Children must be given priority for health examination: President

On the afternoon of May 26, the National Assembly discussed in groups the amended Law on Inspection and the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, suggesting there will be clear regulations on medical examination and treatment for children.

According to Mr. Phuc, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment directly relates to people’s health, so it is necessary to fix it. But the President said that the law has not mentioned enough the responsibility of the health sector in medical care for children.

The President said that children are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow, so they need to receive good healthcare. In this regard, the current Law on Medical Treatment is outdated and does not keep up with real life. Therefore, this time revised Law must add many provisions related to children’s rights.

The President pointed out that the current Law on Medical Treatment has very few provisions on benefits for children, only provisions on priority for emergency care for children under 6 years old, which is not enough. He added that amending the law needs to synchronize regulations on children’s right to health care. More children should be included in the Children’s Law, that is, under 16 years old instead of children under 6 years old.

The President suggested that there should be clear regulations on medical care for children under 16 years old. Children must be given priority for examination first, and other physical and mental benefits are guaranteed. Children with disabilities, poor kids, orphans, ethnic minorities, children with serious diseases, and cancer must be given special priority.

At the same time, the regulations on medical care and treatment for children who come to infirmaries of not their first choice in their insurance cards are not applied. Children must have unlimited access to health care services and facilities.

Furthermore, the medical care ceiling limit for examination and treatment services for children in critical diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular disease will not be applied. In the immediate future, a higher payment ceiling should be applied for the treatment of children, plus proceed to remove the time limit for ceiling payment of health insurance premiums for juniors.

Children need to be entitled to a higher level of health insurance than the average patient, for example, they must be eligible for a higher health insurance payment rate than adults.

At the same time, according to the President, it is necessary to expand and increase the quality of medical treatment in medical facilities to meet the treatment requirements for children.

According to Mr. Phuc, the health sector ought to accelerate the application of information technology, reform administrative procedures, and simplify medical treatment procedures for children; for instance, there's no need to issue and present health insurance cards for children, instead only need documents to prove the degree of eligibility age such as birth certificate, or student card. Procedures for medical treatment and payment of medical expenses for children should be more convenient, not applying adult medical procedures for children to ensure that children receive medical treatment smoothly.

Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan in Ho Chi Minh City said that with the revised Law on Medical Treatment, lawmakers have listened to many opinions of the National Assembly deputies. But many regulations are still missing. She said that from the fact that the medical profession in the southern metropolis faces many difficulties, including the treatment system.

Regarding the financial mechanism of hospitals, Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan hopes to have a policy from the very beginning that the medical profession should be considered a noble profession, and the remuneration of medical workers must be commensurate. Lawmakers should take doctors’ salaries into consideration accordingly.

She also proposed there should be strict punishment for those assaulting doctors and nurses against official duty as this content in the current draft law is still general and unclear.