The Ministry of Health proposed that from July 1, the price adjustment of medical examination and treatment services will be implemented according to the change in the base salary from 1.49 million VND to 1.8 million VND/month.
Does not affect social policy beneficiaries who are paid 100% by health insurance
According to the Ministry of Health’s document responding to the opinions of ministries and branches on the roadmap for implementing medical examination and treatment service prices, the Ministry of Health believes that for the proposal to adjust medical examination and treatment service prices according to the basic salary , 1.8 million VND according to the plan based on the current technical list, maintaining the price structure and issued norms and only adjusting the structural salary into the price according to the new base salary.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vietnam Social Insurance agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Health; The Ministry of Finance has the opinion ” Regarding proposals for specific times to implement the price roadmap for medical examination and treatment services, it is requested that the Ministry of Health base on its pricing authority, socio-economic situation, and impacts.” to the state budget, the Government’s goal of curbing inflation, and plans to implement appropriate price proposals .
Assessing the impact of increasing hospital fees based on base salary, the Ministry of Health analyzed based on data on the structure of medical examination and treatment services covered by health insurance in 2021 and the first 6 months of 2022 on the results of management and use of the fund. Health insurance.
Accordingly, if the structural salary is adjusted into the price according to the base salary of 1.8 million VND, the average increase in the price of medical examination and treatment services is 5%, the health insurance fund expenditure increases by about 2,700 billion VND. /year. However, when the base salary increases, health insurance fund revenue will also increase because the premium of health insurance participants also increases.
If management costs are included in the price of medical examination and treatment services, the average increase rate of medical examination and treatment service prices is 4%, health insurance fund spending increases by about 2,180 billion VND/year.
Regarding the impact on the CPI – consumer price index, the Ministry of Health said that based on the opinion of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in dispatch 4124 dated June 1, “according to estimates of the General Statistics Office, if the price A 10% increase in medical services will increase the general consumer price index by 0.41 percentage points.” If including salary costs based on the base salary of 1.8 million VND and management costs into the price, the average price of medical examination and treatment services increases by 9%. Thus, the expected impact of increasing the general consumer price index is less than 0.41 percentage points.
Regarding the ability to balance the health insurance fund, according to the Ministry of Health, comparing the difference in revenue and expenditure of the annual health insurance fund (2021 balance of 14,368 billion VND) shows that if the salary is adjusted according to the base salary of 1.8 million VND and If management costs are included in the price of medical examination and treatment, the health insurance fund will still be able to balance.
Regarding the impact on health insurance participants, the poor, ethnic minorities, social policy beneficiaries are 100% paid by health insurance, so they are not affected.
Subjects with health insurance cards must co-pay 20%, the average increase in medical examination and treatment price when adjusting salary according to the base salary of 1.8 million VND is 5%. When calculating management costs of 4%, the increase in co-payment is not much and is affordable because the income of the subjects also increases according to the base salary.
Management costs are one of the four factors that make up the price
Regarding comments, the Ministry of Planning and Investment requests that the Ministry of Health clarify the content of the expected completion in August 2023 and propose a plan to calculate management costs into the price of medical examination and treatment services, but it is expected that Only reported to the Prime Minister for implementation in the third quarter of 2024, the Ministry of Health has the following opinion: Management costs are one of the four factors that make up the price (direct costs, salary costs, management costs and depreciation costs of equipment and facilities).
Currently, the price of medical examination and treatment services is calculated by two factors: direct costs and salary costs. The Ministry of Health plans to complete the survey in August 2023 and propose a plan to include management costs in prices. However, it is expected that in December 2023, the arrangement of the technical list will be completed (currently about 2,000/18,000 technical lists have been issued) and a survey will be carried out to build economic and technical norms according to the list. New techniques are issued.
The construction of economic and technical norms and service price plans takes 3-6 months. Therefore, based on the progress of implementing the task of rearranging the service list, surveying and building economic and technical norms, the Ministry of Health plans to complete and propose implementation of medical examination prices in the third quarter of 2024. Medical treatment continues to include management costs.
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