Photo for illustration (Source: dantri.com.vn)
This regulation will create many opportunities for people living HIV/AIDS to be cared and treated. However, for many reasons, the rate of health insurance coverage among people infected with HIV/AIDS is still low.
According to health experts, the lowest cost for treatment of a HIV/AIDS patient is more than VND4 million/year, for those who follow the treatment regime 1. However, for drug resistant patients, who must follow the treatment regime 2, the cost increases by 7-8 times. Notably, the rate of drug resistant patients is on the rise, accounting for about 4.5% of HIV/AIDS patients on treatment.
Thus, without health insurance cards, people with HIV/AIDS will have to spend a considerable amount of money for ARV treatment. According to statistics, as of September 2017, in 45 out of 63 provinces and cities, over 80% of ARV treatment patients enjoy health insurance service.
In some localities, health insurance coverage among people living with HIV/AIDS is low due to the fear that their HIV/AIDS status will be leaked. They are anxious about stigma and discrimination, so they don’t want to provide their information to participate in health insurance.
In particular, in spite of having health insurance cards, some HIV/AIDS-infected people are still willing to pay for examination and treatment or go to health facilities where they don’t enjoy health insurance benefits to hide their disease situation. In addition, many HIV/AIDS-infected people are not ready to buy health insurance cards because they are waiting for support from the government or projects.
To encourage people living with HIV/AIDS to participate in health insurance, Mr. Hoang Dinh Canh, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC), it must complete the health insurance payment system at treatment facilities nationwide firstly.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Health will organize training courses for doctors and nurses at health centres and hospitals at all levels, with the function of examination and treatment for HIV/AIDS patients.
Regulations on papers and dossiers must be encrypted, so that patient's information is only known at health facilities they follow and health insurance agencies. However, the most important thing is that people with HIV/AIDS must overcome stigma, because this is a long fight, so they can’t hide their disease situation during their whole lives.
In the first nine months of 2017, the country diagnosed 6,800 new HIV cases, a decease of 14% compared to the same period last year, and nearly 3,500 AIDS patients. The number of people who died of HIV/AIDS was 1,260./.