Nghe An will increase medical examination and treatment prices for people without health insurance cards.

On the afternoon of April 22, the People's Committee of Nghe An province held a meeting to listen to and give opinions on the draft Resolution of the Provincial People's Council on regulating the prices of medical examination and treatment services not covered by the Health Insurance Fund in state-owned medical examination and treatment facilities in Nghe An province.

Comrade Le Minh Thong, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the meeting.

Paying hospital fees at Nghe An Provincial General Friendship Hospital. Photo: Thanh Son

By the end of 2018, the number of people participating in health insurance in the province was 2,778,453, reaching 88.7% of the population. 352,893 people have not participated in health insurance (11.3%), mainly small traders, individual businesses, with average income and living standards or higher.

In the past, people who have not participated in health insurance when going to medical examination and treatment facilities in Nghe An were charged according to the price prescribed in Resolution No. 24/2017 of the People's Council of Nghe An province. Resolution No. 24 was developed according to Circular No. 02/2017, Circular No. 44/2017 of the Ministry of Health on the regulation of maximum price range for medical examination and treatment services not covered by the Health Insurance Fund in state medical examination facilities.

Leaders of Nghe An Department of Health presented the draft. Photo: Thanh Chung

In 2018, the Ministry of Health issued two Circulars No. 37 and 39 regulating the prices of new health insurance examination and treatment services and the maximum price range for medical examination and treatment services not covered by the Health Insurance Fund. When the two Circulars of the Ministry of Health took effect, the problem occurred that people who had not participated in health insurance when going to public health facilities in Nghe An only paid lower or inconsistent prices with people with health insurance cards.

Thus, the current price is no longer suitable for the actual situation, does not meet the costs to ensure the operation of public medical examination and treatment facilities; does not create fairness in medical examination and treatment between people with and without health insurance cards; and is not suitable for the goal of encouraging people to participate in health insurance.

Based on the reality, the People's Committee of Nghe An province has assigned the Nghe An Department of Health to draft a Resolution to submit to the Provincial People's Council for approval to regulate the price of medical examination and treatment services not covered by the new Health Insurance Fund. According to this new draft: People who do not participate in health insurance will have to pay the price equal to the maximum level prescribed in Circular No. 37/2018 of the Ministry of Health. This price basically only adjusts the increase in the basic salary into the price, from VND 1,150,000 to VND 1,390,000.

Comrade Le Minh Thong stated that this price increase does not affect social security. Photo: Thanh Chung

Concluding the meeting, comrade Le Minh Thong stated: The new price will not affect social security, the poor, the policy, and people with health insurance cards; create fairness and equality in medical examination and treatment prices; ensure that the State's pricing principles are sufficient to cover reasonable costs, consistent with the market price level.

The draft Resolution will continue to be presented and discussed for comments at the regular meeting of the Provincial People's Committee in May 2019./.

Accordingly, the list and prices of medical examination and treatment services not covered by the health insurance fund include: 10 medical examination and treatment services; 6 bed-day services such as: Intensive care unit (ICU) treatment days/organ transplants/bone marrow transplants/stem cell transplants; Emergency resuscitation and anti-poisoning bed-days; Internal medicine bed-days (types 1,2,3); Surgery and burn bed-days (types 1,2,3,4); Daytime bed-days...; 1,937 prices of technical and testing services applied to hospital classes. The maximum service price includes direct costs and salaries to ensure medical examination, care, treatment of patients and implementation of medical technical services.