Vietnam Plans VND2.38T for Health Insurance Support for Near-Poor People

Vietnam will spend VND 2.38 trillion ($113.33 million) on supporting more than six million near-poor people in buying health insurance, said Pham Luong Son from the Vietnam Social Insurance. The prime minister has recently decided to raise the subsidy for health insurance fees for near-poor people from 50% to 70%, starting from 2012 in a bid to encourage local residents to join health insurance schemes. With the subsidy, the number of such households to join health insurance would rise sharply, Mr. Son attributed. Under a health insurance development plan by 2020 designed by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with other ministries and agencies, Vietnam aims to raise the percentage of insured people to more than 75% by 2015 and about 85% by 2020 from the current 62%. Accordingly, the plan would see 50% of near-poor people receive health insurance by 2015 and 79% in 2020. The rate among students will be 100% and middle-income households 40% in 2015 and 65% in 2020 while for the employed it will be 75% in 2015 and 90% in 2020. By end-2011, up to 56 million people signed up for health insurance, of whom 14 million are poor and ethnic minority groups while 10 million are children under six and other beneficiaries. Around 74% of farmers and tradecraft villagers have not purchased health insurance. The rate is 49% among workers at enterprises and 75% among near-poor groups. Statistics from Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) showed that Vietnam has some 1.53 million near-poor households and 2.58 million poor families. (Quan Doi Nhan Dan –People’s Army Aug 7 p4, news.gov.vn Aug 6)