Much
public concern has been raised at the Health Ministry’s proposal to increase
medical service fees, which the ministry justifies as fair, to meet with
present day costs and improved services.
Tran
Duc Long, head of the Legal Department of the Health Ministry, told a Sai Gon
Giai Phong reporter that the fee price increase was very much justified to meet
with today’s inflation and also to avail of better medical services and
healthcare programs.
According to Long, the medical service fee
adjustment is necessary because the existing fee bracket was issued in 1995 and
no longer suitable in the present day context, making it difficult for government
hospitals to function effectively.
Government-owned hospitals are currently
providing free medical care, the cost of which is covered by the funding
received by the hospitals.
Consequently, both rich and poor enjoy the
same healthcare facilities, which seem unfair.
For all practical purposes hospital fees must
be revised, or else many state hospitals face risk of closure. This would
create a serious problem, as hospitals in districts are vital for the health of
the people and also help in reducing pressure on the larger hospitals in big
cities, said Long.
On the other hand, Long affirmed that the
price adjustment would not take place in non-government hospitals because most
of the private hospitals were charging appropriately for their services.
Long added that the government would pay for
disadvantaged people and social welfare beneficiaries via insurance cover.
Currently, around 62 percent of social welfare beneficiaries have insurance
cover. The country will strive to provide 80 percent of its citizens with
insurance cards. 20 percent of the remainder are rich and can afford to pay
high medical service bills.
Nevertheless, the government will raise
medical insurance limits to allow easier payments of medical expenses. The
Ministry of Health is working with related agencies to establish a fund to
support for better medical insurance facilities, said Long.
Long also said that the price adjustment will
be applicable only on high-tech facilities like blood transfusion, intravenous
fluids, chemicals and materials such as needles. The ministry is planning to
set up a committee to decide the pricing after which it will determine the
exact fee hike.
Long calmed the public, saying that the
ministry would impose stiff penalties on hospitals that raised the fee more
than the regulated price range.
The Ministry of Health will liaise with the
Ministry of Finance to assess the amount to be raised for medical insurance
payment, to be able to help cover the increased medical fees.
By Tuong Lam
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