Hospital fees increase surprises most patients.

Starting August 1st, many hospitals nationwide implemented fee increases. Prior to that, from mid-July, five central-level hospitals such as Bach Mai, Viet Duc, Central Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, K Hospital, and Central Children's Hospital... had already increased prices for many medical services.

However, many hospitals have not publicly announced the new fee schedule as required by the Ministry of Health, so most patients are unaware of this adjustment.
According to surveys conducted at these hospitals, the majority of patients and their families were surprised to learn that hospital fees began to increase from the beginning of August.

At Bach Mai Hospital, Mr. Nguyen Manh Minh (from Phu Xuyen, Hanoi), who was waiting with his father for an MRI scan, said that they just go for checkups when they're sick, and they pay whatever the medical staff tells them to pay without knowing that hospital fees have increased.

Also waiting to have his child's X-ray taken, Mr. Tran Quang Thang (from Thai Nguyen) recounted how he and his son had traveled to Hanoi late at night to have a bone tumor examined. Mr. Thang sighed, "There's still more than 20 minutes to go before it's our turn. At this rate, we'll only get the X-ray this afternoon and the results tomorrow morning. With the increased hospital fees and this long wait, it's exhausting!"

At K Hospital, Ms. Mai Thi Anh, waiting for her examination, said that during a recent health check-up, the doctor told her she had symptoms of breast cancer, so she came to K Hospital for a more accurate check-up. "I don't know if the increase in hospital fees will improve the quality of medical care. Waiting and queuing like this for ages is exhausting," she complained.

Furthermore, at National Children's Hospitals, Viet Duc Hospital, etc., when asked, most patients were unaware of the increase in hospital fees.

Patients jostle to buy medical examination tickets at
National Children's Hospital

Many services are offered at maximum price.

Bach Mai Hospital is a special-grade (Grade 1) hospital under the Ministry of Health, subject to the maximum price within the established framework. It is known that Bach Mai Hospital has implemented the new maximum fee for all 447 services. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hien stated that with the new fee policy, patients with health insurance will not be significantly affected, but those without insurance will have to pay a relatively large amount. For example, a patient undergoing a cesarean section, previously charged only 390,000 VND, will now pay 1.5 million VND under the new price framework.
Meanwhile, Viet Duc Hospital only increased prices for 180 out of 447 services, while hundreds of high-cost procedures and surgeries remained at their old prices. The average increase in medical service prices at the hospital was 90-95%. Services in specialized fields saw the maximum increase.

Besides Bach Mai and Viet Duc hospitals, three other major medical facilities under the Ministry of Health – K Hospital, the Central Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, and the Vietnam-Sweden Hospital in Uong Bi (Quang Ninh) – have also implemented the new hospital fee rates.

Some provinces and cities have approved and implemented the prices, including Bac Ninh, Kon Tum, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Vinh Long, Gia Lai, Hau Giang, Khanh Hoa, Dong Thap, and Ninh Thuan... Hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are waiting to submit their prices to the People's Council at the next session.

According to (vnmedia)-TN