Does the Minister of Health agree to refund health insurance drug money to patients?

On the afternoon of November 7, questioning the Minister of Health , delegate Ha Hong Hanh (Khanh Hoa delegation) said that in document No. 2060 dated October 20, 2023, the Social Committee of the National Assembly stated that if the shortage of drugs and medical equipment continues and people going to see a doctor or receive treatment under health insurance (HI) have to buy medicine themselves for treatment, there needs to be a mechanism for the HI to refund these amounts to ensure the rights of people with HI cards.

Also according to delegate Ha Hong Hanh, according to the Government 's Report, up to now, there are approximately 2,500 billion VND in health insurance examination and treatment costs that have not been paid or settled since 2021.

"I would like to request Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan to state her views on refunding health insurance drug costs to patients and solutions to end the situation of delayed payment and settlement of health insurance?", the delegate asked.

Dialogue - Does the Minister of Health agree to refund health insurance drug money to patients? — National Assembly Deputy Ha Hong Hanh questioned the Minister of Health.

Responding to questions, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that, in principle, medical examination and treatment facilities must ensure adequate medicine and not let patients have to buy medicine from outside during inpatient treatment.

According to Ms. Lan, if patients are allowed to buy by themselves, there may be many risks related to drug quality, 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.

In fact, in the process of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, many problems related to medicine have arisen and many medical facilities do not ensure enough medicine, patients have to go out to buy medicine for treatment.

“We would like to acknowledge and accept the opinions of delegates related to this content and agree on the view that the rights of patients and health insurance participants must be guaranteed. This is a very legitimate and necessary requirement. However, currently in our regulations, there are no regulations on direct payment to patients when buying medicine outside. Therefore, in the recent past, the Ministry of Health has also focused on directing many synchronous solutions,” said Ms. Lan.

Specifically, the Minister requested that, first, medical facilities implement instructions and regulations related to the purchase of drugs and medical supplies to ensure service for medical examination and treatment.

Second, the Ministry proposed mechanisms to study how medical examination and treatment facilities can transfer drugs between facilities when there are valid bidding results.

Third is to review the list of drugs covered by health insurance and it is expected that in early 2024, this list of drugs will be added to ensure the rights of health insurance participants.

Dialogue - Does the Minister of Health agree to refund health insurance drug money to patients? (Image 2). — Minister Dao Hong Lan answers questions from National Assembly deputies.

Fourth is the issue of the direct payment mechanism for patients: “Regarding this content, we have assigned the Department of Health Insurance to develop a circular and this content is currently being implemented by specialized units. We will seek opinions from ministries, departments, branches and localities in the process of finalizing the circular to ensure the rights of health insurance participants,” said Ms. Lan.

Regarding the payment of the total health insurance premium according to the Government's Resolution as questioned by delegate Do Duc Hien (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation), the Minister said that Resolution No. 144 dated November 5, 2022 issued by the Government has allowed to resolve the problem of the total health insurance premium exceeding the total amount in 2021.

On that basis, the Ministry of Health, together with medical facilities and Vietnam Social Security, has reviewed the expenditure contents to comply with regulations. Currently, the total amount based on the review is about more than 1,000 billion VND. This content is also being implemented by Vietnam Social Security in coordination with the health departments to be paid.

Regarding ensuring the removal of obstacles related to this total level of previous periods, the Ministry of Health said that it has submitted to the Government for promulgation of Decree No. 75 dated October 19, 2023 to remove issues related to obstacles regarding the total level of medical facilities of the period before 2021.

“Currently, this Decree is being implemented. This is also a content that the Ministry of Health and Social Insurance of Vietnam, together with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, has coordinated with the Government to issue,” said Ms. Lan .

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