Laws of Vietnam

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government on the 30th of September, 1992;

At the proposal of the Minister of Health,

DECREES:

Article 1.- The medical examination and treatment institutions within the State medical system are entitled to collect part of the hospital fee to increase the budget for ensuring the quality of the examination and treatment of diseases for the people.

Article 2.- The partial fee is the expenditure on the medical examination and treatment collected from the service provided for the outpatients, and the hospital days and beds provided for the inpatients.

1. Persons liable to partial hospital fee:

a/ Persons who are not insured for medical care, or who are not exempted from partial hospital fee;

b/ Persons who are insured for medical care, but who wish to receive medical examination and treatment according to their personal requirements.

2. Persons entitled to exemption from partial hospital fee:

a/ The disabled orphans, and lonely elderly people;

b/ Children under six years of age;

c/ Persons affected with schizophrenia, epilepsy, leprosy, and tuberculosis tested positive in BK;

d/ Patients in the communes recognized as highlands by the Committee for Nationalities and Mountainous Regions;

e/ Persons engaged in land reclamation to build new economic zones within three years after their arrival in the new places;

g/ Patients who are too poor.

3. The bearer of Medical Insurance Cards shall have part of their hospital fee covered by the Medical Insurance Agency which shall pay part of their hospital fees to the medical examination and treatment institutions.

4. The persons beneficiaries of preferential policies and who are receiving monthly allowances, shall have their Medical Insurance Cards bought by the direct controlling Labor-War Invalids and Social Affairs agency.

Article 4.- The medical examination and treatment institutions have the responsibility to ensure the necessary essential medicine, blood, serum, chemicals and other dispensable materials according to the list prescribed by the Ministry of Health, and not to let the patients procure for themselves.

1. The Government assigns the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Pricing Committee of the Government to set a price frame for the partial hospital fee. Basing themselves on this framework to be issued by the inter-ministries, the Presidents of the People's Committees in the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall set the partial hospital fee to be collected by the medical examination and treatment institutions under local management. The Minister of Health shall set the partial hospital fee for the medical examination and treatment institutions directly attached to the Ministry of Health.

2. The rate of the partial hospital fee shall be based on the revenue made according to each service with regard to the outpatients, and according to the hospital days and beds with regard to the inpatients.

1. The revenue from the partial hospital fee is a revenue of the State budget to be used according to the following regulations:

- 85% of the revenue shall be used for the concerned medical examination and treatment institution, aimed at supplementing the expenditures in medicine, blood, serum, chemicals, X-ray films, equipment, material and medical appliances for timely service of the patients.

- 15% of the revenue shall be used to remunerate the government officials and employees who display a high sense of responsibility toward the patients, and who accomplish well their professional duty.

2. The collection and expenditure defined at Item 1 of this Article must be recorded in the revenue-expenditure accounts of the State budget. However, they shall not be deducted from the annual State budget allocation to the medical service.

3. The vouchers and receipts on the collection of partial hospital fee shall be made according to a unified form issued by the Ministry of Finance. All revenues must be done by the Finance-Accountancy Section of the medical examination and treatment institution. Quarterly and annually, these institutions must settle the accounts of revenues and expenditures in hospital fee with the controlling agency and the financial agency of the same level, according to the time table of the accountancy regime.

Article 7.- The persons who violate the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the extent of the violation, be disciplined, subject to administrative fine or investigated for penal liability.

Article 8.- This Decree takes effect as from the date of its signing and replaces Decision No. 45-HDBT on the 24th of April, 1989 of the Council of Ministers on the collection of partial hospital fee.

Article 9.- The Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Head of the Pricing Committee of the Government shall guide and organize the implementation of this Decree.

Article 10.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

The Prime Minister

VO VAN KIET