Press release Online conference summarizing 15 years of implementing Directive No. 38-CT/TW dated September 7, 2009 of the Secretariat on "Promoting health insurance work in the new situation"

Attending and directing the conference were comrades: Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, Head of the Steering Committee summarizing 15 years of implementing Directive No. 38 Vu Thanh Mai; Secretary of the Party Committee, General Director of Vietnam Social Security Nguyen The Manh.

Also attending the conference at the Central bridge were Vice Chairman of the Social Insurance Management Council Nguyen Van Cuong; Deputy General Directors of Vietnam Social Insurance: Tran Dinh Lieu, Dao Viet Anh, Le Hung Son, Nguyen Duc Hoa; representatives of ministries, branches and agencies including: Central Propaganda Department; Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Social Insurance of the Ministry of National Defense, Social Insurance of the People's Public Security...

At the local bridge, there were representatives of the People's Committees of provinces and cities; the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee, the City Party Committee; leaders of the Social Insurance of provinces, cities and districts...

Both the political system and the people participate.

Speaking at the conference, Secretary of the Party Committee, General Director of Vietnam Social Security Nguyen The Manh emphasized that on September 7, 2009, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 38 on promoting health insurance work in the new situation. After 15 years of implementation, with the participation of the entire political system, the contents of Directive No. 38 have truly entered life, creating a strong change in awareness and action in leadership, direction and implementation of health insurance policies from the central to local levels.

With the spirit of serious implementation, the Vietnam Social Insurance sector has deployed Directive No. 38 synchronously from the central to local levels; disseminated and thoroughly grasped the contents of the Directive to each party member, civil servant, public employee and worker.

Accordingly, the entire sector has completed the tasks assigned by the Secretariat, including: Thoroughly grasping and raising awareness of Party committees, authorities, employers, medical examination and treatment facilities (KCB) and people about the position, role and significance of health insurance policies; organizing the synchronous and effective implementation of health insurance policies; innovating information, communication and propaganda work on health insurance... Specifically as follows:

In the work of building institutions and legal policies to legalize the Directive: On the basis of clearly understanding the difficulties in organizing and implementing social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance policies, Vietnam Social Security regularly and proactively assesses the implementation of policies; assesses the impact of difficulties and shortcomings in the implementation process to promptly propose and recommend competent authorities to amend and supplement appropriate health insurance policies and laws.

Along with that, the Vietnam Social Insurance sector closely coordinates with Party committees (especially the Central Propaganda Department); ministries, departments, branches, organizations, press agencies from the central to local levels... to disseminate Directive No. 38 and the health insurance policy to create support and consensus from the whole society throughout the process of building, perfecting and implementing the policy.

Regarding health insurance coverage: it has increased rapidly and developed sustainably. Before the Secretariat issued Directive No. 38, in 2008, the whole country had only 39.7 million people participating in health insurance, reaching 46.1% of the population. By 2023, the whole country had more than 93.3 million people participating in health insurance, 2.3 times higher than in 2008, reaching 93.35% of the population , approaching the goal of universal health insurance .

Regarding health insurance treatment: Every year, on average, there are over 150 million people receiving health insurance treatment with the health insurance fund paying over 100 trillion VND . The health insurance treatment system is well organized from central to local levels, including public and private health insurance facilities, which has facilitated people to access and use health insurance treatment services.

Regarding appraisal, inspection and examination work : there have been positive changes, contributing to improving the quality and effectiveness of management and use of the health insurance fund. Vietnam Social Security has strengthened the direction of provincial and municipal social security agencies to coordinate with local departments, branches and sectors to implement synchronous solutions to prevent abuse and profiteering of the health insurance fund and ensure the rights of health insurance participants. Thereby, cases with signs of abuse or unreasonable use of the health insurance fund have been promptly detected, contributing to reducing health insurance fund expenditures by thousands of billions of VND.

Regarding the application of information technology; administrative procedure reform, digital transformation: Currently, people can use multiple platforms when going for medical examination and treatment with citizen identification cards (CCCD), VssID application - Social Insurance number, VNeID electronic identification application. With the implementation of health insurance medical examination and treatment using CCCD, health insurance patients only need to use CCCD to complete medical examination and treatment procedures, helping to simplify procedures, save time for both patients and medical staff, and social insurance agencies also save costs of printing and issuing health insurance cards. In addition, Vietnam Social Insurance is piloting the authentication of biometric information on chip-embedded CCCDs in health insurance medical examination and treatment. Thereby helping to improve the effectiveness of state management of health insurance medical examination and treatment, better ensuring the rights of participants.

General Director Nguyen The Manh emphasized: “The above results on health insurance work are not only the result of the Vietnam Social Insurance sector but also the result of the entire political system, the drastic participation of all Party committees, authorities, and socio-political organizations from the central to local levels. On behalf of the Party Executive Committee and the leadership of the Vietnam Social Insurance sector, I would like to sincerely thank the leaders of the ministries, departments, and branches at the central level, and international organizations in Vietnam for their attention and support to the Vietnam Social Insurance sector in effectively implementing the health insurance policy.”

Continue to focus on developing sustainable and effective health insurance policies

At the conference, leaders of ministries, branches, localities and Social Insurance of provinces and cities discussed many opinions affirming the positive results in the implementation of Directive No. 38-CT/TW in localities and units. Directive No. 38 of the Secretariat is a major policy of the Party, which has promoted positive effects in creating strong changes in the awareness of cadres, party members, all levels, sectors as well as people in implementing the health insurance policy in particular and the country's social security policy in general.

In order to continue to comprehensively and successfully implement the goals and tasks set out in Directive No. 38, at the Conference, delegates made many proposals and recommendations, including the proposal that the Central Party Secretariat consider continuing to issue new documents on promoting health insurance work to suit the new situation. The National Assembly shall further strengthen the supervision of the implementation of health insurance laws in localities and enterprises; amend, supplement and adjust legal regulations on health insurance, especially amending the Health Insurance Law in accordance with the spirit of Directive 38 and the Resolutions of the Central Committee, ensuring the principles of community, sharing and fairness in health insurance medical examination and treatment. For the Government, continue to assign targets for developing health insurance participants and annual health insurance expenditure estimates, which are among the local socio-economic targets; Issue sanctions for cases of health insurance medical examination and treatment establishments violating health insurance medical examination and treatment contracts...

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Vu Thanh Mai summarized the outstanding results in 15 years of implementing Directive No. 38. Comrade Vu Thanh Mai emphasized that these results have affirmed that the health insurance policy is meaningful and makes a positive contribution to ensuring social security and equity in health care for the people. The health insurance fund has become an important financial source contributing to health care for the people, bringing a better quality of life.

On behalf of the leaders of the Central Propaganda Department and the Steering Committee of the Project to summarize 15 years of implementing Directive No. 38, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Vu Thanh Mai congratulated and acknowledged the achievements of the Party Executive Committee and the Vietnam Social Security sector in implementing Directive No. 38 over the past time. At the same time, "I would like to sincerely thank the efforts of the Party Executive Committee, leaders and officials of social security agencies at all levels; the close coordination of the Vietnam Social Security sector with sectors and authorities at all levels from central to local levels in implementing this Directive", Mr. Vu Thanh Mai emphasized.

Comrade Vu Thanh Mai suggested that in the coming time, the Party Executive Committee and civil servants and public employees of the entire Vietnam Social Security sector need to continue to promote the achieved results, in which closely coordinate with the Central Propaganda Department and propaganda departments at all levels to promote communication work so that every citizen, business and household can clearly see the practical benefits of participating in health insurance, thereby forming a sense of voluntary and self-conscious participation. Continue to strengthen the inspection and examination of the implementation of health insurance regulations and policies at agencies, units and businesses; promptly detect and strictly handle violations. Closely coordinate with the health sector to improve service quality, ensure the rights of health insurance participants, and at the same time enhance the spirit of practicing thrift and combating waste in the use of health insurance treatment funds.

In addition, according to the Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, social insurance agencies at all levels need to proactively research and advise Party committees and authorities to lead and direct health insurance work; promptly propose solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles in the process of deployment and implementation, speeding up the progress of universal health insurance. At the same time, research and propose amendments and supplements to perfect health insurance policies and laws; promote administrative procedure reform, information technology application, digital transformation in the field of health insurance, contributing to effective management and use, prevention and combat of abuse of health insurance funds and ensuring the health insurance benefits of participants.

Comrade Vu Thanh Mai also suggested that the Propaganda Department of the provincial and municipal Party Committees continue to closely coordinate with the Social Insurance Agency and the Department of Health of the provinces in implementing the Central's directives and resolutions on health insurance policies; advise the provincial and municipal Party Committees to direct the implementation of the targets on health insurance coverage rates, striving to reach 95% of the population by 2025.

Speaking at the end of the conference, on behalf of the Party Executive Committee of Vietnam Social Security, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Social Security Nguyen Duc Hoa sincerely thanked and hoped to continue receiving the attention and direction of the Secretariat, the support and facilitation of Party committees and authorities at all levels; and the coordination of relevant ministries and branches in effectively implementing the health insurance policy.

In the coming time, the entire Vietnam Social Security sector will continue to be determined to synchronously and drastically implement solutions to effectively implement health insurance policies, contributing to the achievement of the goal of universal health insurance, ensuring better and better the health insurance benefits of policy participants and beneficiaries and requirements on fund management in the context of socio-economic development...

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