As many as 81.7 percent of the population join health care insurance (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The percentage of Vietnamese citizens with health careinsurance has risen dramatically, reaching 81.7 percent as of last year thanksto new regulations in the Health Insurance Law, said Minister of Heath Nguyen ThiKim Tien.
“Thisproves that the legal regulations are practical and effective measures to reachthe target of universal health care,” she said at meeting of theNational Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee on March 1.
Themeeting--attended by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam--featured remarks by theminister and general director of Vietnam Social Insurance to explain a roadmaptoward providing healthcare services for insurance card holders.
Thenew regulation, which allows insurance card holders to go to any clinic orhospital, has helped to ensure benefits of card holders and generatemotivations for hospitals and clinics to improve their services as well, theminister said.
Accordingto the minister, since implementing the Government Decree on givingself-dependence to hospitals and clinics, card holders, especially poor peopleand ethnic minorities, have benefited from the lower cost of check-up servicesand treatment.
In2015, 130 million card holders received health care service, reaching a rate of1.85 times per person per year. Last year, the respective figures were 148million and 1.89, she said.
“Therate matched the healthcare demand,” the minister told the meeting.
Thesenumbers showed that the new regulation did not make any unpredictable change tohospitals and clinics, she said.
Agreeingwith the minister, Nguyen Thi Minh, General Director of Vietnam SocialInsurance, said, “The regulation has a right policy that made positive impactsto both patients and healthcare entities as well as help to develop thecountry’s health insurance policy”.
“Theregulation created favourable conditions for card holders to access to the besthealthcare services,” she said.
Besides,the regulation has also been comfortable for card holders who are migrants orusually move to many places.
Underthe regulations, card holders living in remote areas or islands can be giventreatments in provincial or central-level hospitals without hospital transferdecisions by the grassroots-level clinics as before, Minh said.
Thehealthcare service entities must improve their services to attract clients,according to Minh.
However,there were still shortcomings, Minh said.
Manydistrict-level hospitals and clinics have not met quality requirements to hosta large quantity of patients.
Moreover,there has been some unhealthy competition among health care entities,especially private clinics which attracted patients.
Interms of health insurance fund, the minister affirmed that the fund alwaysstrikes a good balance.
“Onlyin 2016, the fund was over-expensed due to adjustment of healthcare serviceprices”, she said.
However,the over-expenditure was forecasted and the reserve fund was 49 trillion VND (2.2billion USD).
Thus,the insurance fund balance has still ensured to meet the card holders’healthcare demand and do not need to increase the insurance fees in short term,Minh said.
Speakingat the meeting, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam said that the ministry must have measuresto solve shortcomings and further enhance preventive healthcare services atgrassroots-level entities.
The ministry, Social Insurance and otherrelevant offices should speed up their individual medical management systemplan and universal insurance policy, said Dam.-VNA
VNA
