Medical costs increase

Aon's Global Medical Trend Rates report for 2022, 2023, and 2024 shows that medical costs in Vietnam are continuously increasing, by 5.5%, 6.5%, and 6.7%, respectively. On average, over the past 3 years, the rate of increase in medical costs is 1.6 times higher than the economic inflation rate. This partly indicates that medical costs may become a financial burden for many people in the future.

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From 2022 to 2024, the rate of medical inflation is 1.6 times higher than economic inflation on average. Source: Global Medical Trend Rates - Aon

In fact, medical costs in Vietnam have been forecasted to increase in the coming time. According to the new regulations of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, from 2024, there will be more than 1,900 categories of medical examination and consultation services whose prices will be adjusted to increase. Of which, technical services, testing... will increase by 1 - 4%, some services will increase by up to 10%, the price of hospital bed days will increase by about 10 - 14%...

Mr. Lam Duc Thinh (45 years old, garment factory manager, Ho Chi Minh City) said: “If prices increase, I can cover living expenses and food. But if hospital fees increase, even if they increase significantly, then when I get sick, I still have to get treatment. Last year, I had a herniated disc, I spent a year on treatment and medicine, then had surgery. The total cost was nearly 200 million VND. At that time, I had no insurance, so I had to use my savings for the whole year to pay for the hospital fees.”

According to Manulife’s Asia Care 2024 survey, when asked about their predictions for healthcare inflation, Vietnamese respondents said that healthcare costs had increased by an average of 24% over the past year. The types of healthcare costs that were expected to increase the most included prescription drug costs; medical check-ups and preventive care costs; outpatient medical examination costs and healthcare service costs. 72% of Vietnamese respondents also said that rising healthcare costs were a major financial challenge for them.

Need a backup insurance plan

Medical costs are expected to increase, along with many health risks that are present in life, leading to changes in many people's awareness of the role of health insurance.

Mr. Le Tuan Anh (39 years old, head of a company in Hai Duong) said: “Before, I didn’t care much about health insurance because the company had already bought health insurance for me. However, after a few unfortunate trips to the hospital, I realized the need for insurance to prevent these unexpected accidents.”

Mr. Pham Hoai Nam (30 years old, a businessman in Hanoi) said that he decided to participate in health insurance after witnessing a relative suddenly having an accident and breaking his leg and having to pay 100% of the hospital fees himself. Taking the initiative to learn, he decided to participate in Manulife's life insurance, and at the same time, attached the health insurance "Live Healthy Every Day" (version 2024). According to Mr. Nam, he decided to choose "Live Healthy Every Day" because the inpatient treatment benefit has a high coverage. In addition, he can choose other flexible benefits according to his needs without complicated binding conditions, helping him optimize the cost of participating in insurance.

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Health insurance is the choice of many people to prevent health risks. Photo: Thu Hang

As the breadwinner of her family, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thu (32 years old, self-employed, Bac Ninh) has participated in Manulife life insurance and has just decided to add health insurance "Live Healthy Every Day".

Ms. Thu said: "This is one of the few products with outstanding benefits for serious diseases."

According to Ms. Thu's research, this product supports special treatment costs such as: dialysis; organ transplants; treatment costs, same-day surgery; hospitalization allowance... In addition, the cancer benefits of this product also match her concerns when paying for inpatient, outpatient or same-day cancer treatment when using common cancer treatment methods such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy..., especially paying for the cost of breast reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer.

"Understanding the concerns of Vietnamese people about health risks in the context of increasing medical costs, Manulife Vietnam continuously innovates to bring suitable products, meeting the protection needs and diverse financial capabilities of the people. Upgraded from the 2019 version, "Live Healthy Every Day" version 2024 with many outstanding features, wide range of benefits, helps customers have a backup financial plan when facing health risks", said Ms. Tina Nguyen - General Director of Manulife Vietnam.

Ngoc Minh