Many public hospitals nationwide have gradually wiped out fully-subsidised mechanisms and shifted to self-independent financial models (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Many public hospitals nationwide havegradually wiped out fully-subsidised mechanisms and shifted to self-independentfinancial models, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.
Starting this year, healthcare service charges also cover health care workers’salaries.
Thanks to the mechanism, the number of health workers who areworking in 18 hospitals under the management of the health ministry and paid bythe State budget has been reduced by 20,599 persons. This equals nearly 1.681trillion VND (74 million USD) a year. The number in HCM City was 1 trillion VND(44 million USD). And in other provinces, the numbers were between 70 billionVND and 100 billion VND.
The savings are being used for preventive healthcare funds and financialsupport funds to buy health insurance cards for people.
Since 2016, the healthcare service charges have been adjusted to help hospitalshave stable incomes.
“In the past, the State paid salaries to doctors and healthcare workers. Butwith the new mechanism, patients pay healthcare workers,” the minister toldthe Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper.
“So, hospitals must improve their services to attract more patients. Doctorshave to thank patients,” she said.
Commenting about financial self-dependence at public hospitals, Deputy PrimeMinister Vuong Dinh Hue said at present the number of public hospitals andclinics at local levels is too many. Especially, the preventive healthcaresystem is overlapping, and it needs measures to streamline the system.
The mechanism of financial independence at public hospitals has helped enhancehigh-technology application in healthcare services, which has benefittedpatients. But this may cause a situation to which patients only go tocentral-level hospitals and ignore local-levels hospitals and clinics, thedeputy PM said.
Along with benefits of implementing the new financial mechanism, many publichospitals have faced difficulties.
Dr Tran Ngoc Luong, Director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology, saidthe hospital had to borrow money to build new treatment buildings. Every month,the hospital has to pay 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD) of loans andinterest, while the total revenue is about 400-450 billion VND (17.6million-19.8 million USD) a month.
Despite operating with financial self-dependence, the hospital has been boundby some regulations on healthcare service charges or plans of buildingfacilities fixed by health ministry.
“The hospital currently wants to build more in-patient wards and restaurants,but the project has not yet been approved after a long time of submitting,” Luongsaid.
Besides, public hospitals still lack the independence to recruit staff.
The deputy PM raised his opinion that self-dependence was practical. Staffrecruitment should be decided by hospitals themselves if they ensure jobs,staff’s income and healthcare service.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee,Bui Sy Loi expressed his concern that the new financial mechanism will increasehealthcare service charges and overburden the medical insurance fund.
“In 2016, the over-expense was 5 trillion VND. At present, the medicalinsurance fund’s balance was 30 trillion VND. If the over-expense continues,the fund would be run out in few years,” Loi said. If focusing on aself-dependent mechanism, it would create a gap in people’s healthcare tasks. -VNA
