More benefits, less procedures when implementing the new Health Insurance Law

The Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance officially took effect from the beginning of July this year, not only expanding benefits for participants but also reducing implementation procedures.

People come to Hai Duong General Hospital for examination and treatment

More medical benefits

After many years of taking her daughter to hospitals from North to South for refractive treatment, Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh ( Ha Nam commune, Hai Phong city) is still worried about the cost. Her child has been nearsighted since childhood, but because she is over 6 years old, she is no longer covered by health insurance. Each examination and treatment costs up to tens of millions of VND, causing many difficulties for the family.

Good news has come to Ms. Linh and many other parents when the revised Law on Health Insurance officially took effect from July 1. According to the new regulations, children under 18 years old with refractive errors will have their treatment costs covered by health insurance. "This is a great support for families with children with eye diseases. Not only does it reduce the financial burden, but it also creates conditions for early detection and intervention, avoiding future complications," Ms. Linh shared.

If previously health insurance only covered children under 6 years old, under the new law, children under 18 years old also enjoy this benefit, helping to detect and intervene promptly in vision problems.

Specialist Doctor II Vu Van Khoai, Director of Hai Duong Eye and Dermatology Hospital, said that the policy of expanding the age range for refractive error treatment is a step forward in line with reality. "Many cases of eye diseases in older children are treated no differently than in younger children. Expanding health insurance benefits will help improve the quality of eye care and at the same time contribute to limiting vision loss in schoolchildren," Khoai said.

“From July 1st to now, the number of patients under 18 years old with refractive errors coming to Hai Duong Eye and Dermatology Hospital for health insurance examinations has increased slightly. The hospital’s facilities and medical staff ensure quality and professional qualifications to examine and treat patients,” Mr. Khoai added.

In addition to expanding the age of health insurance for refractive errors, the new law also adds benefits for payment of transportation costs in some cases, remote treatment and especially removes administrative boundaries in medical examination and treatment.

A remarkable new point of the revised Law on Health Insurance is that patients can seek medical examination and treatment anywhere in the country and still enjoy full health insurance benefits according to regulations. This is a groundbreaking change, especially for people who travel far from home or often have to go on business trips.

The case of Mr. Vuong Van Phuong (Thai Tan Commune, Hai Phong City), who was suddenly hospitalized during a recent visit to his daughter in Can Tho City, is an example. Thanks to the regulation that does not distinguish between administrative boundaries, he was fully paid for his health insurance medical examination and treatment without having to return to his original place of registration.

“In the past, if there was an emergency, patients had to pay for treatment because they went to a hospital outside their area. Now, they feel much more secure because they can use their health insurance card anywhere,” said Mr. Phuong.

People coming to Hai Duong Tropical Diseases Hospital for examination and treatment are guided and consulted by the team with specific answers.

The new law also specifically removes the barrier of referral papers in the treatment of serious illnesses. Patients with one of 62 groups of serious illnesses are allowed to be treated directly at central or tertiary hospitals (intensive level) without the need for referral procedures as before.

Ms. NTĐ. (in Hai Duong ward), who is being treated for systemic lupus erythematosus with visceral damage in Hanoi, expressed her strong agreement with the new policy: “Previously, every time I had to go for a check-up, I had to ask for a paper. From July 1, I can be examined directly and still be paid. The health insurance card is now a "lifesaver" for patients like me.”

For patients with cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, etc., the “golden time” for treatment is extremely important. Being admitted to the hospital and treated immediately at the highest level without complicated procedures is a humane and timely policy.

Wider coverage, more humane

Another important highlight of the revised Law on Health Insurance is the expansion of the group of subjects eligible for free health insurance cards, especially the elderly and the disadvantaged.

Accordingly, from July 1, 2025, people aged 75 and over and people aged 70 and over from poor and near-poor households will be granted free health insurance cards from the state budget. In addition, the law adds new groups of subjects participating in health insurance such as: workers in the informal sector, village health workers, village midwives, etc.

This policy also comes with increased state budget support for the near-poor and low-middle income households to increase access to health insurance cards, thereby gradually achieving the goal of universal health insurance coverage.

Social insurance officers disseminate the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance at Military Hospital 7.

Recently, in Hai Phong City, the Social Insurance Region XIII and the Department of Health are actively preparing to implement the new contents of the law. The social insurance sector has been focusing on propaganda in many forms such as: coordinating press communications, conferences, direct dialogue with people... so that people understand and proactively exercise their rights.

With core innovations, the revised Law on Health Insurance not only addresses bottlenecks that have existed for many years in health policy, but also aims for a fairer, more effective and closer-to-people health care system.

From specific benefits such as refractive error treatment for children, to the right to medical examination and treatment without referral, from expanding the scope of subjects granted free cards to encouraging informal labor groups to participate in health insurance... all clearly reflect the spirit of "taking people as the center" in policy implementation.

A health insurance card, though small, is a solid support for the patient's welfare. When administrative barriers are removed, when patients no longer have to worry about paperwork each time they seek treatment, it is also the time when their trust in the humane social security policies of the Party and State becomes stronger.

PV

Source: https://baohaiphongplus.vn/them-quyen-loi-bot-thu-tuc-khi-thuc-hien-luat-bao-hiem-y-te-moi-415938.html