VSS Joining Forces to Settle Medical Insurance Expenses amid Covid-19 Epidemic

In order to actively join hands with relevant agencies to prevent and control Covid-19 epidemic, on January 31, 2020, the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) issued Official Letter 280/BHXH-CSYT to provincial/municipal social security agencies, military social security agencies and police social security agencies on coordinated payment of treatment costs for persons suspected of coronavirus infection.

VSS requested local social security agencies to actively work with health authorities and local medical facilities to provide the most favorable conditions for insured patients suspected of carrying coronavirus to have timely access to medical services or transfer to other units for further medical examination and treatment services. At the same time, local security agencies immediately launched the advance of funds for medical facilities in the first quarter of 2020, which was handed in full by VSS, especially where there are patients or persons suspected of getting infected coronavirus.

On January 29, 2020, the Ministry of Health issued Decision 219/QD-BYT adding acute respiratory infections caused by the novel coronavirus to the list of infectious diseases classified in Group A according to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in 2007. Therefore, the prevention and control of this epidemic is implemented under the law on particularly dangerous infectious diseases. And according to Article 48 of the law, people carrying Group A diseases are free from medical expenses.

Giving guidance at the Government Standing Committee on Prevention and Control of Covid-19 on March 13, 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed with the Steering Committee on treatment costs for Covid-19 patients. Accordingly, Vietnamese insured people will be paid for medical treatment by the Health Insurance Fund, and uninsured ones will be paid by the State budget.

As guided by the Government, the Vietnam Social Security directed local security agencies to work together with medical facilities to prepare a sufficient amount of medicines for treatment, particularly for those self-isolated at home or at given facilities. In addition to the cost for Covid-19 treatment, remaining costs specified for the insured will be fully covered by security agencies.

The Health Insurance Fund will pay for health insurance card holders carrying suspected symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and being tested negative for coronavirus. If patients are tested positive and required further treatment, all treatment and testing costs will be covered by the state budget.

Most recently, VSS also issued a document to direct local security agencies to agree with the health sector on matters in the regulation that need specific funding for disease prevention. If localities find it necessary to have funding for epidemic prevention and control, they necessarily give opinions to VSS, enabling VSS to integrate data and report them to the VSS leadership and prepare the budget for disease prevention in 2020.

On March 20, 2020, amid increasingly complicated Covid-19 epidemic development, in order to reduce patient concentrations at medical facilities and avoid the spread of Covid-19 contagion, after reaching agreement with the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Social Security announced Official Document 902/BHXH-CSYT guiding social insurance of provinces and cities, military security agencies and police security agencies to agree with h-level and above medical facilities on following matters: For people diagnosed with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension and being treated as outpatients and provided medicines every month, they will be provided enough medicines for their two-month usage and arrive medical facilities every two months for reexamination if this option is still safe and does not affect their medical treatment.

While Covid-19 epidemic is evolving complicatedly, Vietnamese health insurance and social security policies prove their great humanitarian values and help ensure people's health care and stability, strengthen public confidence in Party and State leadership during the epidemic time. With the active participation, VSS, at all levels, has shown its political resolution to Covid-19 epidemic prevention.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum