The Ministry of Health recently hosted a conference to implement new provisions of the Health Insurance Law (HI Law), along with gathering feedback on the draft implementing regulations. These key changes promise greater ease of access to healthcare, especially for students.
New Support for Students
The new draft regulations aim to increase student health insurance subsidies. Proposed minimum support for secondary school students (grades 1-12) is a significant increase from the current 30% to 50%. This aims to enhance their access to healthcare services. The estimated budget for this student support is approximately 3.7 trillion VND.
Ms. Vũ Nữ Anh, Deputy Director of the Health Insurance Department, noted that this increased support is based on the understanding that students and young people can benefit more from family-based health insurance. This adjustment aims to offer more suitable support levels. Additionally, victims under the Law on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking are proposed to be supported with a minimum of 70% of premiums.
Removing Administrative Barriers for Health Insurance
Another significant change in the revised HI Law is the removal of administrative boundaries for initial and basic level health insurance healthcare services, starting July 1st. The percentage of coverage will remain the same as before, and will be expanded to include additional cases.
Health insurance beneficiaries will receive 100% coverage in the following cases:
- Treatment at initial level healthcare facilities nationwide.
- Inpatient treatment at basic level healthcare facilities nationwide.
- Treatment at any basic or specialized healthcare facility identified as a district-level facility before January 1, 2025.
For rare or serious illnesses, patients may directly access specialized healthcare facilities.
Refining Implementing Regulations
The Ministry of Health is continuing to refine the draft implementing regulations, including detailed guidelines for implementing Law 51, addressing difficulties and obstacles encountered in previous regulations. They are also working to remove barriers in healthcare service delivery and payment processing.
The draft regulations focus on issues like health insurance payment procedures for medical devices, regulations regarding the payment of medications, medical equipment, and chemicals for private facilities, and timelines for implementation, along with the coverage percentages for outpatient treatment.
Conclusion
These changes to the HI Law offer significant benefits to citizens, especially students. Removing administrative barriers in healthcare access is expected to greatly improve access to quality healthcare services.
