Vietnam aims to lift the rate of people with health insurance to 75 percent in 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has said.

In the first quarter of 2015, exactly 63,157,544 people purchased health insurance, equivalent to 69.7 percent of the total population.

It is over 2.3 million more people than were covered in the first quarter of last year, but also 1.4 million fewer people than the figure from the end of 2014.

According to the MoH, there are many reasons leading to the reduction, including localities’ changes in poverty alleviation policies and shifting workforces in companies.

Challenges in the implementation of household health insurance have also contributed to the decline.

To overcome those challenges, the MoH aims to boost the rate of insured households and cover more target groups, including near-poor households, farmers with average income, workers and students.

Health insurance payments will be made easier and more convenient by simplifying procedures.-VNA