Voters in Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Lam Dong and Binh Thuan provinces expressed their hope that the Government will soon exempt hospital fees for all people. According to the reflection, the current cost of medical examination and treatment is still high, causing many difficulties for the poor and disadvantaged to access high-quality healthcare services, while many services are not yet covered by health insurance.
Responding to voters' recommendations, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan affirmed that the roadmap for hospital fees exemption for all people will be implemented through the health insurance (HI) mechanism, to ensure sustainability and widespread coverage.
She said that health insurance is the main financial pillar in the health sector, a deep social security policy of the community, implemented according to the principle of risk sharing, not for profit.
According to the Ministry of Health, the policy of exempting hospital fees for all people will not be able to be implemented simultaneously but must have a roadmap. The expansion of health insurance benefits will be implemented gradually with appropriate groups of subjects, on the basis of balancing resources from the health insurance fund. The co-payment level will also be considered for adjustment for some serious diseases or vulnerable groups, to reduce the financial burden on people.
Currently, the State budget has fully paid health insurance premiums to many groups such as the poor, children under 6 years old, ethnic minorities in disadvantaged areas, and partially supported groups such as near-poor people, students. When participating in health insurance, people can access thousands of technical services, medicines and medical supplies from the commune level to the central level.
The Minister emphasized that in order to achieve the goal of people not having to pay hospital fees when going for health insurance examination and treatment, the Ministry of Health is studying and proposing specific solutions: Expanding groups supported by the State to pay health insurance; adding high-tech services to the payment list; developing a policy to reduce co-payment levels for special cases.
The hospital fee exemption policy demonstrates the superiority of the socialist regime, demonstrating the special attention of the Party and State to the health of the people. The Ministry of Health is continuing to research and propose feasible solutions to submit to the Politburo, the National Assembly and the Government.
The Ministry of Health also calls for consensus and active participation of people in health insurance, in order to jointly move towards a fair, quality healthcare system where no one is left behind.
