Voters propose to increase payment levels and diversify drug lists for patients with health insurance. What does the Ministry of Health say?

Health insurance buyers have many recommendations to improve the quality of this type of insurance, including the proposal to consider expanding and updating the list of drugs covered by health insurance.

Patients receiving health insurance treatment at a hospital in Hanoi - Photo: D.LIEU

Responding to the petition of Thanh Hoa province voters on increasing the payment level and diversifying the list of drugs when people use health insurance for medical examination and treatment, the Ministry of Health said that Vietnam is currently one of the countries with a wide and comprehensive coverage of drugs from the Health Insurance Fund compared to the contribution fee.

Will expand the list of drugs covered by health insurance

Circular No. 20/2022 of the Ministry of Health has regulated 1,037 active ingredients/pharmaceuticals and biological products belonging to 27 major groups, along with 59 radioactive drugs and tracers. Of which, 76 are active ingredients for cancer treatment and immunomodulation.

This list is built according to the active ingredient name, without limitation on dosage form or trade name, helping to maximize the choice of drugs for patients.

In addition, the list of traditional medicine is also very rich, including 229 oriental medicines, medicinal herbs and 349 traditional medicines, applied uniformly to all levels of medical examination and treatment.

On the other hand, on November 16, 2024, the Ministry of Health also issued Circular No. 37/2024 stipulating principles and criteria for developing and updating the drug list, payment rates and conditions.

On that basis, the Ministry of Health is developing a new circular to replace Circular No. 20 mentioned above to expand and update the list of pharmaceutical drugs, biological products, radioactive drugs and markers covered by the health insurance fund, to better meet the people's needs for medical examination and treatment.

Proposal to consider exempting health insurance for students

Regarding the construction of a better health insurance policy for people when examining patients, Minister Dao Hong Lan affirmed that the Ministry of Health always considers ensuring the rights of health insurance participants, especially the provision of adequate medicines, medical supplies, technical services and timely and transparent payment, as a key task, associated with the goals of social security and people's health care.

Regarding the health insurance policy, regarding the proposal to continue researching and considering exempting health insurance for students to reduce the burden on many households, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that according to the provisions of the Law on Health Insurance, Decree No. 188 of 2025 of the Government , the group of students paying health insurance is in group 4.

This group of subjects is supported with a minimum of 50% of the health insurance premium, higher than the minimum support level of 30% for households and equivalent to the support level for the fourth member of the household (50%).

Ministry of Health explains the division of medical examination and treatment

Voters in An Giang province proposed to consider removing the regulations on referrals in medical examination and treatment, because the current process of requesting a hospital referral is still difficult, time-consuming and affects the rights and convenience of people when accessing medical services.

Voters in Vinh Long province also believe that the referral of patients with health insurance (HI) is still inadequate. Voters recommend that there should be a better HI policy for people when they seek medical treatment.

Responding to voters, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the health insurance examination and treatment route was established to ensure that patients receive treatment appropriate to their health condition. Cases that exceed the treatment capacity of the grassroots level will be transferred to a higher level.

The route division also contributes to reducing overload at upper-level medical examination and treatment facilities, limiting the need to share beds and improving treatment effectiveness.

Minister Dao Hong Lan informed that the policy of connecting health insurance examination and treatment lines has been implemented since 2016. Health insurance participants nationwide have been connected nationwide at the district and provincial levels.

Ethnic minorities and people living in island communes and districts are allowed to receive inpatient examination and treatment directly at central hospitals without a referral, creating favorable conditions for people to access quality medical services.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cu-tri-de-nghi-tang-dinh-muc-chi-tra-da-dang-danh-muc-thuoc-cho-benh-nhan-co-bhyt-bo-y-te-noi-gi-20251005110015636.htm