Health Care Payments in Vietnam: Patients’ Quagmire of Caring for Health versus Economic Destitution

Andre Pekerti, Quan-Hoang Vuong, Tung Ho and Thu-Trang Vuong
Additional contact information
Andre Pekerti: Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Quan-Hoang Vuong: Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research, Western University Hanoi (ĐH Thành Tây), Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thu-Trang Vuong: Sciences Po Paris—Campus de Dijon, 21000 Dijon, France
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Quan-Hoang Vuong

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: In the last three decades many developing and middle-income nations’ health care systems have been financed via out-of-pocket payments by individuals. User fees charges, however, may not be the best approach or thenmost equitable approach to finance and/or reform health services in developing nations. This study investigates the status of Vietnam’s current health system as a result of implementing user fees policies. A recent mandate by the government to increase the universal cover to 100% attempts to tackle inadequate insurance cover, one of the four major factors contributing to the high and increasing probability of destitution for Vietnamese patients (the other three being: non-residency, long stay in hospital, and high cost of treatment). Empirical results however suggest that this may be catastrophic for low-income earners: if insurance cover reimbursement decreases below 50% of actual health expenditures, the probability of Vietnamese falling into destitution will rise further. Our findings provide policy implications and directions to improve Vietnam’s health care system, in particular by ensuring the utilization of health services and financial protection for the people.

Keywords: health care; user fees; place of residence; insurance cover; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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