Ministry of Health proposed to amend 5 major content groups

01/07/2023 04:11 PM


The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Vietnam Health Economics Association have just held a consultation workshop on the revised draft of the Law on Health Insurance.

According to the MoH, there are currently 91 million Vietnamese, representing 91.1% of the population, are covered by HI scheme. The quality of HI medical examination and treatment is improving. The people have access to modern medical technical services and many new drugs...... However, there are still shortcomings and difficulties in implementing of the HI Law due to the existing provisions of the Law and the new arising factors that do not have adequate legal basis to resolve. Beside that the healthcare service providers’ capacity, facilities and management have not met the increasing needs of people; the financial mechanism has not created a driving force for the development of primary healthcare; the process of payment and assessment of medical expenses is not clear and specific ...

Illustrative image (internet)

Therefore, since the end of 2018, the MoH has been researching and revising the HI Law (amended). Accordingly, the MoH proposed to adjust 5 major content groups:

Firstly, expanding the HI participants: Accordingly, the target group supported by the state budget includes: former youth volunteers; former logistics workers participating in resistance wars; relatives of employees and officers of Defense Ministry and other people working in cipher organizations. Social security target group: people on social allowance, elderly people (over 70 years old); people with mild disabilities with financial difficulties, foreigners working and receiving salaries in Vietnam, foreigners receiving salaries from foreign organizations, foreign workers periodically coming to work and work , foreigners come to Viet Nam to live with workers.

Secondly, expanding the benefits of HI participants: HI participants would be reimbursed for services such as: newborn and prenatal screening, screening for mother-to-child transmission diseases for pregnant women, screening, examination and early diagnosis of some diseases; periodic health examination, home medical examination and treatment (for elderly people, people with severe disabilities); vaccines, biological products, nutrition used in treatment and transport of patients in case of emergency or during inpatient treatment if the patient must be transferred to another medical facility according to professional requirements

Illustrative image (internet)

Thirdly, diversify the types of health service providers, strengthen primary health care at initiating facilities level. Specifying clearly the types of establishments that have the right to participate in the signing of medical treatment contracts such as pharmacies, diagnostic imaging centers, preventive medicine centers, reproductive health centers, enter for testing pharmaceuticals, vaccines, cosmetics, food...

Fourthly, ensuring the transparency, publicity, efficiency and accountability of service providers in HI assessment activities.

Fifthly, improving the efficiency of management and use of HI fund with the goal of managing the HI  fund on the principle of publicity, transparency, efficiency, and concentrating resources for health care of the insured.

The proposal from MoH will be reviewed and revised suitable reality by other ministries and agencies and incorporated into draft law before submitting to Viet Nam Government and National Assembly for approval.

VSS