Patients register for health check-ups at Hanoi Heart Hopsital. The prices of services at public hospitals will increase from August 20. — VNA/VNS Photo Duong Ngoc

The current healthcare prices were calculated on the basis of the basic salary of VND1.390 million (US$60). Once the basic salary has been revised up to VND1.490 million ($64), effective from July, the medical pricing needs to be adjusted.

Accordingly, the price of health check-ups and bed charges rise by 4.4 per cent while technical service fees increase by 1.1 per cent.

The cost of a health check at first-grade hospitals – those under the direct management of the health ministry or the centrally-directed cities or provinces' people's committees – for example, is VND38,700 instead of VND37,000. Bed charge per day at the special class hospitals goes up from the current VND753,000 to VND782,000.

Patients who are receiving treatment at the medical facilities before August 20 and discharged or end the treatment after August 20 continue to enjoy the previous price until they are discharged or finish the treatment.

Nguyen Nam Lien, head of the Ministry of Health's Department of Planning and Finance, said the electricity price had increased since March but the ministry only calculated basic salary in the prices of medical services to ensure decent income for health workers.

Lien said the adjustment didn’t include the management cost in accordance with the roadmap for public services stipulated by Government Decree 16. However, it helped increase the revenue for health facilities.

He said that the changes in health service prices would not affect people who were being offered free insurance because all medical costs would be covered by health insurance payment.

Insured patients who are supposed to pay 20 per cent of medical treatment cost might be affected by the price adjustment. However, he said, the addition would not be significant, adding that bed charges and technical services for insured patients would be up by 0.88 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, Lien said.

VNS