Health insurance profiteering is still common in private hospitals and health clinics, with medicine improperly prescribed and purchased, leading to an imbalance of. the healthcare fund. — Photo vtv.vn

HÀ NỘI – Health insurance profiteering is still common in private hospitals and health clinics, with medicine improperly prescribed and purchased, leading to an imbalance of. the healthcare fund, health experts have said.

The statement was made at the dialogue on legal policies on health insurance between Việt Nam Social Insurance and Việt Nam Private Hospitals Association held yesterday. The dialogue was a chance for representatives of private hospitals and health clinics to highlight difficulties in implementing the amended Law on Health Insurance.

Deputy general manager of Việt Nam Social Insurance Phạm Lương Sơn said that since the amended regulations were implemented two years ago, the number of hospitals providing health insurance services and patients increased greatly.

Figures from the organisation showed that 365 private hospitals and health clinics signed contracts to provide health insurance services in 2015, and this number increased to 444 in 2017.

In 2015, the fund paid VNĐ2.8 trillion (US$123 million) to more than 6.5 million insurance card holders. In 2016, the fund paid VNĐ6.6 trillion ($290 million) to more than 16.6 millions cald holders, with this year’s number expected to rise strongly - VNĐ1.58 trillion ($69 million) for 4.2 million card holders within the first three months.

However, there were shortcomings in health insurance services at private clinics.

Nguyễn Tá Tỉnh, head of the organisation’s Medicines and Medical Equipment Unit said that clinics persisted in selecting, purchasing and using drugs and medical supplies that were not cost-effective.

Some private hospitals held drug bidding, but the selection of contractors remained ineffective.

For example, 92 types of drugs sold at Vinmec International Hospital cost more than at Saint Paul Hospital with total difference value of VNĐ2.8 billion.

Some facilities prescribed expensive drugs or offered many medical techniques for health insurance holders to attract more patients.

Dương Đức Tuấn, director of the Centre for Health Insurance Coverage and Multi-level Payment in the north agreed, saying that some services were unnecessarily prescribed and the prescriptions were often repeated.

At the conference, Việt Nam Social Insurance signed a co-ordination agreement with Việt Nam Private Hospitals Association to solve difficulties and improve the effectiveness of the implementation of the health insurance regulations. – VNS