterion for medication-refractory trigeminal neuralgia requires at least one published additional circumstance: age 65 or older, difficulty applying another treatment, prior treatment failure or recurrence, a secondary cause such as tumor or multiple sclerosis, or first-division pain. Checking a condition does not establish reimbursement. HIRA KDRG Version 4.7 identifies microvascular decompression with S4797 and Gamma Knife with HD113; these are bill-check anchors, not total prices. The shared English example uses a KRW 5,600,000 gross patient-and-household quote, KRW 1,000,000 confirmed offset, 10% reserve, and six months, producing KRW 5,060,000 and KRW 843,334 per month. It was verified against KDCA, HIRA, NHIS, and current Korean statutes on July 26, 2026.

Related calculators

What does this South Korea trigeminal neuralgia cost planner calculate?

Trigeminal neuralgia can cause repeated, brief, electric-shock-like pain on one side of the face.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency explains that a clinician may need brain MRI to check for secondary causes such as a tumor, stroke, arteriovenous malformation, or multiple sclerosis.
Medicine is generally considered first, while a nerve block, percutaneous procedure, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, or microvascular decompression may be discussed when medicine does not control pain adequately or cannot be continued because of adverse effects.

A procedure name alone does not determine what a patient will pay in Korea.
Coverage classification, imaging, anesthesia, materials, admission days, room choice, repeat sessions, and non-covered services can all change the final bill.
This planner therefore uses the patient-payment amounts on an itemized written quote instead of inventing a nationwide average or automatically applying one copayment percentage to the whole quote.

Four rules before entering a quote

  • Every medical-cost field starts at KRW 0; zero means that no quote has been entered, not that the service is free.
  • Use the hospital-calculated patient share for covered care instead of entering the covered total before copayment.
  • Subtract only a confirmed insurer payment, refund, or support amount, rather than an assumed reimbursement rate.
  • Selecting a treatment path changes the quote checklist only; it does not recommend a treatment or decide eligibility.

Treatment paths and billing anchors

The planner groups the treatment range described by the KDCA into five quote-planning paths.
The codes below are anchors for checking an itemized Korean bill; they are not fixed prices, proof of coverage, or a statement that every related charge uses the same patient share.

Korean trigeminal neuralgia treatment paths, billing anchors, and quote questions
PathOfficial or provider anchorWhat to confirm
Nerve blockExact itemized nameTarget, image guidance, medicine, sedation, recovery room, and planned sessions
Percutaneous procedureRadiofrequency, balloon, or exact methodAnesthesia, guidance, materials, short admission, and possible repeat plan
Gamma Knife다412-1가 · HD113Fixation, imaging, planning scope, coverage criteria, and billable procedure-unit rule
Microvascular decompression자479나(1) · S4797Surgery, anesthesia, materials, admission, meals, room, and follow-up
Other or undecidedWritten provider quoteExact method, coverage class, per-session or full-plan unit, inclusions, and exclusions

Blocks and percutaneous procedures

Radiofrequency treatment, balloon compression, and a nerve block are not one interchangeable cost bundle.
Ask for the exact method, the charge per session, what anesthesia and image guidance include, and how many sessions are actually planned.

MVD and Gamma Knife

MVD is an operation involving a cranial approach, while Gamma Knife is stereotactic radiosurgery.
Their recovery and billing structures differ, so compare full-plan quotes rather than one isolated surgery-fee line.

How should the Korean Gamma Knife coverage criteria be read?

The HIRA criterion for 다412-1 stereotactic radiosurgery does not make every trigeminal neuralgia case automatically covered.
It first describes trigeminal neuralgia that is refractory to medication and then requires at least one of the published circumstances below.

Published HIRA discussion checklist

  1. The patient is age 65 or older.
  2. Another treatment method is difficult to apply.
  3. Another treatment did not work or pain recurred after that treatment.
  4. The neuralgia is secondary to another disease, such as a tumor or multiple sclerosis.
  5. Pain involves the first division of the trigeminal nerve.

Checking a box in this planner does not establish benefit coverage.
The clinical record, treating team, hospital claim classification, and review result still control, so the calculator never assigns its own Gamma Knife copayment rate.

Treatment dates are not automatically separate billable units

The published criterion says that the procedure fee is generally recognized once even if the same lesion or multiple lesions are treated on different dates, subject to the stated follow-up or new-lesion exceptions.
If a plan spans several dates, confirm the hospital’s full-plan patient quote and billing unit before multiplying a per-session amount.

Why separate covered patient share, full self-pay, and non-covered care?

Covered patient share

Enter what the patient is quoted to pay for covered care.
Do not enter the covered amount before the Korean NHI copayment is calculated.

Full self-pay

An item within the benefit system may still be fully paid by the patient when used outside a criterion or classified separately.
Keep it distinct on the itemized record even when it looks like a 100% charge.

Non-covered care

This is care excluded from NHI benefit coverage and priced by the provider.
Medical Service Act Articles 45 and 45-2 provide the disclosure, reporting, and survey framework for non-covered prices.

NHIS explains a basic 20% patient share for ordinary covered inpatient care, while outpatient shares vary by provider type and location.
That percentage cannot simply be applied to MRI, meals, upgraded rooms, selective benefits, full-self-pay items, and non-covered services as one bundle.
The safest input is therefore the patient-payment figure already separated by the hospital for each quote category.

Formulas and quote units

Per-session quote

Procedure patient cost = (covered patient share + full self-pay + non-covered cost) × planned sessions

Use this only when the provider has expressly quoted one session, such as a repeat block or percutaneous procedure.

Full-plan quote

Procedure patient cost = covered patient share + full self-pay + non-covered cost

The planned-session field remains a note and does not multiply the cost again.
Use this mode when the hospital has already quoted the entire Gamma Knife, MVD, or multi-stage plan.

Household preparation target

Direct medical cost = procedure patient cost + imaging, anesthesia, admission, medicine, and follow-up
Household non-medical cost = travel + companion or care + lost income + lodging + other household cost
Net burden = direct medical cost + household non-medical cost - applicable confirmed offsets
Preparation target = net burden + net burden × contingency rate
Monthly target = preparation target ÷ preparation months, rounded up to a whole won

Step-by-step use

  1. Choose the path being discussed. If no method has been chosen, select other or undecided and first obtain the exact Korean procedure name.
  2. Confirm the quote unit. Ask whether the written amount is for one session or the entire treatment plan.
  3. Split the procedure quote. Copy the covered patient share, full-self-pay amount, and non-covered amount from the itemized estimate.
  4. Add one-time medical costs once. Check whether consultation, MRI, anesthesia, materials, admission, room, discharge medicine, and follow-up are already included.
  5. Include household costs. Record travel, lodging, a companion or carer, and lost income for both patient and household where applicable.
  6. Enter only confirmed offsets. Use a written expected payment or an amount already paid by an insurer, support program, or refund process.
  7. Read warnings with the result. Review missing quotes, duplicate multiplication, cost composition, and the provider-question checklist.

Worked virtual MVD example

This example exists only to show the formulas; it is not a hospital average, recommended price, or forecast for a particular patient.
The Korean calculator’s virtual-example button loads these same amounts.

Inputs and results for the virtual microvascular decompression cost example
CategoryCalculationAmount
Procedure patient cost1,400,000 + 200,000 + 600,000KRW 2,200,000
Other direct medical cost250,000 + 300,000 + 500,000 + 150,000KRW 1,200,000
Household non-medical costTravel 200,000 + care 500,000 + lost income 1,500,000KRW 2,200,000
Net burden5,600,000 - confirmed insurance 1,000,000KRW 4,600,000
Preparation target4,600,000 + 10% contingencyKRW 5,060,000
Six-month target5,060,000 ÷ 6, rounded upKRW 843,334 per month

Within the KRW 2,200,000 procedure quote, the entered composition is 63.6% covered patient share, 9.1% full self-pay, and 27.3% non-covered.
Those percentages describe the user-entered patient quote; they are not inferred NHI coverage rates.

Practical comparison scenarios

A per-session procedure quote

Select per-session only when a nerve block or percutaneous procedure quote expressly states one-session patient cost.
If the count is uncertain, calculate separate one-session and three-session scenarios instead of presenting one guess as a forecast.

A full-plan hospital quote

Select full-plan when the quote already includes an admission or the complete course.
Mark included MRI, anesthesia, room, medicine, and follow-up amounts so that they are not added twice.

Comparing two Korean hospitals

Run each quote separately and compare the same scope, including travel, lodging, companion time, and lost income.
A surgery-fee-only quote cannot be compared directly with a quote that already includes admission and follow-up.

Insurance is still under review

Leave confirmed offsets at zero to see the amount that must be prepared before reimbursement.
Recalculate only after the insurer or support program confirms an expected or paid amount in writing.

Limits and safety notes

  • A lower calculated cost does not mean that a treatment is suitable or safer.
  • Do not self-diagnose trigeminal neuralgia or distinguish it from dental, ear-nose-throat, or other neurological causes without clinical assessment.
  • Age 65 is only one published Gamma Knife circumstance; medication-refractory status and clinical documentation come first.
  • Finding S4797 on an MVD quote does not mean anesthesia, materials, room, and all admission items share one copayment rate.
  • HIRA non-covered price information may differ from the provider’s current scope and actual charge, so the final written quote takes priority.
  • The NHI copayment ceiling follows its statutory covered patient-payment scope and income rules; non-covered and all full-self-pay amounts are not automatically included.
  • Private insurance depends on policy generation, wording, exclusions, inpatient or outpatient classification, limits, and claim evidence.
  • The contingency percentage is a household planning buffer, not a prediction of price changes or complications.

Frequently asked questions

Can I multiply the full hospital total by 20% when NHI applies?

No.
Even though 20% is the basic ordinary inpatient share for covered care, imaging, meals, rooms, selective benefits, full-self-pay items, non-covered services, and outpatient charges can follow different structures.
Enter the itemized patient-payment quote calculated by the hospital.

Is Gamma Knife automatically covered for trigeminal neuralgia?

No.
The published HIRA criterion combines medication-refractory trigeminal neuralgia with at least one additional circumstance, such as age 65 or older, difficulty applying another treatment, prior treatment failure or recurrence, a secondary cause, or first-division pain.
The provider and review process determine the actual classification.

Should I multiply every multi-date plan by the number of dates?

Only multiply when the provider has given a genuine per-session patient quote.
Do not multiply a full-plan quote, and specifically confirm the Gamma Knife procedure-unit rule because billable units need not equal treatment dates.

Why does the calculator not estimate indemnity-insurance payment?

Korean indemnity coverage varies by policy generation, wording, deductible, benefit category, admission or outpatient limit, exclusions, and submitted evidence.
An assumed percentage could understate the preparation target, so only a confirmed expected or paid amount is deducted.

What should I request from the hospital?

Request the exact Korean procedure name, covered patient share, full-self-pay and non-covered split, quote unit, and the inclusion or exclusion of imaging, anesthesia, materials, admission, room, medicine, and follow-up.
For Gamma Knife, ask about the coverage condition and procedure-fee unit; for MVD, check S4797 alongside anesthesia, materials, and admission items.

Official sources and verification date

The Korean statutes and published criteria were checked again on July 26, 2026.
If a notice, code, patient-share rule, or provider price changes, use the latest official text and current written hospital quote.

Compare written quotes on the same scope

Mark each quote’s covered patient share, full-self-pay amount, non-covered amount, unit, inclusions, and exclusions before entering it.
Discuss treatment decisions with the clinical team and use this result only to prepare cost questions and a household budget.