(VOVWORLD) - Health insurance is partly subsidized by the state with the involvement of functional agencies under the Health Insurance Law. Social insurance agencies have launched measures to extend health insurance coverage to all Vietnamese citizens.
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The National Assembly adopted the Health Insurance Law in 2008, fine tuning the law on health insurance to ensure that all people have health insurance and the health system is fair and effective. Since the law took effect on July 1st, 2009, the number of health insurance card holders has increased rapidly.
Vietnam Social Security (VSS) has reported that the number of insured increased to 87.7 percent of the population last year. More than 70% of health insurance card holders have used primary health services at local hospitals. As of May, over 84 million people or 98% of the population had health insurance cards.
The Ministry of Health has proposed supplements to the Health Insurance Law concerning the groups of insurance participants, insurance rate for students, and eligible hospitals.
Pham Van Toan, Deputy Director of the Health Insurance Department of the Health Ministry, said: “We have proposed revised regulations on insurance fund allocations for clinics. The social insurance agency will pay on the basis of the average spending of the previous year and arising expenses.”
Nguyen Van Hieu, Deputy Head of Social Insurance Cards and Books, said: “Health insurance holders who have cards and codes from January 1st, 2019, don’t have to change their insurance cards every year. The social insurance sector has already built a database of participants.”
The Ministries of Health and Finance have issued a circular defining the prices of health insurance services nationwide.