Ministry expects all HIV patients covered by health insurance

The meeting in Can Tho city on June 13 discussed measures to ensure sustainable financial sources for HIV patients’ access to anti-HIV medicines (Photo: VNA)

Can Tho (VNA) –
The (MoH) has been advised to amend some regulations so as
to have 100 percent of people living with HIV covered by health insurance by
2020.

The MoH’s Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS
Control (VAAC) held a meeting in Can Tho city on June 13 to discuss measures to
ensure sustainable financial sources for ’ access to anti-HIV
medicines.

Data of the VAAC show that by the end of March
2018, health insurance coverage reached 83.4 percent across the country. Hanoi
and the provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son and Ca Mau recorded the
highest coverage of 100 percent. While 30 other provinces had the coverage of
over 90 percent, the rate was under 70 percent in only five provinces, namely Dong
Nai, Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa, Binh Thuan and Ben Tre.

The health insurance coverage among HIV patients
receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment nationwide was 83.4 percent by March
2018.

There are 191 HIV/AIDS treatment centres
providing ARV therapy covered by health insurance at present, and they are
expected to give this treatment to more than 48,000 patients in 2019.

Duong Thuy Anh, head of the VAAC’s
finance-accounting division, said although the health insurance coverage among
HIV patients has grown fast, the increase remains unstable and unsustainable.
This rate was 84 percent in September 2017 but dropped to 82 percent in late
December 2017 and then rebounded to reach 83.4 percent in March 2018, she said.

It will be not easy to achieve the goal of all
HIV patients covered by health insurance by 2020 when about 10 percent of
persons with HIV do not have personal papers, which will make them ineligible
to buy health insurance, Anh added.

At the meeting, many participants said the MoH
and the Vietnam Social Security should seek ways to help those without personal
papers to participate in health insurance. 

They noted the most important thing is that the
MoH should not force all members of the families of HIV patients to buy health
insurance, instead of making this compulsory as in the existing Circular 15,
which guides insured medical examination and treatment for HIV-infected people
and persons using relevant medical services, because some patients cannot
afford buying household health insurance.

Sharing the same view, Stephanie De Goes,
Country Coordinator of the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR), said that, to have all covered by health insurance,
the ministry should remove bottlenecks in Circular 15 to facilitate their
access to .-VNA