Vietnam’s public health insurance is greatly helping patients get through illnesses, says Viet Nam News. In fact, the fund has financed a single hemophilia patient’s care amounting to over USD 500,000 for more than 3 years.
Hailing from the Vinh Long province, the 35-year-old patient has accumulated significant costs for over 3 years, which was funded by public coverage. The expenses paid for by the policy amounted to around VND 13 billion (USD 560,000).
The country’s Social Security revealed that health insurance helped pay for the said patient’s bills going over VND 4.5 billion (around USD 192,000) in 2017 and VND 7 billion (USD 299,000) in 2018. From January to June 2019, the public health fund paid for VBD 1.4 billion (USD 60,000).
Doctor Nguyen Thi Mai of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion emphasized that the treatment for the said illness lasts for ‘long periods.’ Patients also endure the disease for the entirety of their lifetimes.
According to Mai, treatment is indeed costly even to people not from low-income households. It can range from an average amount of VND 400,000 to 500,000 million annually.
Coming from a low-income household, the patient became eligible for health insurance without charge. According to Viet Nam news, this the state’s fund paid for the patient’s health insurance plan.
The Vietnamese government also pays for at least 70% public coverage fees. This aims to aid ‘near-poor’ families in getting their own insurance policies. The annual fee for this type of coverage is VND 750,600 (USD 32).
Aside from individuals from low-income families, eligible citizens include children below 6 years of age, those above 80 years old and ethnic minorities residing in underprivileged locations. Indigent individuals with certifications, people ‘who contributed to national revolutions’ and 14 other groups are eligible.
