Without a student card, the patient was refused when showing his health insurance card.

Ms. Cam Loan said that a few months ago, her 14-year-old child had to go to the emergency room at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Because he did not have a student card (because the school had not issued one), the hospital did not allow him to use his health insurance.

"After the emergency, my child stayed in the hospital for 4 days and I paid 100% of the hospital fees myself. So I would like to ask, can I get the health insurance to settle this hospital fee? If so, what documents do I need to submit and where do I go to submit the settlement documents?", Ms. Loan wondered.

Chưa có thẻ học sinh, bệnh nhi bị từ chối khi đưa thẻ bảo hiểm y tế - 1 — When children do not have a student card, they can present other documents with photos to prove their identity (Illustration: Tung Nguyen).

According to Vietnam Social Security (VSS), in case of emergency (emergency condition confirmed by medical facility), health insurance participants can receive medical examination and treatment at any medical facility.

Patients only need to present their health insurance card and photo identification before leaving the hospital to enjoy full health insurance benefits as when going to the medical examination and treatment at the initial registration location.

In addition, if Ms. Cam Loan's child has not been issued a student card, the family can present alternative documents, such as: Confirmation paper from the commune-level police, other documents confirmed by the educational institution (where the student is managed).

Regarding the refund of medical examination and treatment costs that Ms. Loan paid, Vietnam Social Security said: "The regulations on cases of direct payment of costs at the Social Security agency do not include the case you mentioned, so the Social Security agency does not have enough basis to refund the treatment costs."