Humane policy of free hospital fees for all people, many patients will be saved

(Dan Tri) - Hospital leaders affirmed that free periodic health check-ups and free hospital fees for all people is a very humane policy, extremely meaningful to the medical industry and will help save many patients.

Recently, General Secretary To Lam, on behalf of the Politburo, signed and issued Resolution 72-NQ/TW on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health.

The Politburo has set a target that by 2030, people will be exempted from basic hospital fees within the scope of health insurance benefits. And from 2026, people will be able to have regular health check-ups or free screening once a year.

The above contents immediately received strong response from the whole society, especially in the health system.

People wait to register for medical examination at the public hospital system in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Thanh Ngan).

“Very humane, many cancer patients will be saved”

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter on September 12, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, said that the goal of supporting periodic health check-ups from 2026 and free hospital fees for all people from 2030, as stated by the Politburo in Resolution 72, is a very humane policy and should be implemented to improve people's health and help the country develop.

Dr. Tuan analyzed that every year, the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital receives 880,000 outpatients and about 59,000 inpatients. In the field of oncology, to treat the disease well and limit costs, it is necessary to detect it at an early stage, which means having regular health check-ups.

As for free basic hospital fees for all people, it is essentially the development of health insurance policy, equivalent to the fact that patients will be covered 100% by insurance, instead of enjoying a certain rate for each subject as it is now.

“This is completely feasible and very valuable, when people do not need to “co-pay” when going to the doctor. When the above policy is passed and the insurance fund covers it, many cancer patients will be saved,” Dr. Tuan expressed.

Patients come for examination at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, branch 2 (Photo: Hoang Le).

To achieve the above two goals, the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital believe that it is imperative to ensure that all people have health insurance. In addition, the current cost of buying health insurance is still low, so the insurance fund is limited.

To ensure the fund does not "break" and is strong enough to implement the policy of Resolution 72, Dr. Tuan said that the State needs to research to have a roadmap to switch from paying health insurance based on the basic salary to paying based on income.

Next, upper-level hospitals need to strengthen the work of directing, training, and educating lower-level hospitals, and develop and disseminate unified and modern treatment regimens. This is to improve the capacity of primary health care in health screening and treatment, so that people, no matter where they go, can receive quality periodic health care.

“Regarding the cancer sector, the Oncology Hospital recommends that the management agency research and expand the list of specialized drugs covered by health insurance, so that patients can gradually reduce their payments during treatment,” said Dr. Diep Bao Tuan.

Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach, Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 2, affirmed that Resolution 72 on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health is of great significance.

Dr. Thach cited that in some places in the world such as Cuba, people have enjoyed free healthcare and education, so Resolution 72 is completely feasible. Dr. Thach also said that in order for the above two policies to be implemented, all people need to be aware of participating in health insurance, so that insurance resources are abundant.

Second, hospitals must focus on improving and developing expertise, researching new techniques, so that people can be completely cured at once, avoiding prolonged hospital stays that are costly and increase treatment costs.

Children's Hospital 2 (Photo: Hoang Le).

Along with improving the capacity of primary health care, it is necessary to consider "home treatment" (with a doctor's prescription in each specific case) as many developed countries have done, to reduce hospital overload and costs.

“From the perspective of working in the Pediatrics sector, I hope that the State can immediately prioritize children - the nation's young buds - and at-risk groups such as the elderly and people with underlying diseases... in enjoying the above policies,” said the Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 2.

If you are determined, you will succeed.

Dr. Pham Thanh Viet, Deputy Executive Director of Cho Ray Hospital - a special unit under the Ministry of Health - said that there is no need to debate the superiority and humanity of the contents issued in Resolution 72.

Vietnamese doctors believe that the nature of free periodic health check-ups and free hospital fees for all people is to change the payment method, so that instead of using money to directly pay hospital fees, people will receive medical care from other sources, such as the health insurance fund and the state budget.

The leader of Cho Ray Hospital said that improving the health insurance fund is inherently good, but requires careful research and surveys from policy makers, because increasing the cost of health insurance collection will have social impacts.

Patients waiting to get medicine at Cho Ray Hospital (Photo: BV).

Regarding the issue of periodic health check-ups and free disease screening, Dr. Viet believes that priority should initially be given to common disease groups that many people suffer from, such as chronic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers with high incidence rates.

"I think that currently, with the country's strong administrative reform and the development of the medical industry, if we are determined, we are completely capable of achieving the above two goals," Dr. Pham Thanh Viet expressed.

Dr. Vu Tri Thanh, Director of Thu Duc General Hospital (HCMC) affirmed that Resolution 72-NQ/TW is of utmost importance, demonstrating the deep concern of the Party and State, guiding the health sector to develop strongly, comprehensively and sustainably.

In particular, the Resolution aims to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment, expand access to medical services for all people, especially the vulnerable. The Resolution also points out areas that need to focus on investment and development to create breakthroughs for the health sector, such as primary health care, preventive medicine and medical technology.

People register for medical examination at Thu Duc General Hospital (Photo: Hoang Le).

At the same time, Resolution 72 provides solutions on mechanisms and policies to motivate health workers, attract talent, and develop the health system in a modern direction, promote the application of science and technology, digital transformation, and develop smart health to improve the efficiency of the health system.

Dr. Thanh commented that the implementation of Resolution 72 may encounter some difficulties, including unsynchronized resources and medical infrastructure, a shortage of high-quality medical human resources, and especially difficulties in innovating financial and investment mechanisms.

Accordingly, some hospitals with financial autonomy in regular and investment expenses will face difficulties in balancing their finances, because the main source of revenue comes from health insurance, but the cost of medical examination and treatment has not been fully calculated.

Modern medical equipment has high investment costs, beyond the financial capacity of many hospitals. In addition, financial autonomy requires hospitals to have good management capacity of financial, human resources, and professional activities, but many hospitals are still limited.

“Despite the difficulties and challenges, with the determination of the entire political system and the health sector, the close coordination of departments and organizations and the support of the people, I believe the above Resolution will be successfully implemented,” said the Director of Thu Duc General Hospital.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/chinh-sach-mien-vien-phi-toan-dan-nhan-van-nhieu-nguoi-benh-se-duoc-cuu-20250912123811216.htm