Vietnam expands health‑insurance benefits for self‑purchased drugs and outpatient visits

The Ministry of Health has issued Circular 22/2024 and the government’s Decree 188/2025 to allow direct BHYT payment for medicines bought by patients when seven specific conditions are met. These include situations where the drug is listed as a rare medicine, the hospital’s procurement process is incomplete, no suitable substitute exists, or the patient cannot be transferred due to health or isolation reasons. The regulation also clarifies the responsibility of hospital leaders for drug shortages.

Effective 1 July 2026, the BHYT fund will reimburse 50 % of the cost of ordinary outpatient treatments when patients self‑visit higher‑level provincial or central hospitals, up from 0 % previously. The new rules raise payment ceilings in line with the base salary of 2.53 million VND, provide full coverage for low‑cost visits (under 379 500 VND), and increase the maximum reimbursement for medical equipment to 113.85 million VND per use. Participants with five or more consecutive years of coverage receive additional protections, and expenditures exceeding six times the base salary trigger 100 % reimbursement for subsequent treatments within the year.