Proposal for people under 18 years old to have their nearsightedness and farsightedness treated with 100% health insurance coverage

According to Ms. Tran Thi Trang, Director of the Health Insurance Department ( Ministry of Health ), according to the Health Insurance Law, currently, treatment of refractive errors, strabismus, and myopia is only 100% paid for for children under 6 years old. The Ministry of Health is proposing to adjust and expand the age group under 18 years old to be 100% paid by health insurance.

Specifically, in the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance, the Ministry of Health proposes that people under 18 years old when treating strabismus, ptosis and refractive errors of the eye (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia) will be paid 100% by health insurance.

According to Ms. Trang, the adjustment to expand the age for payment of treatment costs from 6 to 18 years old is to match professional indications, because the age for these techniques is usually over 6 years old to ensure effectiveness.

The Ministry of Health recommends that people under 18 years old who need treatment for refractive errors, nearsightedness, farsightedness, strabismus, etc. will be covered 100% by health insurance.

In Vietnam, the rate of refractive errors in adolescents is alarming: 15%-20% in rural students, 30%-40% in urban students. Particularly in the group of children aged 6-15, this rate is about 20%, equivalent to nearly 3 million people.

The proposal to increase the age of children eligible for 100% health insurance for refractive error treatment, according to Ms. Trang, is to allow children to enjoy benefits and ensure their vision function.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Trang, balancing the revenue and expenditure of the Health Insurance Fund is very important. In recent years, the rate of people participating in Health Insurance has increased, the number of medical examinations and treatments has increased, and treatment costs have also increased due to many factors, so it is necessary to ensure the balance of the Health Insurance Fund. "This time, we calculate to only adjust the minimum level, which can fit the fund's balancing capacity," Ms. Trang emphasized.

In this draft revised Law on Health Insurance, the Ministry of Health also proposed regulations on transferring patients between medical examination and treatment facilities and payment of medical examination and treatment costs related to patient transportation.

Currently, the Health Insurance Fund pays for the transportation of patients from district to province, from province to central level, while the transportation of patients between facilities of the same level and technical expertise has not been paid. This time, the Ministry of Health proposed that any patient who is indicated to be transferred to a treatment facility will be paid for by the Health Insurance Fund.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/de-xuat-nguoi-duoi-18-tuoi-dieu-tri-can-vien-thi-duoc-bhyt-thanh-toan-100--i742470/