Thousands of medical services increase in price
The Ministry of Health issued Circular 21/2024/TT-BYT stipulating the method of pricing medical examination and treatment services and adjusting medical examination and treatment prices according to the basic salary level prescribed in Decree 73/2024/ND-CP.
From now until December 31, 2024, medical examination and treatment facilities must approve medical examination and treatment prices in accordance with the authority prescribed by the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment. It is known that since November 2024, 15 hospitals have approved medical examination and treatment prices according to the basic salary of 2.34 million. For example, at the hospitals: Bach Mai, Cho Ray, Agricultural General Hospital, Central Dermatology, Central Hematology and Blood Transfusion... Examination prices are adjusted from 42,100 VND to 50,600 VND/visit. Emergency resuscitation beds at special-class hospitals increase from 509,400 VND to 599,400 VND/bed/day, type 1 beds from 273,100 VND to 327,100 VND/visit/day.
Thousands of technical services also adjusted their prices. At Bach Mai Hospital, nearly 10,000 prices of technical services and actual technical services were adjusted. At the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, more than 1,000 technical categories were adjusted...
According to the Ministry of Health, with this price adjustment, the health insurance fund is able to balance. This is due to the difference in revenue and expenditure of the health insurance fund every year (cumulative balance in 2023), at the same time, the health insurance fund revenue increases due to the adjustment of the basic salary, which is often earlier than the adjustment of medical examination and treatment service prices.
Regarding health insurance participants, the Ministry of Health said that the poor, ethnic minorities, and social policy beneficiaries are 100% covered by health insurance so they are not affected.
For subjects who have to pay a co-payment of 20% or 5%, the co-payment increase is not much and they can afford it because their income is also increased according to the basic salary. For subjects who do not have a health insurance card (about 8% of the population), this adjustment only affects the payment according to the price of medical examination and treatment services.
Patients want to improve quality
Patient Quang Nguyen (name changed) in Nghe An recalled: In early 2024, I broke my cheekbone. Initially, I went to a lower-level hospital for emergency treatment with the hope of being treated locally. After examining my condition, the doctor advised me and decided to transfer me to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital (Hanoi). I waited a long time to complete the transfer procedure, but when I was admitted to the hospital, the doctor said there were no supplies and did not know when they would be available. I also consulted many patients on community groups, some waited 6-7 months, so I had to go to a private hospital for surgery.
"Now that hospital fees have increased, I also hope that the quality of medical examination and treatment will improve so that patients do not have to wait," patient Nguyen hopes.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital - said that on average, each day, about 6,000 - 8,000 patients are examined and treated, with peak times reaching more than 8,000 patients.
The costs included in the price of medical examination and treatment technical services include 7 elements: Salary, allowances; medicine, chemicals, biological products, medical supplies; electricity, water, waste treatment; infrastructure maintenance; depreciation of infrastructure, equipment; major repairs of fixed assets; training costs, scientific research and management costs. However, currently most hospitals only calculate 4/7 components, the costs of infrastructure depreciation, equipment, major repairs, depreciation of fixed assets, maintenance of assets and scientific research training costs, management costs are not included in the price of medical examination and treatment technical services.
For example, at Bach Mai Hospital, the price of medical services is only calculated based on 4/7 factors, most of the services at the hospital are collected according to the Health Insurance level established nearly 20 years ago, so they are outdated. For example, the current ultrasound service at the hospital costs 49,500 VND, but other facilities have built a price structure that takes into account all factors, they collect from 200,000-300,000 VND...
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, along with doing well in regular medical examination and treatment, when public hospitals perform medical examination and treatment well on demand, a part of the population will not have to go abroad for medical examination and treatment, thus saving resources for the people and the country.
The Ministry of Health said that when hospital fees are calculated correctly and fully, hospitals will have resources to invest in equipment, infrastructure, and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment services. Correct and full hospital fees will gradually reduce out-of-pocket expenses from the people.
