Provincial People's Committee held a meeting to discuss the issue of exceeding the health insurance budget.

On the afternoon of December 14, the Provincial People's Committee held a working session with the health sector, social insurance, finance and health insurance medical examination and treatment facilities in the area on the implementation of the budget estimate for health insurance examination and treatment in 2018 and the resolution of difficulties and problems in the implementation of the budget. Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the meeting.

The meeting was attended by all health insurance medical facilities in the province. Photo: Thanh Chung

According to the Inter-sectoral Report of Social Insurance and Health Insurance: In 2018, in the province, there were 60 health insurance facilities assigned with budget estimates according to Decision 117 of the Provincial People's Committee. By the end of November 2018, the province's budget utilization rate reached 119%, exceeding the assigned budget for the period by over VND 521.75 billion.

The expenditure for medical examination and treatment within the province alone accounted for 124%, exceeding 362.5 billion VND. Of the 60 medical examination and treatment facilities assigned budgets, 35 facilities used over 100% of the annual budget; 22 facilities used between 90 and 100% and only 3 facilities used less than 90%.

Leaders of Nghe An Department of Health presented the situation of exceeding the budget. Photo: Thanh Chung

Objective reasons leading to the excess of the health insurance examination and treatment expenditure estimate in the year are: The estimate is delivered late and lower than the demand; the minimum wage increases; costs arising from patients going to other health insurance examination and treatment facilities are not controlled; Nghe An is a province that has deployed many specialized techniques that many other provinces and cities have not been able to do...

Surgery for a patient at Vinh City General Hospital. Photo: Document

Subjective reasons are: Some medical facilities have not been proactive in reducing hospital overload; admitting patients to higher-level treatment when it is not really necessary for their condition; some specialties have not yet developed criteria for selecting diseases for appropriate outpatient treatment; especially the limited capacity of the primary health care system causes many patients with common diseases to have to go to higher-level facilities.

Director of Nghe An Oncology Hospital pointed out the difficulties after exceeding the health insurance budget. Photo: Thanh Chung

Taking note of the opinions of medical facilities as well as the Social Insurance sector at the working session, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Minh Thong stated: With the characteristics of a large population; increasingly invested facilities and equipment and the increasing demand for health care of the people, the increase in health insurance examination and treatment costs is understandable and the overpayment is completely objective.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested: The Social Insurance and Health sectors should synthesize the excess budget in 2018 due to objective reasons to submit to the Government for consideration and resolution. Regarding the health insurance medical examination and treatment budget in 2019, the Social Insurance and Health sectors should base on the Central Government's guiding documents to provide early advice to the province in implementation.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the health sector and social insurance to have solutions to overcome subjective causes of fund overruns. Photo: Thanh Chung

The two sectors need to have solutions to overcome subjective causes, improve efficiency in medical examination and treatment, prescribe appropriate technical services according to professional requirements, and save maximum costs in medical examination and treatment under health insurance. The health sector should develop a revenue mechanism outside the health insurance fund and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration./.