Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions in protecting, caring for and improving people's health: Strategic orientation for the health sector to carry out systematic and fundamental changes

Speaking with the People's Representative Newspaper, National Assembly member working full-time at the Culture and Social Affairs Committee LE VAN KHAM said that Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions in protecting, caring for and improving people's health is an important strategic orientation, creating motivation and a legal framework for the health sector to implement systematic and fundamental changes, towards the goals of fairness, efficiency, development and integration.

Ensuring people have access to quality, timely and equitable health services

- What is the significance of the recently issued Resolution 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo for the health sector, sir?

- Resolution 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo is of great significance and a turning point for the Vietnamese health sector as it not only provides directions to resolve the long-standing problems and bottlenecks of the sector but also sets out a vision and goals for the health sector until 2030 and a vision until 2045. This helps the health sector have a stable and consistent development roadmap, avoiding fragmentation and short-termism.

General Secretary To Lam and Party and State leaders visited the booth displaying VINMEC Hospital products at the Exhibition held on the sidelines of the National Conference to disseminate and implement 4 important Resolutions of the Politburo on the morning of September 16, 2025. Photo: Ho Long

The resolution emphasizes the need to "shift from a mindset focused on medical examination and treatment" to proactive disease prevention, focusing on protecting, caring for, and improving health comprehensively and continuously throughout the life cycle." This is a fundamental change, forcing the entire health sector to restructure the system, prioritizing resources for preventive medicine, health education, and community health management.

The Resolution was issued in the context that the Politburo issued the "four pillar Resolutions" to create an institutional foundation for Vietnam to take off in the new era, namely: Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on promoting science and technology and innovation; Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW on proactively integrating deeply into the international community; Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW on comprehensive innovation in law-making and enforcement; Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW on strongly developing the private economic sector.

Along with Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, the issuance of Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW demonstrates the great concern of our Party and State for the field of education and people's health care, affirming the priority of our Party and State in pursuing the goal of sustainable development, economic growth associated with ensuring social security.

With breakthrough orientations, especially in removing difficulties for the health sector, the Resolution is expected to bring a new wind of motivation and legal framework for the health sector to make systematic and fundamental changes, resolve chronic problems, and move towards the goals of fairness, efficiency, development and integration.

- In your opinion, what are the new highlights and breakthroughs in Resolution 72-NQ/TW this time?

- Resolution 72-NQ/TW sets out the requirement to perfect the institution, focusing on improving the capacity of the health system, including grassroots health. Accordingly, it is necessary to synchronously perfect the institution and effectively implement legal regulations on protecting, caring for and improving people's health in the period 2026 - 2030. Focus on perfecting and promulgating laws on population, disease prevention, food safety, medical equipment, traditional medicine..., ensuring timely removal of difficulties and obstacles, meeting practical requirements.

Improving the capacity of the health system in general and primary health care in particular needs to be focused on because primary health care is identified as having a fundamental role in people's health care, making an important contribution to solving current challenges on the basis of functions and tasks being fully, effectively and continuously implemented. Focusing on developing primary health care will contribute to achieving the goal of ensuring people have access to quality, timely and equitable health services, effectively preventing and fighting epidemics, and improving people's health.

General Secretary To Lam and Party and State leaders visited the booth displaying products of the Institute of Medicinal Materials at the Exhibition held on the sidelines of the National Conference to disseminate and implement 4 important Resolutions of the Politburo on the morning of September 16, 2025. Photo: Ho Long

To improve the capacity, quality and efficiency of primary health care, it is necessary to have appropriate management approaches and strong investment solutions in human resources, sufficient in quantity and professional quality, to meet the health care needs of the people; have financial resources to ensure the supply and use of health services and development management; facilities, medical equipment and medicines to meet the requirements of disease prevention and treatment.

Along with that is implementing digital transformation on the basis of effectively using medical, health and population data; ensuring the initiative of the health sector and specific tasks of commune-level authorities; paying special attention to the proactive and active participation of people in taking care of their own health, their families and the community.

People will have more opportunities to be financially secure in health care.

- Resolution 72-NQ/TW also set out the task of promoting health finance reform and developing effective and sustainable health insurance policies. What is your opinion on this task?

- Health finance plays a decisive role in protecting, caring for and improving people's health. Health finance mechanisms and reasonable coordination of financial resources for the health sector will ensure that all people receive equitable health care, access to quality and timely health services when they need to use the services, regardless of economic conditions or income.

General Secretary To Lam and Party and State leaders visited the exhibition space of the Organ Transplantation Unit of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, 108 Military Central Hospital and Central Lung Hospital at the Exhibition on the sidelines of the National Conference to disseminate 4 important Resolutions of the Politburo on the morning of September 16, 2025. Photo: Ho Long

From the contents of Resolution 72-NQ/TW, it can be seen that the state budget and public financial resources will be the main source of funding, ensuring the requirements of the cause of universal health care. The gradual move towards free basic hospital fees for all people is a superior policy, ensuring fairness in health care. In that process, determining the structure of financial resources and investment content, expenditure content by fields can be considered, weighed, and applied according to the roadmap and scope appropriate to the goals and management of funding sources.

Resolution 72-NQ/TW determines that "the state budget ensures expenditure tasks to meet basic and essential requirements for protecting, caring for and improving people's health, playing a leading role in ensuring finance and investing in facilities and medical equipment for grassroots health care".

Thus, some basic and universal community disease prevention services such as communication, advocacy, expanded vaccination, some contents in primary health care according to family medicine principles, periodic health check-ups according to age, records creation and management of community health, management of some chronic diseases (such as high blood pressure, metabolic disorders and diabetes, some cancers...) will be mainly guaranteed by the state budget.

To effectively carry out the spending task, monitor the results and accountability, it is possible to implement the mechanism of assigning tasks or the state ordering and paying according to the volume and quality of services based on the size and structure of the population and the socio-economic characteristics, geography and health data at each point in time. The Health Insurance Fund (HIF) will pay for some services of these activities at the grassroots health care according to a suitable roadmap.

Full-time National Assembly member working at the Culture and Social Affairs Committee Le Van Kham. Photo: Pham Thang

The Health Insurance Fund currently only pays for medical examination and treatment according to the list of techniques, drugs, supplies, equipment, medical examination and inpatient beds. The Health Insurance Fund paying for disease prevention services is also a positive trend when health insurance participants enjoy the benefits of disease prevention, early diagnosis and timely treatment, contributing to reducing costs when having to treat at a late stage with complex and specialized interventions; at the same time, the state budget can expand the coverage of prevention and improve people's health.

- Besides adjusting the scope of health insurance benefits, the requirement to innovate the management and use of the Health Insurance Fund, especially the payment method, is also a necessary requirement, sir?

- Currently, medical examination and treatment costs are basically paid based on the price of each type of medical service, medicine price, material price, equipment price, medical examination fee and inpatient bed day price. The problem now is that the price of medical services has not taken into account all the constituent elements.

To ensure the professional activities of service providers according to their functions, tasks and professional requirements in medical examination and treatment, to ensure the improvement of service quality, to better meet the satisfaction of patients as well as to ensure the rights of patients with health insurance cards, the correct and sufficient calculation of medical service prices for payment by the Health Insurance Fund should be implemented immediately, along with the financial resources for medical examination and treatment and the orientation for adjusting the health insurance contribution level that have been determined.

Along with that, in the requirements for sustainable development of the Health Insurance Fund, in addition to adjusting the contribution level taking into account each group of subjects and state support, adjusting the scope of insurance benefits, it is necessary to gradually innovate the payment method for some types of services to ensure both reasonable use of services, effective management of the Health Insurance Fund, and ensuring the rights of patients while still ensuring close supervision.

Some payment methods that can be studied and applied are lump sum payments for periodic health check-up services, screening, chronic disease management and treatment at primary health care facilities according to actual scale and conditions; or payment by diagnostic group for certain identified diseases.

Many achievements in vaccine research and production in Vietnam were displayed at the Exhibition held on the sidelines of the National Conference to disseminate and implement 4 important Resolutions of the Politburo on the morning of September 16, 2025. Photo: Xuan Quy

To implement the above solutions, it is necessary to continue promoting the application of information technology and digital transformation in health insurance management, assessing impacts, forecasting trends and identifying needs for guaranteed resources.

In addition to ensuring finance from the state budget and the Health Insurance Fund, Resolution 72-NQ/TW has directed the piloting and diversification of health insurance packages and supplementary health insurance packages according to people's needs, linking health insurance with health insurance provided by insurance companies; encouraging the development of diverse types of health insurance. This directs the adjustment of the current Health Insurance Law with new mechanisms and forms within the framework of developing policies and laws on health insurance, while promoting the health insurance business market to meet social needs.

Thus, with many types of health insurance, including state health insurance or commercial health insurance, people will have many opportunities to be financially guaranteed when using health care services. Laws related to this policy need to be reviewed for timely and appropriate adjustments.

Thank you!

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/nghi-quyet-so-nq-tw-cua-bo-chinh-tri-ve-mot-so-giai-phap-dot-pha-trong-bao-ve-cham-soc-va-nang-cao-suc-khoe-nhan-dan-dinh-huong-chien-luoc-de-nganh-y-te-thuc-dien-thay-doi-mot-cach-he-thong-can-co-10386981.html