Healthcare Services Utilisation and Financial Burden among Vietnamese Older People and Their Households

Long Giang, Tham Hong Thi Pham, Phong Manh Phi and Nam Truong Nguyen
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Tham Hong Thi Pham: Faculty of Mathematical Economics, National Economics University (NEU), Hanoi 11616, Vietnam
Phong Manh Phi: Faculty of Political Studies, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology (HUMG), Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
Nam Truong Nguyen: Institute of Social and Medical Studies (ISMS), Hanoi 10000, Vietnam

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Background: This research examined differences in the utilisation of healthcare services and financial burden between and within insured and uninsured older persons and their households under the social health insurance scheme in Vietnam. Methods: We used nationally representative data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) conducted in 2014. We applied the World Health Organization (WHO)’s financial indicators in healthcare to provide cross-tabulations and comparisons for insured and uninsured older persons along with their individual and household characteristics (such as age groups, gender, ethnicity, per-capita household expenditure quintiles, and place of residence). Results: We found that social health insurance was beneficial to the insured in comparison with the uninsured in terms of utilization of healthcare services and financial burden. However, between and within these two groups, more vulnerable groups (i.e., ethnic minorities and rural persons) had lower utilization rates and higher rates of catastrophic spending than the better groups (i.e., Kinh and urban persons). Conclusion: Given the rapidly ageing population under low middle-income status and the “double burden of diseases”, this paper suggested that Vietnam reform the healthcare system and social health insurance so as to provide more equitable utilisation and financial protection to all older persons, including improving the quality of healthcare at the grassroots level and reducing the burden on the provincial/central health level; improving human resources for the grassroots healthcare facilities; encroaching public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the healthcare service provision; and developing a nationwide family doctor network.

Keywords: healthcare; older people; out-of-pocket payments; social health insurance; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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