Ministry of Health proposes early disbursement of 2,500 billion VND of health insurance for Ho Chi Minh City

The Ministry of Health has requested the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) to promptly disburse nearly VND 2,500 billion in health insurance (HI), exceeding the 2023-2024 budget, for medical examination and treatment facilities in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health , in 2023, the cost of health insurance examination and treatment exceeded the estimate in the city by about 557.5 billion VND. This amount has been appraised, assessed and sent to the Vietnam Social Security by Ho Chi Minh City Social Security but has not yet been paid.

In 2024, the budget overrun will continue to occur, with an amount of about 1,950 billion VND. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City Social Security will also recover health insurance examination and treatment costs performed on medical equipment that has not completed the establishment of public ownership before March 4, 2023.

The lack of disbursement and long waiting time have caused many hospitals to face serious difficulties in balancing revenue and expenditure, delaying payment of debts for drugs and medical supplies to suppliers, affecting the quality of medical examination and treatment and the rights of health insurance participants.

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The Ministry of Health stated that the delay in payment has caused many hospitals to face financial difficulties, owing money for medicines, medical supplies and technical service contract costs. Some units have had to borrow money or temporarily stop purchasing, directly affecting the treatment and benefits of health insurance patients.

In response to Ho Chi Minh City's feedback, Mr. Nguyen Tri Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health Insurance (Ministry of Health), said that the Ministry has sent a document to Vietnam Social Security and the Ministry of Finance, requesting to handle the problems with 4 proposals.

Specifically, regarding the cost of health insurance examination and treatment for technical services performed on medical equipment that has not yet completed the establishment of public ownership, the Ministry of Health has sent an official dispatch requesting that this expense not be recovered. The Ministry is also synthesizing, reporting to the Government and requesting the Vietnam Social Security to direct local Social Security to temporarily suspend the recovery until a decision is made by the Government or the Prime Minister.

Regarding the 2023 budget overrun, the Ministry of Health requested the Vietnam Social Security to urgently report to the Ministry of Finance and submit to the Government for approval to make early payments to medical facilities, including Ho Chi Minh City.

Regarding the 2024 budget overrun, the Ministry of Health requested that Vietnam Social Security direct provincial and municipal social security agencies to review and resolve the issue in accordance with legal regulations to avoid extending it to next year.

Regarding advances for health insurance examination and treatment costs, the Ministry of Health requested the Vietnam Social Security to direct localities to make advances according to the ratio and number of times prescribed in Article 32 of the Health Insurance Law to ensure funding sources for medical examination and treatment activities for people.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/bo-y-te-de-nghi-som-giai-ngan-2-500-ty-dong-bhyt-cho-tp-ho-chi-minh-i777918/