Covid-19 treatment is not free, health insurance will pay

SGGPO June 14, 2023 18:49

The reclassification of Covid-19 from a Group A to a Group B infectious disease only affects the payment of treatment costs; the treatment protocols and methods for Covid-19 remain unchanged.

On the afternoon of June 14th, at a seminar on health communication, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong stated that, regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, as it has been reclassified from a Group A to a Group B infectious disease, treatment for Covid-19 patients will no longer be free. However, if patients have health insurance cards, their treatment will be covered according to health insurance regulations.

"This is just a change in payment, while the treatment protocols and methods for Covid-19 remain the same, regardless of whether it's a Group A or Group B infection," Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong emphasized, adding that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice are advising the Prime Minister on a decision to reclassify Covid-19 from Group A to Group B, expected this June.

Health insurance will cover Covid-19 treatment costs when it turns into a group B epidemic.

Meanwhile, Mr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, stated that Vietnam's infectious disease surveillance system always monitors the epidemic situation in a coordinated manner. Therefore, when COVID-19 was moved from group A to group B, according to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, classification is primarily based on pathology. In Vietnam, epidemics in group A are mainly controlled through administrative and social measures, while in group B, these administrative and social control activities are abandoned. In other words, in group A, in addition to the health sector, various ministries and agencies participate in epidemic control, but in group B, the health sector is primarily responsible for implementing prevention and control measures.

According to the Ministry of Health, in the first six months of 2023, the country recorded over 85,000 cases of Covid-19. On average, Vietnam had 17,000 cases per month, a decrease of 8.5 times compared to 2021 and 48 times compared to 2022. The country also recorded 20 deaths due to Covid-19, with the mortality rate sharply decreasing to 0.02% (1.86% in 2021, 0.1% in 2022). Over 226 million doses of various Covid-19 vaccines have been administered nationwide. The rate of receiving the primary dose is 1.4 times higher than the world average. The rate of receiving booster shots is more than 2 times higher than the world average.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khong-mien-phi-dieu-tri-covid-19-bhyt-se-chi-tra-post693671.html