HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Hospitals in thecountry have been instructed to ensure health exams and treatment for insuredpatients as fees for 70 healthcare services will fall on July15 under a newly issued circular, according to Deputy Minister ofHealth Pham Le Tuan.

The fees will fall on average from 5 percent to24 percent compared to those issued in 2015.

Examination fees, for instance, will fallby 15 to 20 percent, or 4,800 to 5,900 VND (0.21 to 0.26 USD), athospitals and clinics nationwide. Bed fees will be reduced by 2 to 10 percent,depending on the classification of hospitals in the country.

However, bed fees for patients in intensive caredepartments or those undergoing organ or stem cell transplant procedures willincrease slightly to 687,100 VND (30 USD) from 677,100 VND (29.60 USD)each day. Fees for seven other healthcare services will also increase.

This fee adjustment is part of the ministry’sroadmap of calculating healthcare service fees to cover expenses directlyrelated to medical exams and treatment as well as various allowances andsalaries for health workers at hospitals, Tuan said at a conference on the newcircular held on July 4 in HCM City.

Pham Luong Son, Deputy General Director of theVietnam Social Security, said the adjustment would help health insurance fundsbecome more sustainable. 

According to Tuan, the circular could affecthospitals’ turnover, so health facilities should take steps to save money asthey are now financially autonomous.

Nguyen Nam Lien, Director of the ministry’sDepartment of Planning and Finance, told Vietnam News on the sidelines of theconference: “Hospitals should use their money effectively in buying medicineand medical materials and use human resources carefully.”

“It is very important that they ensure qualityfor health examination and treatment.”

Provincial and district-level hospitalsnationwide have attracted a large number of insured patients thanks to improvedquality in health examination and treatment via the ministry’s programmes.

Moreover, concentrated bidding for medicine andmedical materials has led to a reduction in hospital’s expenditures, he said.

For these reasons, the ministry, along with theMinistry of Finance and the Vietnam Social Security, decided to reduce fees ofmany healthcare services, Lien said.

Duong Tuan Duc of the Vietnam Social Securitysaid that many hospitals would increase the number of patients examined by onedoctor in order to ensure financial stability. This would result in doctorsseeing patients for less time than before.

“This will be a shortcoming. The benefits ofpatients will be affected,” Duc said, adding that the Vietnam Social Securityis suggesting that the Ministry of Health should address this issue.

As of the first six months of the year, thecountry’s health insurance coverage had reached 86.9 percent of the population.-VNS/VNA