Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue at the meeting with Vietnam Social Insurance (Photo: baochinhphu.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) must enhance inspections and join hands with relevant agencies to ensure transparency and prevent health insurance fraud, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said at a meeting with the VSS on January 4.
He pointed out that coverage of social insurance in the country only stood at 29 percent of the total population, far below the Party Central Committee Resolution 21-NQ/TW’s set target of 50 percent by 2020, and asked the VSS to channel efforts into increasing the number of participants and branching out social insurance fund.
The VSS should join hands with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Security to ensure transparent bidding for medicines covered by health insurance as well as other medical commodities, Hue noticed.
At the event, he also hailed robust achievements made by the sector in 2017, expressing his impression at total amount of social insurance collection in the year, which was estimated at 290 trillion VND (12.8 billion USD) - the highest number since 2007 when the Law on Social Insurance took effect.
The VSS reaped a fruitful year thanks to its efforts to renovate administrative procedures, apply information technology in management as well as effectively implement online public services.
According to report of the VSS Deputy Director Pham Luong Son, 13.83 million people joined social insurance, 79.9 million people hold health insurance cards, and some 11.4 million people buy unemployment insurance.
The VSS spent 270 billion VND (11.9 million USD) on payment of social, health and unemployment insurance. Frequent inspections helped social insurance debts stand below 3 percent, the lowest level ever and down 0.8 percent from 2016.
As social insurance and health insurance are the two key pillars in the national social welfare, contributing to ensuring social security for people, the VSS should work towards creating a professional, transparent, reliable and efficient system helping spread social and health insurance coverage to all people, the Deputy PM concluded.-VNA
VNA
