From November 6 to 8, the National Assembly will spend 2.5 days on questioning and answering questions from National Assembly deputies to Ministers and heads of sectors on the implementation of a number of Resolutions of the 14th National Assembly on thematic supervision and questioning and Resolutions of the National Assembly on thematic supervision and questioning from the beginning of the 15th term to the end of the 4th Session.
At the question-and-answer session on the cultural and social fields, the issue that "heated up" the parliament was that National Assembly Deputies were concerned about the situation of patients having to buy medicine outside for medical examination and treatment.
Ensuring the rights of health insurance card holders
According to voters' feedback, in recent times, the shortage of medicine, equipment and medical supplies in hospitals has been continuing, making it very difficult to examine and treat patients, greatly affecting the care and health of the people. This situation also causes many patients to go to the hospital without being given medicine and have to buy medicine outside the hospital. Especially for poor patients in difficult areas, buying medicine to treat diseases is really difficult and tiring.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan answers questions before the National Assembly.
Speaking before the National Assembly, debating with the Minister of Health at the question-and-answer session on November 8, National Assembly Delegate Duong Khac Mai (Dak Nong Delegation) mentioned the issue of "many voters are concerned and reflecting that patients going to the hospital have to buy medicine outside, causing many difficulties".
Delegate Duong Khac Mai reiterated: “ During the question-and-answer session on November 7, the Minister of Health emphasized that the rights of patients and insurance participants must be guaranteed. This is a very legitimate and necessary requirement.”
According to Delegate Duong Khac Mai, not everyone can afford to buy expensive medicine outside the hospital. Therefore, the Delegate requested the Minister of Health to direct and coordinate with the Health Insurance Agency to find timely solutions for patients when participating in health insurance, especially ensuring the rights of poor patients with difficult economic conditions.
Delegate Duong Khac Mai also shared with the Minister and the Health sector that in the recent past, when there was not enough medicine and medical equipment, there were many difficulties, but he hoped that the Government and related ministries and sectors would coordinate with the Ministry of Health to ensure the rights of the people and provide good health care for the people.
Also concerned about the above issue, National Assembly Delegate Ha Hong Hanh (Khanh Hoa Delegation) said that in Document No. 2060 dated October 20, 2023, the opinion of the National Assembly's Social Committee is that if the shortage of medicine and medical equipment continues and people go to the doctor and get treatment under health insurance but have to buy medicine for treatment themselves, there will be a mechanism for health insurance to refund these expenses. Such a regulation is to ensure the rights of people with health insurance cards.
Delegate Ha Hong Hanh asked the Minister of Health to give his opinion on this idea. At the same time, according to the Government's report, up to now, there are still approximately 2,500 billion VND of medical examination and treatment costs under health insurance that have not been paid or settled since 2021, so he asked the Minister of Health to provide solutions to end the situation of delayed payment and settlement of health insurance.
Also sharing the difficulties of patients when going to see a doctor and having to buy medicine outside, National Assembly Delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) said that Resolution 20 of the Central Executive Committee mentioned the goal of reducing the rate of patients using out-of-pocket expenses when using medical services. However, up to now, it can be seen that the implementation has not been effective. The delegate asked the Minister of Health and the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to have any solutions to achieve this goal?
National Assembly Delegate Duong Khac Mai.
If patients buy medicine themselves, there may be many related risks.
In response to concerns and recommendations from National Assembly Deputies, in explaining and answering questions, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that, in principle, medical examination and treatment facilities must ensure adequate medicine and not allow patients to buy medicine from outside during their inpatient treatment.
If patients are allowed to buy their own medicine, there may be many risks related to the quality of the medicine, patient safety, and dispute resolution when there are adverse events, misuse of prescriptions, or patients have to pay high prices, making it difficult to determine payment issues.
Minister Dao Hong Lan frankly admitted: In the process of implementing COVID-19 prevention and control, the Ministry of Health has encountered many problems related to drug shortages and the reality is that many medical facilities do not ensure enough drugs and patients have gone out to buy drugs for self-treatment.
"The Ministry of Health acknowledges and accepts the opinions of National Assembly Deputies regarding this content and agrees that the rights of patients and health insurance participants must be guaranteed, and this is a very legitimate and necessary requirement," said Minister Dao Hong Lan.
However, currently in our regulations there is no provision on direct payment to patients when buying medicine outside. Therefore, in recent times, the Ministry of Health has focused on directing many synchronous solutions.
National Assembly Delegate Ha Hong Hanh.
Firstly, the Ministry of Health requests medical facilities to implement instructions and regulations related to the purchase of drugs and medical supplies to ensure service for medical examination and treatment.
Second, propose mechanisms to study how medical facilities can transfer drugs between facilities while the bidding results are still valid.
Third, review the drug lists and expect to add this drug list in early 2024, ensuring the rights of health insurance participants.
Fourthly, regarding the issue of the mechanism for payment to patients, directly related to this content, the Ministry of Health has assigned the Department of Health Insurance to develop a circular and this content is currently being developed by a specialized unit. The Ministry will seek opinions from ministries, departments, branches and localities in the process of completing this circular to ensure the rights of health insurance participants.
Regarding reducing treatment costs for people, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan affirmed that this is an issue of great concern to the health sector. Therefore, to reduce people's out-of-pocket expenses, it is necessary to transform the disease care model in a sustainable way, increase investment in preventive medicine, and provide universal health insurance coverage to reduce the burden of disease.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the disease pattern in our country has changed a lot, the people's demand for health care is increasing, while many people only go to the doctor when they are sick, causing very high medical examination and treatment costs and poor health care efficiency. Therefore, in addition to strengthening prevention, screening and early detection of diseases, it is also necessary to increase people's awareness in health care and protection, and increase the coverage of health insurance policies.
National Assembly Delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan.
According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of people's out-of-pocket expenses for health care must reach 30% to be considered a sustainable health system. Therefore, the health sector will continue to implement this in the coming time.
Regarding payment for cases where medical facilities do not have enough medicine to supply, the Minister of Health has issued urgent instructions. On the afternoon of November 7, the Ministry of Health held a meeting to discuss these contents to have a specific plan. The Ministry of Health is actively directing the implementation so that when there is an official draft, it will seek opinions from ministries, branches and localities.
Minister Dao Hong Lan emphasized that specific regulations on which conditions patients are eligible for insurance payments and which regulations to avoid abuse require strict legal regulations.
Thien An
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