Covid-19 patients at private hospitals to be charged

HCM City Health Department has proposed to charge fees for Covid-19 patients who receive treatment at private hospitals to help mitigate the costs in this sector.

HCM City Health Department has proposed to charge fees for Covid-19 patients who receive treatment at private hospitals to help mitigate the costs in this sector.

  

A doctor takes care of a Covid-19 patient

The proposal was made during a meeting about Covid-19 prevention and treatment on August 25. Doctor Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Department of Health, said that many private hospitals have been converted to treat Covid-19 patients partly or completely. However, they have faced some difficulties including lacking personnel and equipment.

"The private sector has proposed to let them charge Covid-19 patients for some services and I think the proposal is reasonable," Nam said.

According to Nam, some Covid-19 patients have light symptoms but want to be admitted to the hospital and stay in a private room. Besides free healthcare packages regulated by the state, private hospitals could charge those patients for other services.

In the official document sent by the HCM City People's Committee to the Ministry of Health, the city authorities pointed out that private hospitals often have to spend more than public hospitals to buy medical equipment and pay their staff.

Therefore, the city has sought approval to let private hospitals charge fees to Covid-19 patients from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance.