Hospital Fees in Vietnam to be Hiked at Least 30% Starting in March

Vietnamese hospitals will raise fees by 30% minimum and up to 50% maximum effective on March 1st, according to the Financial Planning Department under the Ministry of Health. Accordingly, hospital fees will now include doctor’s salary, which will raise the surgery fee will be raised by between VND300,000 ($13.4) per case and VND1.5 million ($67.03) per case, while general examination fees will be tripled or quadrupled. The hike will be applied to those who have medical insurance first, the rates for other patient groups will be announced later. After March 1st, there will be three price ranges, namely for insured patients, on-demand patients, and direct-pay patients. All hospitals are required to publicize their fees.The Ministry of Health has also asked People’s Committees across the country to set up a fund to support the medical treatment of the poor. Currently, 73% of the country’s population is covered by health insurance, which means about 25 million people are paying hospital fees out of their pocket. These uninsured people will be heavily affected by the upcoming hike in hospital fees, the second increase since 2012. (Tuoi Tre Feb 18)