The Ministry of Health has recently released Circular No. 39/2024/TT-BYT which amends and adds several articles to its Circular No. 35/2016/TT-BYT issued on September 28, 2016. This circular pertains to the list and rates, as well as the payment conditions for medical technical services covered by health insurance.
Deputy Director Vu Nu Anh of the Health Insurance Department announced that Circular No. 39/2024/TT-BYT will be effective from January 1, 2025, introducing several new conveniences for health insurance participants, particularly cancer patients, and healthcare facilities.
The Circular No. 39/2024/TT-BYT amends and supplements the payment conditions for 64-row to 128-row CT scan services, expanding coverage to include necessary cases for more accurate diagnosis and treatment.
In particular, the Ministry of Health has amended and supplemented the payment conditions for PET/CT scan services when determining recurrence and metastasis for cancers such as biliary tract, testicular, oral cavity, melanoma, neuroblastoma, stomach.
In addition, Circular 39 has added payment conditions for some tumor markers (CA 125, CA 15-3, CA 72-4) to diagnose metastatic cancer of unknown primary tumor, blood quantification and gene mutation testing.
Circular 39 also stipulates that some technical services are exempted from the implementation conditions of medical facilities to facilitate implementation at grassroots medical clinics such as phacoemulsification surgery; hemodynamic exploration technique using the PiCCO method; hypothermia technique; PET/CT scan.
According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam sees approximately 180,480 new cases of cancer each year, with 120,184 deaths. Many cancer patients, in particular, are diagnosed after the disease has advanced to a late stage reducing the chances for successful treatment and raising treatment costs.
