Changes to health insurance card issuance effective June 1st.

Social insurance agencies in the regions and provinces/cities will continue to use the old health insurance card forms until May 31st. From June 1st, new paper health insurance cards will only be issued to those who cannot install VssID or VneID and do not have a chip-embedded citizen identity card.

This is a new change regarding the issuance and renewal of health insurance cards that people need to know, recently issued by the Vietnam Social Security (BHXH) in a directive sent to regional Social Security offices and provincial/city Social Security offices under the Central Government.

From June 1st, new paper health insurance cards will only be issued to individuals who cannot install VssID or VneID and do not have a chip-embedded citizen identification card.

PHOTO: TN

According to Vietnam Social Security, after reorganizing its structure, from March 1st, this unit will operate under a new model directly under the Ministry of Finance .

According to the decision of the Ministry of Finance, which regulates the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Vietnam Social Security, the Director of Vietnam Social Security is responsible for organizing and arranging for the units under and directly affiliated with Vietnam Social Security to operate according to the new model within a maximum period of 3 months, starting from March 1st.

To ensure the rights of health insurance participants during the period of organizing and arranging units to operate under the new model, and to implement cost-saving measures and combat waste, Vietnam Social Security requires regional and provincial/city social security offices to continue using the old health insurance card blanks until May 31st.

From June 1st, for cases requesting reissue or replacement of health insurance cards, social insurance officials are required to directly guide participants in installing the digital social insurance application (VssID), the electronic identification application (VneID), and instructing them on using the health insurance card image on the VssID and VneID applications; and the chip-embedded citizen identification card for medical examinations and treatment instead of the paper health insurance card.

Specifically, Vietnam Social Security notes that it will only issue new paper health insurance cards to those who cannot install VssID or VneID and do not have a chip-embedded citizen identification card.

Regional and provincial/city social insurance agencies are responsible for implementing the above contents. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to Vietnam Social Insurance for consideration and resolution.

Previously, according to a decision by the Ministry of Finance, from March 1st, the organizational structure of Vietnam Social Security from the central to local levels was implemented according to a 3-tier system, with 14 advisory units at the central level.

In addition, the 63 provincial and city social insurance agencies were reorganized into 35 regional social insurance agencies, each with its own legal personality, seal, and bank account. The number of district-level social insurance agencies was limited to no more than 350 units, but they did not have internal organizational structures.

After restructuring, the number of units in the entire social insurance sector decreased from 1,470 to 747 units (a reduction of 723 units, or 49.2%).

The central Social Insurance agency will begin operations on March 1st. Provincial and district-level Social Insurance agencies will continue to perform their functions and duties according to current regulations until March 31st. The new organizational structure of the 35 regional and district-level Social Insurance agencies will begin operations on April 1st.

The current health insurance card template, implemented by Vietnam Social Security, has been in use since April 1, 2021. This template has several distinctive features that offer benefits to participants and healthcare facilities, such as: it's small and compact, similar in size to the citizen identification card and some types of ATM cards currently used by banks; it's laminated immediately after printing, increasing durability and making it convenient to store and keep in a wallet, reducing the risk of loss or damage.

Specifically, the health insurance card number is a 10-digit number representing the participant's social insurance number, which is used to look up health insurance card information on the Vietnam Social Insurance Electronic Information Portal.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thay-doi-ve-cap-the-bhyt-tu-16-185250327162942027.htm