Over the past five years, the number of people with atopic dermatitis has only slightly increased, but its medical expenses more than doubled.
The increased medical cost alone amounts to 100 billion won ($75 million).
Health insurance officials attributed the sharp increase to their inclusion of severe atopic dermatitis in severe incurable diseases applied by special preference in reimbursement rates in 2021.
On Monday, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) released the results of its analysis of the health insurance treatment status of patients with atopic dermatitis (L20) from 2018 to 2022 using health insurance treatment data.
The number of people treated for atopic dermatitis increased by 5.5 percent from 924,487 in 2018 to 971,116 in 2022. The average annual growth rate is 1.3 percent.
Of the total atopic dermatitis patients, 28.0 percent, or 271,613, were children aged nine years or younger, showing the highest prevalence among all age groups in 2022. They were followed by people in their 20s, with 16.7 percent (161,711), the teens, with 15.5 percent, or 158,370 patients.
The number of atopic dermatitis treatments per 100,000 people was 1,889, a 4.8 percent increase from 2018, and children under 10 marked the largest number of cases, with 7,680.
The increase in medical expenses for atopic dermatitis over the past five years amounted to 100 billion won. The treatment costs have risen steeply, especially since 2021, when severe atopic dermatitis (L20.85) was applied by special reimbursement calculation for severe, hard-to-treat diseases.
Medical expenses for atopic dermatitis increased 16.72 percent from 82.3 billion won in 2018 to 96 billion won in 2020. In contrast, the expense jumped 51.53 percent to 145.5 billion won in 2021 when the special calculation special was applied to it. In 2022, it continued to increase to 176.5 billion won.
The per capita treatment cost stood at 181,770 won, more than double that of 2018.
"Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that begins in infancy and shows various natural progressions, recording the highest prevalence in children and slowing with age," said Professor Lee Jin-wook of the Dermatology Department at the National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital.