Technical article
What Do Official Pages Say About Hospital Costs in Vietnam?
They want a number from the government, not a story.
Picture a couple named Carol and Ben, both 64. They have heard that care in Vietnam costs less than at home. They want a number from the government, not a story.
What I could confirm
| Item | What the official page says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Private room in a state hospital | VND 180,000 to VND 4,000,000 per day. This is the bed only, not medicines or some technical services. | Ministry of Health Circular 13/2023/TT-BYT, effective 15 August 2023, as reported on a government policy portal |
| Who pays that rate | People who register for the on-request service. The page gives no different rate for foreigners. | same |
| Why it exists | One stated aim is to attract foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to be treated in Vietnam. | government policy portal, 3 July 2023 |
| Hospital mix | 182 private hospitals, mostly in cities. State hospitals: 47 central, 419 provincial, 684 district. | World Health Organization, Viet Nam |
| Health insurance for foreign workers | The employee pays 1.5 percent of salary into the health insurance fund (a page dated 9 June 2025). | Viet Nam Social Security |
For scale, VND 180,000 to 4,000,000 per day is a wide range. The page does not say which room or hospital class sits at which price, and the circular's appendix is not among the sources. I have not converted it into dollars.
What is left open
- A premium for private health insurance at age 60 or older. No official page I reached gave one.
- Whether a retiree with no job can join the public insurance scheme. The Social Security page only covers foreign employees.
- Prices at private hospitals.
- A fee table for ordinary visits, by hospital grade.
I read these pages in Vietnamese and English summaries. The room price is as reported on a government portal, so the circular itself is the page to read for the exact wording.
You could…
- Ask the Ministry of Health or a state hospital for its current fee list for foreign patients.
- Ask an insurer in writing for the premium at your age, with any limits for existing conditions.
- Ask an accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad how your home cover treats care abroad.
What would you need to know about cost before choosing a hospital abroad?
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: 10 October 2026.
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