Free hospitalisation for all: A policy that touches millions of hearts

Recently, at a working session with representatives of the Government Party Committee and central ministries and branches to evaluate the implementation results of the Central Resolution on public health care and future work orientations, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that health is the most valuable asset of each citizen and of the whole society, the most important foundation for everyone's happiness and the development of the country. Therefore, investing in protecting, caring for and improving people's health is investing in the development of the country.

From those requirements, the strategic decisions to create breakthroughs in people's health care were proposed by General Secretary To Lam, including the policy of periodic health check-ups for people at least once a year and the development of a project with a roadmap to gradually reduce the burden of medical costs for people, moving towards free hospital fees for all people in the period of 2030 - 2035.

A patient suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a traffic accident, and the cost of treatment exceeded the family's ability to pay.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Van Thuan, the implementation of this policy will have a positive impact on access to health services, proactive prevention, diagnosis, detection and early treatment of diseases, increased treatment effectiveness, optimal use of health financial resources, reduced financial burden for people, created opportunities to escape poverty, and improved the quality of human resources.

In terms of orientation, from 2026 - 2030, 90% of people will have full access to disease prevention services, health promotion, full vaccination according to age, subjects, primary health care, reproductive health, maternal health, children's health, mental health, school health, health risk screening, periodic health check-ups, chronic disease management, general medical examination and treatment, family medicine right from the grassroots health care. 100% of people will have periodic health check-ups at least once a year.

"People's health care work needs to aim at building a healthy Vietnam, where all people can live long, healthy, happy lives" - General Secretary .

People are given electronic health records to manage their health throughout their lives, live in a green, clean environment, ensure food safety, and have a reasonable diet; the elderly, the disabled, and the disadvantaged are cared for and cared for by society; financial resources for public health care are guaranteed. The state budget increases support for purchasing health insurance cards to strive for 100% of the population to have health insurance.

Over the years, the health system of Dak Lak province from the province to the grassroots has been increasingly developed, the network of hospitals and medical centers is being gradually consolidated from the state budget, mobilizing socialized resources and foreign aid projects. The whole province currently has more than 5,000 hospital beds; the ratio of 29 hospital beds/10,000 people, the ratio of 8.3 doctors/10,000 people; 100% of communes have health stations, of which 92.9% of health stations have doctors on duty.

At the Central Highlands General Hospital, every year, the hospital receives more than 100,000 inpatients and more than 400,000 outpatients. Thousands of advanced techniques and services have been deployed to save lives in a timely manner. However, hospital fees are still a burden for many people in the province, especially the poor and ethnic minorities.

Surgery for femoral intertrochanteric fracture for patients at the Central Highlands General Hospital.

Doctor CKII Huynh Nhu Dong, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery (Tay Nguyen General Hospital) said that in practice, many patients are hospitalized in critical condition, and in order to preserve their lives, they must undergo urgent surgery, which requires high-tech surgery and is very expensive. Meanwhile, not all patients participate in health insurance, not to mention the costs incurred in medical examination and treatment, medical services that health insurance does not cover or only partially covers. From there, it can be seen that the policy of exempting hospital fees for all people is very humane, a "lifesaver" for patients, helping people to proactively check their health early, prevent diseases from afar, contributing to improving the quality of care and protecting people's health.

Hearing the news that the Party and State will move towards exempting hospital fees for all people, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (65 years old, Ea Ngai commune, Krong Buk district) could not hide his joy. “For many years, I have had to fight liver and kidney failure, unable to work, the cost of treatment and maintaining my life has exhausted my family's economy. The policy of exempting hospital fees and providing regular health check-ups for people gives me more hope and motivation to continue fighting the disease. For the poor, those who are unfortunate enough to have serious illnesses, this policy contributes to creating equality in access to health services. Hopefully, the policy will be implemented systematically and soon become a reality" - Mr. Hung expected.

Hong Chuyen

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202505/mien-phi-vien-phi-toan-dan-mot-chinh-sach-cham-trieu-trai-tim-53b183f/