Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposes to support 100% of health insurance (HI) contributions for regular voluntary blood donors, and at the same time support all costs and co-payment within the Health Insurance Fund for patients with chronic kidney disease in stage 5 who are in difficult circumstances.
The above proposals are in two submissions submitted by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council for consideration and approval at the 5th session of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City People's Council (specialized session), taking place from September 21-22.
According to the submission of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, eligible people are issued health insurance cards valid for 12 months. To continue to be supported in the following terms, blood donors must maintain blood donation 2 or more times for 12 months.
The submission also proposes that people eligible for support who have health insurance cards will have the policy applied from the immediately following date after the current card expires. For people who have donated enough 20 times, have donated blood 2 times/year but do not have health insurance cards, health insurance cards will be issued from the immediately following date after the blood donation day.
The determination of the threshold of 20 blood donations or more is to recognize the long-term contribution process, showing the high level of attachment and dedication of blood donors; while the condition of maintaining blood donations 2 or more times a year is to ensure policies aimed at groups of people who are actually regularly participating in blood donation, capable of continuing to contribute to the stable blood source of the City.
At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City proposes to support 100% of the co-payment costs within the scope of the Health Insurance Fund to pay for children and people in difficult circumstances with stage 5 chronic kidney disease being treated with routine hemodialysis or peritonitis.
According to a review by the Department of Health, the whole city currently has 63 kidney replacement treatment facilities with about 9,882 patients. Unlike periodic treatment diseases, patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease must maintain continuous treatment throughout life with a frequency of about 3 times per week for regular artificial kidney or daily for periodic peritoneal dialysis. The frequency of continuous repetition creates a very large accumulated cost burden, making it difficult for patients to reduce the frequency or interrupt treatment, directly affecting their lives.
Supported subjects must have permanent or temporary residence registration in Ho Chi Minh City, participate in health insurance and are undergoing the above-mentioned techniques. Patients benefiting from the policy belong to one of the following groups: households that have just escaped poverty within 36 months from the date of being recognized as having escaped poverty; people aged 60 and over living alone, or living with low-income relatives according to the local multidimensional poverty standards; children aged 6 to under 16 who are orphans of their father or mother, abandoned by the other person and currently the caregiver has passed away.
