Vinh Phuc shows strong performance in expanding health insurance coverage

Hanoi (VNA) – As much as 91.2 percent of the population in the northern province of Vinh Phuc have joined health insurance, surpassing the target the locality has set for 2020.

Under Decision 3125 of the provincial People’s Committee on the popularization of health insurance in the 2014-2014 and towards 2020, the province aims for 90 percent of locals participating in health insurance in 2020.

To this end, the province has issued and implemented various policies supporting locals to take part in health insurance, including assisting 100 percent of the households living close to the poverty line to buy the insurance since 2013, and aiding the poor and those with fatal diseases in health service fee, meal and travel cost when they stay at hospital.

The committee has also decided to provide assistance to a number of other groups such as students and the elderly aging from 60-80, while issuing health insurance cards to the poor, households living near the poverty line and those from ethnic minority groups living in poor communes.

According to a report by the committee, in 2012, the province had 629,452 people joining health care insurance, equivalent to 64.6 percent of its population. As of the end of 2018, the number was 953,284, accounting for 88.6 percent of the population. At the end of May, it increased to 994.274, raising the health insurance coverage to 91.2 percent of the local population, up 4.7 percent compared to the goal assigned by the Government, and surpassing the province’s target in popularizing health insurance in 2020 by 1 percent.

The committee assessed that the health insurance payment has been implemented in a timely, safe, full and accurate manner to the right beneficiaries, easing their difficulties when facing diseases as well as when becoming older.

The provincial Social Insurance Agency has coordinated with the provincial Department of Health as well as health care facilities to provide health care services and manage health insurance fund, while carrying out verification of health care service fees and speeding up administrative reform, thus creating optimal conditions for and ensuring the interest of people joining health care insurance.

So far, the province’s health insurance find has paid health check-up and treatment fees to over 4.7 million people with total amount of over 2 trillion VND (86 million USD).

However, the rate of people working in small- and medium-sized enterprises, co-operatives and business households joining health insurance has yet to reach 100 percent.

In the province, the number of people buying health insurance has remained lower than the potential, while staying unequal among districts and cities. The reason behind the situation is that many households still have low and unstable income, and they only think about buying health insurance when there is a family member facing diseases.

At the same time, many companies have yet to pay attention to the rights of labourers, as they have avoided buying health insurance for them. In the meantime, the quality of health care services in some local facilities has remained poor, failing to meet locals’ demands or win their trust.

In order to continue effectively implementing health insurance policies, in the future, the provincial Social Insurance Agency will give advice to the provincial Party Committee, People’s Committee and People’s Council in issuing documents on expanding health care insurance coverage and directing sectors and localities to continue prioritizing resources to complete targets in popularlising the insurance in 2020.

Meanwhile, the goals will be associated into socio-economic targets of each locality. The health insurance verification will be intensified with more inspections to detect violations and give timely handling measures. The agency will also work closely with the health care sector to enhance the quality of services for those who join health insurance right from the local level.-VNA