Hospitals and health insurance in Saigon

Short answer: Ho Chi Minh City has good private hospitals, but they expect money or an insurer's guarantee before they treat you, and nothing from Australia covers you here.

The short version

Australia has no Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Vietnam, and Medicare doesn't cover treatment overseas. You pay your own way [6].
International hospitals and clinics ask for a deposit or payment on the spot unless your insurer has a direct billing deal or sends a guarantee of payment [2].
Foreign employees on contracts of a year or more must join Vietnam's compulsory health insurance, but it mainly helps in the public system [4].
Buy international health insurance that includes medical evacuation. Serious cases can be flown to Singapore or Bangkok [7].
Pharmacies are everywhere, but selling prescription medicines without a prescription is illegal and Ho Chi Minh City is fining shops that do it [5].

Public, international or in between

Saigon's healthcare comes in three broad flavours. Most Australians use the international end for everyday care and keep the big public hospitals in mind for specialist emergencies.

Type	Examples from the Consulate's list	What to expect
International hospitals	FV Hospital (Tan My ward, old District 7), Vinmec Central Park (Thanh My Tay ward, Binh Thanh), City International Hospital, American International Hospital [1]	English-speaking staff, 24-hour emergency departments, private rooms, prices to match. Some offer direct billing [2]
International clinics	Family Medical Practice (city centre, Thao Dien and District 7), Raffles Medical, Victoria Healthcare, Centre Médical International [1][2]	Your GP equivalent. Walk-in or booked visits, vaccinations, referrals. The Thao Dien Family Medical Practice runs 24/7 [1]
Large public and specialist hospitals	Cho Ray Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Tu Du (obstetrics) [1]	Deep expertise and huge caseloads, but crowded and mostly Vietnamese-speaking. Cho Ray is also on the Consulate's list of medical evacuation providers [9]

The Australian Consulate-General keeps a list of hospitals and a separate list of medical evacuation providers, both updated in July 2026 [1][9]. It's worth saving both PDFs to your phone. The Consulate is clear that it doesn't endorse any provider and can't pay your medical bills [1][3].

How this differs from home

In Australia you walk into an emergency department and sort the money out later, or never. In Saigon, the money comes first. There's no bulk billing, no Medicare card that works and no public safety net for foreigners who aren't in the national scheme. The Australian Embassy's own advice is blunt: there's no free public medical treatment, care without insurance can cost thousands of dollars quickly, and local providers expect payment up front [3].

Upfront payment and guarantees of payment

This is the part that catches people out. International hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City will usually ask for a deposit or full payment before admitting you, unless your insurer has a direct billing agreement with that hospital [2].

There are two ways your insurer can step in:

Direct billing. The hospital bills the insurer directly for outpatient visits or planned care. FV Hospital and City International Hospital are among those listing direct billing [2], but the arrangement depends on your specific insurer.
Guarantee of payment. For an admission, the insurer's assistance team sends the hospital a written promise to pay. Until that arrives, the hospital can ask for a deposit on your card.

What to do when you need a hospital

Call your insurer's 24-hour assistance line first, unless it's a life-threatening emergency. Ask which hospitals it direct bills and request a guarantee of payment [2].
Get there fast. The ambulance number is 115, but operators mostly speak Vietnamese. In the city a Grab car or taxi is often quicker [2].
Carry your passport and a credit card with a decent limit, plus your policy number. Hospitals may need a deposit while paperwork catches up.
Keep every receipt and report. If you pay yourself, you'll claim it back later and the insurer will want itemised invoices.
Tell the Consulate if it's serious. It can't pay bills, but it can help contact family. Its 24-hour line is +84 28 3521 8100.

Vietnam's compulsory health insurance

If you work for a Vietnamese employer on a contract of at least 12 months, with a work permit, you'll usually be enrolled in the national health insurance scheme run through Vietnam Social Security. Ho Chi Minh City Social Security reminded employers of this in April 2026 [4].

Contributions: 4.5% of your insured salary, split 1.5% from you and 3% from your employer [4].
Benefits: 80% to 100% of covered costs at your registered facility, depending on your category and registration [4].
The catch: It's built around the public system and registered facilities. It's not a substitute for private cover at international hospitals, and it won't fly you to Singapore.

Treat it as a legal box to tick, not your plan. Check your payslip to confirm the deductions are being made.

Choosing international health insurance

Most Australians in Saigon carry an international private medical policy, either through their employer or bought themselves. Australian travel insurance is designed for trips, not for living somewhere, and many policies stop paying once you're a resident or after a set number of days away. Read the "residence" clauses before you rely on one.

Questions to ask any insurer:

Question	Why it matters
Does it cover medical evacuation and repatriation?	Complex cases may be moved to Singapore or Bangkok, and an air ambulance is expensive [7]
Which Saigon hospitals does it direct bill?	Saves you putting a large deposit on your card [2]
Is outpatient cover included, or only hospital?	GP visits, vaccinations and scans add up quickly at international clinics
What are the excess and annual limits?	A low limit can run out after one serious admission
Does it cover you while visiting Australia?	Useful when you go home for Christmas, as you may not be eligible for Medicare if you've left
Are pre-existing conditions and pregnancy covered?	Many policies exclude them or need a waiting period
Does it cover motorbike accidents?	Many exclude riding without a valid licence. A big issue in Vietnam

Vietnamese insurers such as Bao Viet sell health products to foreigners too [3]. They can be cheaper, but check the evacuation cover and which hospitals they deal with.

Medicare and your Australian private cover

If you're moving to Vietnam for good, tell Medicare and think about whether to keep or suspend your Australian private health insurance. Both questions affect what happens when you visit or move home. Our guides on Medicare when you live abroad and private health insurance when you move overseas go through it.

Pharmacies and prescriptions

You'll see pharmacies (nhà thuốc) on almost every street, including big chains such as Pharmacity, plus pharmacies inside the international hospitals.

The law is stricter than the street suggests. Antibiotics and many other medicines are prescription-only, even if some shops have sold them over the counter for years. Under Decree 90/2026, in force from 15 May 2026, selling prescription medicine without a prescription carries fines of VND 10–20 million, and Ho Chi Minh City has published fines against named pharmacies [5]. The same rules ban selling prescription medicines online [5].

What that means for you:

Bring your regular medicines from Australia in original packaging with a letter from your GP listing the generic names and doses.
Get a local prescription from an international clinic for anything you'll need long term. Generic names often differ from Australian brands.
Buy from reputable pharmacies. The CDC suggests buying medicines through international or expat clinics to avoid counterfeit or poor-quality stock [7].
Check controlled medicines before you fly. Some ADHD, sleep and pain medicines are tightly controlled in Vietnam. Ask the Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra, and read the Smartraveller advice for Vietnam [8].

Pick a clinic before you're sick

The worst time to research hospitals is at 2 am with a fever. In your first fortnight:

Register at an international clinic near home. Thao Dien, the city centre and District 7 all have one [1].
Save the emergency numbers of the nearest international hospital and your insurer.
Write your address in Vietnamese and keep it on your phone for drivers and ambulance crews [2].
Store your policy, passport scan and medication list in the cloud.
Ask other Australians where they go. Join Cooee Vietnam, our Facebook group for Australians in Vietnam, for real-world feedback on clinics, dentists and paediatricians.

Healthcare in Saigon: international hospitals, upfront bills and the insurance you need