Implementing Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo: Policy imbued with humanity

Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health (Resolution 72) has just been issued by the Politburo, continuing to demonstrate the Party's deep concern for people's health, aiming at the goal of building a healthy Vietnam.

The health sector will focus on implementing breakthrough solutions in human resources, facilities, equipment and financial mechanisms to soon realize the policies and goals of this particularly important resolution.

For the health of the people

According to the Ministry of Health , over the past years, our country's health care has achieved important achievements: the average life expectancy of the people has increased, the grassroots health care network has been gradually strengthened, and dangerous epidemics have been effectively controlled. However, in reality, there are also many challenges such as the large gap in access to health services between regions; uneven health human resources; and medical examination and treatment costs are still a burden for many families.

From that urgent requirement, on September 9, the Politburo issued Resolution 72, emphasizing comprehensive innovation in healthcare work, aiming at changes in both awareness and action to achieve the goal of building a healthy Vietnam, contributing significantly to promoting the development of a rich, civilized, and prosperous country in the new era.

In Resolution 72, the Politburo set specific goals for healthcare and health care and protection for the people in the coming years with key tasks such as: strengthening primary healthcare and preventive healthcare; disease prevention; improving the quality of medical examination and treatment; reducing the workload of upper-level hospitals; innovating financial policies, health insurance, and medical service prices; taking care of the health of mothers, children, the elderly, and vulnerable groups. In addition, developing high-quality healthcare human resources; improving the lives of healthcare workers; promoting digital transformation, scientific research, domestic production of drugs and medical equipment, and strengthening international cooperation in healthcare.

MRI scan for patient at Cho Ray Hospital

According to Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Tran Phu Manh Sieu, Director of Go Vap Hospital (HCMC), this is a major change in community health care, especially beneficial for the disadvantaged and low-income people. The policy of free hospital fees and periodic check-ups once a year is very beneficial for the people, opening up a major change in raising awareness of proactive health care, contributing to increasing life expectancy and creating fairness in access to health care.

According to Dr. Tran Van Khanh, Director of Le Van Thinh Hospital (HCMC), Resolution 72 is a deeply humane and feasible policy if implemented according to a reasonable roadmap, helping to reduce medical costs for people, moving towards fairness in access to medical services, especially for the poor and disadvantaged.

Shift from “cure” to “prevention”

According to the Ministry of Health, Resolution 72 is an “action resolution”, which does not replace previous resolutions but focuses on solving new, breakthrough issues. The core point is to remove “bottlenecks” in the health sector, unleashing development momentum to meet people’s expectations and strategic goals for 2030 and 2045. In particular, shifting the focus from “treatment” to “prevention” is a major orientation. People will have their health comprehensively managed right from the commune health level.

To realize this policy, the Ministry of Health focuses on implementing breakthrough solutions in human resources, facilities, equipment and financial mechanisms. The Ministry of Health expects that each year, localities will transfer at least 1,000 doctors to work at commune health stations, supplementing regular doctors so that by 2027, each station will have at least 4-5 doctors; by 2030, there will be enough doctors according to the right functions and tasks.

Along with human resources, it will ensure that 100% of commune-level health stations have adequate facilities and basic equipment; ensure essential medicines and medical supplies, especially in remote, isolated and island areas. The State budget will ensure regular expenditure for grassroots health care, while strongly mobilizing social resources for public services.

Many patients wait to register for medical examination and treatment at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HOANG HUNG

Regarding the policy of exempting hospital fees and providing annual health check-ups for people, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan, Chairman of the National Medical Council, said that this policy is very humane, has profound social security significance, helps detect diseases early, reduces medical costs, clearly demonstrates the view that people are the central subject, given the highest priority in building and implementing policies to strengthen protection, care and improve health.

“The Ministry of Health is urgently completing the Project on free hospital fees for all people, this is a key task this September. The roadmap will be implemented step by step, towards free hospital fees for all people in the period 2030-2035. Health care must be an essential right, fair for everyone. People are the center, the subject of the highest priority in all health policies,” Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan emphasized.

According to Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health), in the project, the Ministry of Health is designing a periodic health check-up package with a cost of about 300,000 VND/person/year. With a population of 100 million people, the total cost is about 30,000 billion VND/year. Of which, the State budget spends about 25,000 billion VND, the rest is supported by employers and socialized sources. The check-up packages will include basic tests and paraclinical tests, helping to detect diseases early, especially chronic diseases and cancer.

“Commune health stations will perform the role of primary medical examination and treatment and also conduct periodic health check-ups for people. Right from the grassroots level, we will conduct health check-ups to create electronic health records, then serve as health check-ups and monitor people's health throughout their life cycle. This is what we will do from 2026,” Dr. Ha Anh Duc emphasized.

According to a World Bank report, hospital fees and tuition fees account for 30%-35% of total expenditures of poor households in Vietnam. Meanwhile, statistics from the Vietnam Social Security show that on average, the Health Insurance Fund covers 87%-89% of total health insurance examination and treatment costs, and health insurance participants are responsible for co-paying 11%-13%. Therefore, if hospital fee exemption is implemented, it will help eliminate financial burdens and help people access better basic health services.

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Minister of Health DAO HONG LAN:

People soon enjoy social security policies.

Speaking to reporters, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan (photo) said that Resolution 72 has strategic, comprehensive and long-term significance, is action-oriented, and sets out breakthrough tasks and solutions to remove and unblock "bottlenecks" and "knots" from practice to meet the requirements of sustainable national development and people's expectations.

* REPORTER: Minister, in the context of limited State budget, what solutions are needed to attract the private economic sector to invest in healthcare?

* Minister of Health DAO HONG LAN: Resolution 72 was issued in the context that the Politburo has issued and is synchronously implementing the "four pillar resolutions" to create a strong foundation and driving force for the development of a prosperous country, including Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private economic development. Therefore, the tasks and solutions to attract and develop private health care are of special interest with outstanding policy mechanisms, creating trust for the business community, unlocking investment resources, and developing health facilities.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan

We acknowledge the positive signals from the Vietnamese private healthcare community when receiving this resolution, considering it as a new breath of life, arousing the spirit, motivation, determination and excitement to confidently invest and devote themselves to the cause of caring for, protecting and improving people's health.

Resolution 72 encourages investment and development in the provision of high-quality health care services, disease prevention services, scientific research, training of medical personnel, production of drugs, vaccines, medical equipment, inspection, testing, and calibration. In particular, the Resolution encourages the development of large-scale private hospitals with specialized technical levels on par with those of developed countries; encourages and facilitates private investment activities and public-private partnerships in the health sector in accordance with the law; prioritizes clean land funds and land recovered from projects, and allows flexible conversion of land use purposes to land for health purposes...

* How will the health sector approach and implement to make the goals of Resolution 72 become reality in people's lives?

* With a strong spirit of innovation in both thinking and action in all stages of leadership, direction and implementation, the entire health sector will synchronously deploy tasks and solutions to quickly bring the resolution into life, so that people can soon enjoy social security policies. First of all, the entire health sector will thoroughly grasp and fully recognize the particularly important role of protecting, caring for and improving people's health.

At the same time, focus on perfecting institutions, focusing on building and submitting to the National Assembly for promulgation a resolution in the upcoming October session to institutionalize a number of guidelines and policies of Resolution 72, for the 2025-2030 period; submit to the Government for promulgation an Action Program to implement Resolution 72, as a basis for ministries, branches and localities to implement the Resolution to ensure synchronization, timeliness and effectiveness.

The health sector is committed to implementing drastic, synchronous and transparent solutions to quickly bring the resolution into life, so that each person can truly feel the positive changes in each medical service and health care policy.

Performed by MINH NAM

NGUYEN QUOC - THANH AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/trien-khai-nghi-quyet-so-72-nqtw-cua-bo-chinh-tri-chinh-sach-tham-dam-nhan-van-post813847.html