VietNamNet Bridge –Victims of traffic accidents who haven't broken traffic laws will be eligible for health insurance to cover their hospital fees, said director of the Health Ministry's Health Insurance Department Tong Thi Song Huong.

An inter-ministerial circular on hospital payments for health insurance patients involved in traffic accidents would be promulgated during the coming months to address current shortcomings, said Huong at a press conference yesterday to celebrate Health Insurance Day, which falls on July 1.

The health insurance law, which came into effect at the beginning of 2010, regulates that health insurance patients who violate traffic regulations cannot have their examination and treatment fees covered by the health insurance fund. Many health insurance patients haven't been paid treatment expenses as they could not prove that they had not violated traffic regulations.

"According to the circular, patients involved in traffic accidents in which the causes of the accident haven't been found will be paid examination expenses from the health insurance fund," said Huong. "Those who violate traffic laws will have to pay for their health checks and treatment themselves."

The health insurance and traffic police sectors would be in charge of traffic accident investigation, she said.

Huong said the expansion of health insurance rates was slow. There are nearly 2 million children under the age of six haven't been provided with health insurance cards due to ineffective collaboration between the insurance and labour and social affairs sectors. Health insurance cards have been provided to nearly 700,000 out of 6 million people living near the poverty line.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that health insurance covered nearly 51 million people, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the country's population by the end of 2010, an increase of 11 million compared with 2008.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News