Mission Report: Revising Basic Health Benefit Package for Social Health Insurance

Vietnam is one of the countries that are on the journey to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). With the Health Insurance Law enacted in 2008, and master plan for UHC approved by the prime minister in 2013 addressing some important issues including prioritizing healthcare provided to the population. The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), on behalf of the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) has collaborated with Vietnam to strengthen health technology assessment (HTA) in Vietnam since 2013. The Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI) is appointed by the Ministry of Health, Vietnam, to be the focal point for HTA work from Vietnamese side.

In order to strengthen UHC in Vietnam, HSPI is requested by the Ministry of Health to generate evidence to inform the revision of the Basic Health Service Package (BHSP). Therefore, HSPI collaborates HITAP, who provides technical support and supervisions to Vietnamese scholars to work full-time on producing the evidences. Prior to this visit, Vietnamese scholars has been working with close support and supervision of HITAP team in drafting the protocol and the conduct of the work, which take the approach of literature review. Currently the work has been finished and the report and policy brief have been drafted and is to be finalized. There is also a discussion that there is a request from Vietnam Ministry of Health to for HSPI to continue this work as the second phase. The detail on which medicines should be included in the second phase is to be discussed.