HÀ NỘI — A student of Lê Chân District of the northern Hải Phòng City has received VNĐ1.8 billion (US$77,400) from the Việt Nam’s Health Insurance Fund for his treatment of thrombocytopenia.

Đàm Hiếu Trung, deputy head of the Northern Centre for Health Insurance and Multidisciplinary Payment said the amount was the highest medical fee that the agency ever covered for a student so far.

The schoolboy had undergone six procedures at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. His treatment included the use of Kedrigamma – an imported medicine, worth up to VNĐ720 million ($30,960).

He was one of hundreds of student nation-wide receiving medical payment from the fund in the last school year, according to a representative of the Việt Nam Social Security Agency at a recent meeting.

It is estimated that 237 students across the country received at least VNĐ200 million ($8,600) each from fund.

According to Trung, the amount of VNĐ 1.8 billion was equal to the total amount of health insurance contributed by 3,400 students in the last year.

In Hà Nội – one of the most expensive cities of Việt Nam, this is the equivalent of buying a three-bedroomed apartment.

It showed the need of the health insurance fund, especially for serious-illness patients, Trung said.

Therefore, he added, people should actively participate to the fund so that they could receive the financial sharing if they unfortunately suffered from serious illness.

116 million medical examinations

Also at the meeting, statistics of the agency revealed people with the health insurance cards had taken 116 million medical examinations during the first eight months of this year.

The medical fees the agency covered were calculated about VNĐ60.9 trillion ($2.6 billion) nation-wide, accounting for more than 67.4 per cent of the total amount for this year.

Some localities, including Thanh Hoá, Đồng Nai and Nghệ An have spent 70 per cent of their total fund to cover medical fees.

The agency also said that there are 93.5 per cent of students throughout the country buying the health insurance cards in the last school year.

Next year, the agency would co-operate with education and training department of localities to call upon all students buying the health insurance cards.

As regulations, a student has to pay about VNĐ62,550 ($2.67) per month to buy a health insurance.

However, the State has still covered 30 per cent to share a financial burden for students, the student only has to pay 70 per cent of the amount, equal to VNĐ 43,785 ($1.87). — VNS