Vietnamese health spending rises
HCM CITY — Yearly health care spending by Vietnamese increased from a per capita average of VND10,200 (US$ 0.73) in 1999 to VND15,200 ($1) in 2002 Statistics General figures show.
But while the urban-rural income gap narrowed slightly there was a significant difference in health care spending between urban and rural Viet Nam.
The figures show that rural residents spent about VND13,100 for health care each year but the figure for urban Vietnamese was about VND22,200.
The difference for hos-pitalisation was much greater.
The average yearly per capita total for rural resident was VND1.4 million ($90) but almost double that for urban patients.
The Government has granted free medical insurance cards to about 30 per cent of the country’s poor households since last year.
But as the number of people seeking medical care continues to rise, the Government is encouraging the establishment of private hospitals and clinics equipped with modern facilities.
These private medical facilities have significantly improved the overall quality of available health services.
Viet Nam has five private hospitals, two foreign-owned hospitals, and 19,500 private clinics and medical centres.
This network has eased the burden on an already overloaded State health care system.
But the majority of patients continue to use State hospitals because private medicine costs much more.
The statistics reveal that the number of patients in State-owned hospitals accounted for 77.5 per cent of people receiving medical treatment last year.
The remainder were treated at private hospitals and medical centres in districts and communes.
But much greater numbers of people are visiting private hospitals and clinics for check ups in preference to State hospitals. — VNS
