Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam speaks at the conference (Source: VGP) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam urged relevant ministries and agencies to take measures to raise health and social insurance coverage for the elderly to the country’s average.
Speaking at a conference of the Vietnam National Committee on Ageing in Hanoi on March 15, the official explained that up to 4 million out of over 10 million elderly people in Vietnam (10.9 percent of the population) have no access to health insurance.
Around 2.85 million old people get retirement pensions and social insurance allowances. More than 1.5 million receive monthly social allowances. Nearly 566,000 others have been provided with free eye check-ups and treatment.
The Deputy PM requested the Health Ministry to promptly issue documents guiding health care for the elderly in localities.
According to the committee, in 2015, many cities and provinces actively actualised the Law on the Elderly and policies on the group.
However, it said, a number of localities have lagged behind in the work, especially in the implementation of the National Action Plan on Elderly People for 2012-2020.
The committee proposed the Government consider providing monthly social allowances for the elderly belonging to poor households and aged between 60 and 79, as well as persons aged 75 or older in ethnic minority groups and extremely disadvantaged areas.-VNA
