Health insurance offers new treatment opportunities for people with HIV

ABO - The Tien Giang province Department of Health has organized the delivery of antiretroviral drugs (ARV) from the Health Insurance Fund (Health Insurance) to the first 20 HIV-infected people. Since then, Health Insurance has officially paid for treatment for HIV-infected people like other patients with chronic diseases. This is an opportunity for HIV-infected people to be treated after the end of ARV aid.

Deputy Director of the Tien Giang province Department of Health Nguyen Huu Diep checks antiretroviral drugs. Photo: HANH NGA.

ARV drugs are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for HIV/AIDS treatment in the 1990 and considered as effective solutions to protect the health of HIV/AIDS-infected people, helping control the outbreak of pandemic.

According to Deputy Director of the Tien Giang province Department of Health Nguyen Huu Diep, the first case of HIV was discovered in Cai Be district in 1990. To date, 172/173 communes, wards and towns across the province have HIV-positive people.

Noting that by the end of 2018, the province had about 5,000 people infected with HIV, of which the number of residents in the province was about 3,000, the rest were from outside the province; more than 1,700 patients have transferred to AIDS and 1,000 died of AIDS.

According to the evaluation of the Tien Giang province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the trend of Tien Giang's epidemic is still in the concentrated stage. However, from 2016 to the present, the number of new HIV infections has been high every year, about 200 cases/year.

By the end of 2018, the total number of HIV-infected patients examined and managed in the province was 1,477 people, of which 1,182 people had health insurance cards.

Among patients with health insurance, there are 217 health insurance members paying 100%, 53 people are paid 95% and 912 people are paid 80%.

Therefore, HIV-infected people need to overcome self-sufficiency barriers and actively participate in health insurance right away to protect their lives and health.

By THUY HA – Translated by HOANG AN