Health insurance medical examination and treatment prices increased by 10%

Health insurance (HI) hospital fees are adjusted to increase by about 10%, in which the price for one examination at a special and first-class hospital is 42,100 VND.

This price frame is applied from November 17, according to Circular 22 just issued by the Ministry of Health adjusting medical examination and treatment fees after more than 4 months of basic salary increasing from 1,490,000 VND to 1,800,000 VND.

Accordingly, the price of health insurance examination at special hospitals such as Bach Mai, Viet Duc, Cho Ray, Hue Central, Thai Nguyen Central, and 108 Military Central, increased from VND38,700 to VND42,100. Commune health stations changed the price of medical examination from VND27,500 to VND30,100. The average increase at different hospital levels is from VND2,600 to VND3,400 per examination, or about 10% compared to the old price.

The price of an intensive care bed per day also increased by each hospital class from 30,000 to 50,000 VND. For example, the price of a bed in a special class hospital increased to 509,400 VND, in a class I hospital it was 474,700 VND, and in a class II hospital it was 359,200 VND. The price of tests and techniques for more than 1,900 services also increased, such as the price of an ultrasound increased from 43,900 VND to 49,300 VND.

Medical examination and treatment prices are adjusted according to the minimum basic salary. In July, the Ministry of Health said that if hospital fees were adjusted according to the new basic salary of 1.8 million VND, the price of medical examination and treatment services would increase by 9%, of which the cost due to the adjustment of the basic salary included in the price would account for 5%, the rest would be management costs.

Regarding the impact of this adjustment, the Ministry of Health said that groups with health insurance cards, including the poor, ethnic minorities, and social policy beneficiaries, who are 100% covered by health insurance, will not be affected. For groups that have to co-pay 20% or 5%, the increase is not much and they can afford it because their income increases according to the basic salary.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that currently, patients have to pay about 40% of the cost of medical examination and treatment, the rest is from health insurance. Mr. Thuan hopes that the adjustment of medical service prices in the direction of correct and sufficient calculation will gradually reduce people's "out-of-pocket" spending. "Calculating the correct price of medical services is an important factor to ensure the rights of patients, hospitals and medical staff," said the Deputy Minister.

Children receiving treatment at Children's Hospital 2, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, July 2023. Photo: Quynh Tran

In early 2023, the National Assembly passed the revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, stipulating that the price of medical examination and treatment services includes many different types of costs combined. These include labor costs (salaries, wages, contributions based on salaries and allowances of medical staff); direct costs including drugs, chemicals, blood, blood products, raw materials, materials, tools, services, fuel, energy used for medical examination and treatment, equipment depreciation, which are also included in the price of medical examination and treatment services; management costs such as maintenance, repair, environmental protection, infection control, training, scientific research.

These costs are added together to solve the problem of "correctly and sufficiently calculating" medical examination and treatment costs, which many hospitals have recently reported as "outdated". For example, Bach Mai Hospital charges 43,900 VND per ultrasound, which is not enough to cover the wear and tear of the equipment, not to mention labor costs. With a large number of patients, the hospital's revenue is still limited, making it difficult to balance income and expenditure, and unable to retain doctors and nurses.

Le Nga

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