By the end of 2024, the country will have 1,132 private health care facilities providing health insurance (including hospitals and clinics).
The number of private medical facilities participating in the health insurance examination and treatment system has increased about 2.1 times compared to 2015.
At the 3rd Congress of the 2025-2030 term of the Vietnam Private Hospital Association held on August 2 - 3, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri - Vice President of the Vietnam Private Hospital Association raised 3 issues that private health care needs to do immediately to keep up with the increasing demand for health care of the people.
First, it is necessary to increase in quantity: Domestic private enterprises need to increase investment to build more medical examination and treatment facilities, high-end laboratories, diagnostic centers, vaccine factories, vaccination facilities...; create a chain of medical examination and treatment facilities, expand to localities across the country.
Second, we must improve quality so that people coming to private services can enjoy high and good services, minimizing risks in medical examination and treatment. Organize a health network closer to the people, promptly meeting the needs of the people. Accompanying and pioneering in disease prevention activities.
Third, it is to implement "equal competition, no distinction between public and private in the provision of medical services". This is the spirit of Resolution 20 of the Party Central Committee, but it is not easy to do, requiring the close attention of management agencies, the participation of both private health care and public health.
In parallel with the change of private health care to suit, in his speech, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri also made recommendations and proposals to the Government as follows:
- There needs to be a Government Resolution regulating how much percentage of private healthcare services are guaranteed nationwide. Professor Tri proposed that by 2030, it should reach 30% and by 2045, it should reach 45%. At the same time, the Ministry of Health needs to have a specialized Department for Private Health.
- Allow and create conditions for private health care to participate in public services, in public hospitals if private health care is better, more beneficial to patients, and more beneficial to society.
- Have an open and unified mechanism nationwide to grant licenses to private health facilities to participate in medical examination and treatment for subjects with health insurance.
- There needs to be a preferential policy (simplification of procedures, preferential interest rates...) for private enterprises to be able to borrow large capital to build hospitals.
- Have more special priority policies to ensure clean land for hospital and medical facilities. For example: the government participates in compensation and clearance for projects to build medical facilities; prioritizes private medical facilities to buy back redundant government/ administrative agencies due to streamlining, merger...
- Prioritize domestic enterprises to invest in hospital construction. Limit the construction of hospitals that charge too high a price compared to the standard of living of Vietnamese people.
- To participate equally and regularly in activities to build policies and laws related to health, social security at all levels of the National Assembly, Government, Ministry of Health and province/city.
- Equality in enjoying priority policies for health care in activities such as digital transformation, cadre training, professional improvement... equality in health care meetings, annual industry summaries...
- Improve emulation and reward work for private health care in people's health care and protection activities ( titles, certificates...).
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, as of August 2025, there are 400 private hospitals in Vietnam (378 hospitals with domestic investment capital and 22 hospitals with foreign investment capital). Of these, there are 116 hospitals with a scale of 100 beds or more.
Private hospitals currently account for 23.8% of the total number of hospitals nationwide. The bed rate of private hospitals is 7%. The rate of private hospital beds per 10,000 people accounts for 2.48 hospital beds per 10,000 people.
In addition, the private health sector also has 53,527 private clinics and medical service facilities providing services nationwide.
