Nghe An: Finding solutions to rectify the situation of abnormally exceeding the health insurance fund
(Baonghean.vn) - If solutions to prevent abuse are not found in time, Nghe An will continue to be at the top of the list of provinces with the largest health insurance fund deficit in the country. That was the warning of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee at the working session on the morning of June 8 about the issue of fund overspending in implementing health insurance at medical examination and treatment facilities in the province.
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| Overview of the working session |
According to the report of the Department of Health and Social Insurance of Nghe An province presented at the meeting, tAs of May 31, 2017, the number of people participating in health insurance in Nghe An was 2,559,175 people, reaching a coverage rate of 82.4% of the province's population. The frequency of medical examination and treatment of people with health insurance cards in 2016 was 1.1 times/year, an increase of 38% compared to 2015. The total cost of payment under the health insurance regime was 2,513 billion VND, an increase of 67% compared to 2015 (an increase of 1,008 billion VND). In the first 5 months of 2017, the number of medical examinations and treatments at medical facilities increased by 20% compared to the same period in 2016 (an increase of 306,975 visits), the total cost of payment under the health insurance regime was 1,281 billion VND, an increase of 46% compared to 2016 (an increase of 401 billion VND).
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| Patients come to see a doctor at Vinh City Hospital - illustration photo |
| On the morning of June 8, the Provincial People's Committee held a working session with the Department of Health, the Provincial Social Insurance and related units to listen to and give instructions on the issue of exceeding the fund in implementing Health Insurance at medical examination and treatment facilities in the province. Attending the working session were comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Le Xuan Dai - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Le Minh Thong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of the Department of Finance, the Provincial Inspectorate, the Provincial Police and leaders of health insurance examination and treatment units in the province. |
At the meeting, delegates pointed out the reasons for the increase in health insurance examination and treatment costs. That is, in recent times, many health insurance books have been deployed, creating conditions for health insurance participants to access medical examination and treatment services; the people's health care needs are increasing in both quantity and quality; the price of medical examination and treatment services is increasing...
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| Health insurance card - Photo: D.C |
In addition, there is abuse in medical examination and treatment facilities such as: prescribing technical services beyond the necessary level, prescribing inappropriate tests; paying incorrect prices for technical services; unreasonably admitting patients for inpatient treatment; attracting patients to medical examination and treatment through the form of mobilization, advertising, distributing leaflets... The quality of medical examination and treatment in some medical facilities does not meet the demand, leading to the situation of going beyond the line, causing the cost of multi-level payment to increase. The management of the health insurance fund still has many shortcomings.
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| A representative of Cua Dong General Hospital (Vinh City) presented a paper, proposing a number of solutions to reduce the deficit of the health insurance fund. Photo: D.C. |
After pointing out the objective and subjective causes leading to increased medical examination and treatment costs, delegates discussed solutions to overcome limitations in health insurance examination and treatment, prevent abuse and profiteering of health insurance funds, in order to gradually improve the quality of service for health insurance participants when going for medical examination and treatment, and use health insurance examination and treatment funds for the right purposes and effectively.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized: If we continue to prolong the deficit of the health insurance fund, there will be no budget to pay, affecting the rights of people undergoing medical examination and treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to closely monitor to rectify the abuse; strengthen inspection and examination, strictly handle acts of profiteering from the health insurance fund; enhance the responsibility of the heads of medical examination and treatment facilities; the responsibility of the social insurance agency; promote the dissemination of health insurance policies on mass media...
Duc Chuyen
