VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Health has introduced a plan to raise hospital fees and committed to upgrade the healthcare service quality.
“The Ministry of Health’s proposal to increase hospital fees has been introduced several times and it has not been supported by the public. But this time we must accept it because the prices for many healthcare services are too low. We commit that once hospital fees rise, hospitals will have to supply services of better quality to patients,” said Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at a workshop on September 14, which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Minister Tien said her ministry will cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to issue the list of new healthcare service prices, with transparent explanations.

Pham Le Tuan, chief of the Health Ministry’s Financial Planning Department, the fees for 350 services will rise.

Tien said that once the service charges rise, the service buyer (Social Insurance Agency) will ask for higher service quality. If hospitals provide poor services, they will be unable to sell their services.

She pledged to raise service quality by curbing overloading at public hospitals, through fixing the maximal number of patients treated by one doctor and setting up a council to check quality of healthcare services.

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan said that it is urgent to increase the charges for 350 healthcare services. However, the Ministry of Health must consider the increase in comparison with the people’s income.

PV