People go to get health insurance check-ups at a hospital in Hanoi - Photo: HA QUAN
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, Deputy Director of Social Insurance Region 27 (HCMC), said that the merger of administrative units does not affect people's health insurance benefits.
District hospitals can change their names to be more suitable and operate normally, continuing to receive, treat and pay for health insurance as they do now. People with health insurance cards who register at the district level will still enjoy full benefits according to regulations.
People do not need to change their health insurance cards, do not need to worry about transferring lines or losing benefits.
The information on the health insurance card is no longer available, is it affected?
On the morning of July 3, at the reception area of Bach Mai Hospital ( Hanoi ), Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (residing in Tran Yen commune, Lao Cai province) was struggling to hold her health insurance card in her hand, looking for someone to guide her. Ms. Huyen said: "The province changed its name, the commune merged to be larger, there is no longer a district, I don't know if the health insurance card can be used."
Not only Ms. Huyen, many people in the newly merged communes, wards and provinces also expressed concern about whether their rights to medical examination and treatment would be affected. Ms. Huyen was guided by medical staff to complete the examination procedures. The staff explained that the information on the health insurance card would not affect her rights.
At the Ha Dong Regional Medical Center (Hanoi), nurses here shared that since July 1st until now, the center has not encountered any difficulties in receiving health insurance patients. All patient information has been connected, patients only need to bring their health insurance card or citizen identification card to be able to use the service.
Speaking with Tuoi Tre , a representative of Hanoi Social Insurance affirmed that people do not need to change their health insurance cards and will continue to receive medical examination and treatment according to the current regime.
This person said that the current regulation on connecting medical examination and treatment at district level has been applied nationwide. Therefore, the name of the initial medical examination and treatment facility printed on the card does not affect the insurance payment rights.
"In case the regional medical center is merged or converted, people can still go to any medical facility at the district level without having to change their card or information," explained a representative of Hanoi Social Security.
According to the social insurance agency, people do not need to change their health insurance cards, even if the address on the card no longer matches the new administrative name. All data has been synchronized through the chip-embedded citizen identification card and connected to the national health insurance management system.
Medical facilities will continue to use health insurance cards issued to people for medical examination and treatment without having time to adjust the address information and the place of initial medical examination and treatment registration on the card. The social insurance agency will also coordinate to sign new or extend health insurance medical examination and treatment contracts with merged or newly established medical units to ensure uninterrupted services.
How do hospitals and medical stations operate?
Besides the benefits of health insurance participants, another issue that people are concerned about is that when health stations, medical centers, district hospitals, and provincial general hospitals are merged, the number of them will decrease.
Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Health said it has provided guidance on the arrangement of medical facilities after administrative merger. Accordingly, each commune and ward will maintain at least one medical station to serve the people, depending on population, area and socio-economic conditions.
The health stations will undertake the functions of primary medical examination and treatment, epidemic prevention, maternal and child health care, and the elderly, while also performing tasks related to food safety, population, and social protection...
Regarding general hospitals at district, county, town and city levels - they will basically remain the same to ensure the provision of medical examination and treatment services to people in inter-commune and inter-ward areas, regardless of the new administrative boundaries.
District health centers are also oriented to be transformed into regional health centers, under the provincial and municipal health departments, to simultaneously perform preventive health tasks and provide professional support to commune and ward health stations. Thus, basic health facilities are kept intact, mainly changing their names according to the new administrative boundaries.
Health insurance patients wait for examination at Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: THUY DUONG
Health insurance benefits are expanded
People with health insurance cards living in Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau (before July 1, 2025) or in other provinces when going to primary health care facilities or hospitals before January 1, 2025 at the district level, presenting health insurance card information and personal identification documents will receive 100% of the benefit level.
Currently, the number of patients coming for examination has increased after July 1 due to the health insurance policy of connecting all lines and expanding benefits.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre reporter, Dr. Tran Van Khanh, director of Le Van Thinh Hospital (Thu Duc City), said that since July 1, 2025, the number of patients coming to the hospital for examination and treatment has increased by 3-5% compared to before.
According to Dr. Khanh, the main reason is that the health insurance policy has been extended nationwide at the district level, allowing patients from other provinces to come to the hospital for examination and still enjoy the same benefits as those in the right hospital.
"Not only Ho Chi Minh City residents, but also workers and laborers from Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau working in Thu Duc City can easily go to the hospital for medical examination and treatment, especially when treatment costs are increasingly supported by health insurance," said Dr. Khanh.
In addition, from July 1, the benefits of health insurance participants have also been expanded: the payment rate when examining at the right clinic has increased from 90% to 92%, children under 18 years old with refractive errors have been covered by health insurance for treatment - instead of only under 6 years old as before. "These changes help people feel secure to go for examination and early treatment, contributing to reducing the burden on end-line hospitals," said Mr. Khanh.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, July 1 is the official date for a series of new breakthrough policies in the revised Law on Health Insurance in 2024 to take effect. People can receive medical examination and treatment at home, remotely, and have their health insurance paid for.
For the first time, health insurance will pay for medical examination and treatment services at home and remotely, including medicines, medical supplies and reasonable transportation costs in cases of emergency referral or inpatient treatment.
From July 1, people who have participated in health insurance for 5 consecutive years will have all costs paid by the health insurance fund (within the scope of benefits), if the co-payment costs in the year exceed 6 times the reference level (14.04 million VND).
Also from July 1, people with serious or rare diseases will have their entire medical examination and treatment costs at specialized facilities covered by health insurance without having to go through administrative procedures as before.
People who have declared temporary residence for 30 days or more in the new locality will receive proper medical examination and treatment right at their current place of residence, without having to return to their original place of registration.
More vulnerable groups in society are supported to participate in health insurance, such as village health workers, part-time workers in villages and residential groups, folk and elite artisans, and victims of human trafficking.
In addition, many groups are granted completely free health insurance cards such as regular militia, people aged 70-75 from near-poor households receiving monthly survivor benefits, people receiving social pension benefits, workers who have reached retirement age but are not yet eligible for pensions...
In addition to the expansion of benefits, the family health insurance payment policy also has more flexible adjustments.
No interruption in service to the people
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan affirmed that the health sector will streamline its apparatus, but will not interrupt any health care activities. The interests of the people will always be put first, and there will be no gaps in medical examination and treatment or disease prevention.
With the synchronous preparation from the social insurance and health sectors, people can be completely assured that their old health insurance cards can still be used, their benefits will not change, and hospitals and health stations will continue to operate continuously, ensuring that they can serve the people's medical examination and treatment needs after localities reorganize their administrative units.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kham-bao-hiem-y-te-sau-sap-nhap-the-nao-2025070323420584.htm
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