The Government has targeted over 90 percent of nationwide population covered with health insurance by 2020 (Photo: hanoimoi.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – The Government has targeted over 90 percent
of nationwide population covered with health insurance by 2020. Despite
preferential policies to encourage citizens to buy health insurance, the number
of health insurance card holders, especially household health insurance,
remains low due to red tape.
Without health insurance, Hoang Thi Yen, renting a house in
HCM City’s District 2, had to pay over 60 million VND (2,700 USD) for leg
surgery, Tin Tuc (News) reported.
“To buy household health insurance, I have to bring the
family register book of my landlord and all health insurance cards of the
family members to the ward authority. Then I have to register for temporary
residence. However, my landlord’s family has yet to buy health insurance cards
so I cannot buy it,” she said.
Prolonged waiting time is another challenge for health
insurance card holders.
Tran Thi Bon from Thu Duc District in HCM City, said “I
have to wait for the whole day for each health check-up.”
Getting bored of waiting, she decided to buy a health
check-up service without health insurance.
To increase public access to health insurance and to meet
the above target, Ha Van Thuy, Deputy Head of the
Department under the Health Ministry, said
that the ministry has issued a set of hospital quality criteria which place
patients at the centre of .
Health insurance covers almost 80 percent of Vietnam’s
population now.
According to Nguyen Tan Binh, Director of the HCM City
Health Department, the city’s healthcare sector has worked with the city’s
health insurance to cut down unnecessary procedures so as to improve healthcare
examination and treatment but still ensure quality.
The waiting time of patients to see a doctor has been cut
from 120-480 minutes to 30-120 minutes.
According to Tin
Tuc newspaper, hospitals in
HCM City have bought state-of-the-art technology to better serve patients.
Eighteen hospitals in the city have newly installed health check-up booking via
a hotline. “We are looking forward to smart health insurance cards (electronic)
to replace current paper cards,” Binh said.
Cho Ray Hospital, Gia Dinh Nhan Dan Hospital and the
hospital of Thu Duc District in HCM City have installed automatic queue ticket dispenser machines and have staff
to instruct patients at health check-up rooms.
According to Doctor Nguyen Minh Quan, Director of Thu Duc
District hospital, to reduce waiting time, prescriptions are typed out on
computers. Also, the doctors’ consultation time for patients is longer.
In addition, the health
insurance sector made amendments to the health insurance regulations to provide
card holders with additional benefits, Thuy said.
Accordingly, low-income card holders will enjoy 95 to 100 percent
of health insurance. Near-poor people will have coverage of 80 to 95 percent.
Since January 1 this year, new regulations state
that patients who register for health insurance cards at a ward-level
medical clinic can enjoy health insurance benefits at any district clinic or
hospital in the country.
Under household health insurance, the first card holder of
the household will have to pay 100 percent of the insurance cost. The second
one has to pay 70 percent. The third, fourth and fifth card holders have to pay
60, 50 and 40 percent, respectively.
Household health insurance will cover 80 percent of
hospital fees for health examination or hospital beds. In case of serious
diseases and high treatment cost, the health insurance will cover 50 to 75 percent
of expenses.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
