On the morning of November 20, the National Assembly discussed the results of the supervision of the settlement of voters' petitions sent to the 5th session of the 15th National Assembly. Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong (Binh Thuan delegation) said that during the Covid-19 outbreak due to many cases, the implementation of hospital procurement according to regulations encountered many difficulties due to social distancing.

Medical units have to "borrow" medical supplies and disinfectants from suppliers and private enterprises. However, they have not yet paid due to procedural problems. Voters have requested that the authorities provide guidance on debt repayment for units in purchasing and borrowing medical supplies and equipment and biological chemicals. In Binh Thuan province alone, the current debt is more than 91 billion VND.

According to him, although the National Assembly has issued Resolution No. 99 on monitoring this topic to remove difficulties and obstacles, up to now, the Government and the Ministry of Health have not yet issued documents guiding its implementation.

"Local medical facilities are facing many difficulties and problems in paying debts, "creditors are waiting patiently, and debtors are waiting patiently for instructions", delegate Thong stated, and suggested that the Government and the Ministry of Health soon have a direction to resolve this issue.

Debate later, delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu (Binh Dinh delegation) said that this is a prominent issue not only in Binh Thuan province but also in the majority of provinces and cities where the pandemic has broken out. This situation occurs not only in supplies and medicines but also in meals, laundry, oxygen, compressed air, etc.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong proposed that the Ministry of Health issue guidelines to remove the problem, but according to delegate Lan Hieu, "that alone is not enough". According to him, the Government can only set out principles and direct localities to conduct their own reviews, but always include a sentence that "implement in accordance with the provisions of the law", so "everything will stand still".

The Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital also cited the fact that "the debt has been outstanding for too long and there is no way to pay it, beyond the fiscal year, even being brought to court and the hospital will certainly lose because it uses other people's tools and equipment". Therefore, the hospital must pay the money along with bank interest.

Delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu also requested the Ministry of Health to issue detailed instructions on some specific items that are often used to fight the epidemic. Localities need to strongly support the health sector through resolutions of the People's Council, and thoroughly resolve the problems that have existed after the pandemic so that the health sector can confidently carry out its task of taking care of people's health.

Patients have to ask for a transfer paper which is very tiring.

Giving his opinion during the discussion, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) said that voters have many opinions about going to the hospital for a medical examination and having to ask for a hospital transfer paper is "very troublesome, very time-consuming, very tiring".

Meanwhile, information technology has advanced, the connection of test results, functional examinations, and diagnostic imaging has become quite common. More than 93% of the Vietnamese population has health insurance, so the need for "the barrier to request a hospital transfer certificate" should be abolished.

Therefore, he proposed to accelerate the process of connecting the lines, more substantially, and in the upcoming revision of the Health Insurance Law, how to make it possible for people with health insurance to seek medical treatment wherever they want, in accordance with their medical condition, quality of medical examination and treatment, travel time, and care conditions...

Regarding the total payment or the limit of health insurance fund expenditure of medical examination and treatment facilities within a year, it has been adjusted by Decree 75/2023 of the Government. Accordingly, health insurance examination and treatment services will be paid according to actual needs, which medical facilities provide which services, drugs, chemicals, and supplies will be paid for that.

Believing that the issuance of this decree has put an end to the inconvenience in medical examination and treatment that has been lingering for many years, delegate Tri also expressed his wish to continue to monitor and promote the implementation of the decree's content in a practical manner, without being distorted.