A medical examination in Tăng Tiến Commune’s
health station in Bắc Giang Province. The province has invested nearly
VNĐ13,000 billion to implement national target program ’New Rural
Construction.’ - VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh
Two
senior officials pledged on Wednesday that national healthcare and social
insurance funding will not run out, but cautioned that appropriate reforms and
adjustments were needed.
Bùi Sỹ Lợi,
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs, and Phạm
Lương Sơn, deputy general director of Việt Nam’s Social Insurance Organisation
(SIO), delivered the promise at a seminar on “Solutions for effective
management of Healthcare and Social Insurance Funds.”
However,
Lợi said that if the current situation is not remedied, one cannot rule out the
possibility of social insurance and healthcare funds going insolvent by 2019
and 2037.
The
current healthcare contribution required of each card-holder is 4.5 per cent of
basic salary, but this could be increased to the permitted ceiling of 6 per
cent. This additional revenue would help balance the budget, Lợi said.
Sơn said
that SIO has implemented a number of administrative reform measures and will
review procedures further in order to cut out more superfluous steps and
improve connectivity between relevant agencies.
The
number of inspections will be increased and IT applications in management
boosted in order to prevent fraud and abuse, the two officials said.
The
conference heard that a medical data and healthcare information assessment
portal will open nationwide on January 1, 2017, based on a pilot project
launched in Hà Nội.
Starting
next year, medical facilities across the country will be required to join the
portal and share their data, which would include the patients’ medical history,
records of all check-up sessions, as well as prescriptions and invoices.
Concerns
that the SIO’s exclusive control over spending could lead to a lack of
transparency were misguided for the most part, Lợi said at the conference.
He said
the SIO was not monopolising the fund. Its function was to implement the
Government’s policies and social insurance regimes, and to manage insurance
funds as prescribed by law.
The
Social Insurance Management Council – which comprises of representatives from
various ministries and authorities – is the agency tasked with directing and
managing the activities, including decisions on investment. The council will
also propose adjustments to social insurance regimes, Lợi said.
He
encouraged the public to get involved by reporting suspected abuse and fraud to
the authorities. They should also manage efficiently the individual social
insurance card that will be issued soon, he said.
In the
first half of 2016, 80 per cent of the population had healthcare coverage,
exceeding the Government’s set target.
However,
this period posted a deficit of VNĐ8.5 trillion (US$381 million) , with total
expenditure surpassing last year’s same period by 40 per cent.
Sơn
listed a number of reasons for this deficit. He said the number of people
enrolling healthcare regimes had increased by 12 per cent, accounting for
additional VNĐ2.9 trillion in expenditure.
Implementing
the Ministry of Health’s Circular No 37/2015/TTLT-BYT-BTC on adjusting medical
service fees also resulted in an expenditure of VNĐ3.2 trillion, he said.
Circular
37 aims to gradually end Government subsidies for hospitals.
Installing
transfer mechanisms for patients from central-level to provincial or
district-level hospitals in order to reduce overload on the former had also
resulted in additional VNĐ1.4 trillion.
The rest
of the deficit (approximate VNĐ1 trillion) is due to an unusual hike in
inpatient care and doubtable drugs prescriptions.
Healthcare
insurance abuse has taken place in both private and public medical facilities,
the conference heard. It referred to reports in multiple media outlets which
said some people have taken advantage of loopholes to have medical examinations
and get prescribed drugs multiple times a day for free. These drugs were sold
at lower prices or even used to feed cattle.
Sơn said
that such abuse accounted for 1-3 per cent of the increase in expenditure.
Both
officials called for increased awareness of the social impacts of healthcare
fraud.
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