Communist Review - In Vietnam, social and health insurance are the pillars of the social security system. Over the past time, the Party and the State of Vietnam have issued many guidelines and policies on social and health insurance suitable for each historical period of the country, making an important contribution to the social progress, social justice and the sustainable development of the country.

Vigorous strides

Social security is one of the important tasks set forth by the Communist Party of Vietnam since its inception (February 3, 1930).

Since the Conference of the Central Committee in November 1940, the Communist Party of Vietnam has insisted that “it will issue a Law on Social Insurance” after establishing a revolutionary government and creating a superannuation fund for the elderly. Mastering that spirit, as early as 1941, the “Ten Policies of the Viet Minh” drafted by President Ho Chi Minh were once again set the goals of ensuring social security for the compatriots. It can be said that these are the very basic premises to build a system of social and health insurance policies in Vietnam later. That thought runs  like a red thread through the subsequent Constitutions of the State of Vietnam, “Everyone has the right to social security” (Article 34, 2013 Constitution).

Over the years, the Party and the State of Vietnam have always paid attention to leading, directing, formulating and implementing policies on social security in general, social and health insurance in particular in order to promote social progress and social justice, considering this both a goal and a driving force to sustainably develop the country and demonstrate the good nature of Vietnamese regime. The system of social and health insurance policies is becoming more and more complete, in line with the socio-economic development. In Vietnam, the key role of social and health insurance  in the social security system is affirmed and demonstrated in some of the following:

The legal system of social and health insurance is increasingly being perfected and close to the practical requirements, legitimate rights and interests of workers and the people. The provisional decrees and regulations on social insurance have been upgraded to a higher legal basis and are implemented in everyday life  with the Law on Health Insurance in 2008, amended and supplemented in 2014. The law is a legal document institutionalizing the views and orientations of the Party and the State in realizing the goal of universal health insurance coverage, building Vietnam's healthcare system towards equity, efficiency and development. Accordingly, the healthcare covered by health insurance has been improved in a more favorable way for patients; the benefits of health insurance participants are increasingly expanded. The Health Insurance Fund has become an important financial source, accounting for an increasing proportion of total expenditures on medical examination, treatment and health care for people.

Whilst before 1995, Vietnam's social insurance industry only managed 2.87 million workers, by the end of 2020, despite the complicated outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, social insurance coverage continued to increase with more than 16.1 million participants, reaching 32.6% of the labor force in the age group. In which, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance is nearly 1.1 million, nearly double compared to 2019 with an increase of 494 thousand people; the agricultural informal economy workforce participating in voluntary social insurance reached about 2.2%, increasing fivefold compared to 2015. The whole country has nearly 13.3 million people participating in unemployment insurance, accounting for about 27% of the labor force in the working age.

The health insurance coverage continued to witness  impressive growth with about 88 million participants, accounting for 90.85% of the population, increased by 25.6% compared to 2015. With this coverage rate, Vietnam has basically completed its goal of universal health insurance coverage and got ahead of schedule. Compared to developed countries in the world, it takes 40 to 80 years to reach the universal health insurance coverage  whereas it is only 17 years for Vietnam. This affirms that each year, hundreds of thousands of additional workers and millions of people are cared for and protected with their most basic welfare benefits through social and health insurance scheme, contributing to step by step ensuring social security and moving towards the goal of social justice.

Regarding the settlement of insurance scheme and policies: From 1995 to the end of 2019, the whole social insurance industry had settled over 120 million turns of people enjoying sickness, maternity, convalescence and health care scheme (over 4.8 million people per year on average)...; from 2010 to the end of 2019, nearly 6.9 million people are entitled to unemployment insurance benefits (over 689 thousand people per year on average). In 2020 alone, over 133,300 records of monthly pension and social insurance allowance have been settled; over 897 thousand people were entitled to one-time allowance; nearly 9.6 million turns of people enjoying sickness, maternity, convalescence and healthcare scheme (increased by 27.1% compared to 2015); over 1,006 million people entitled unemployment benefits, an increase of nearly 20.4% compared to 2019 and 91.2% compared to 2015; paying medical examination and treatment expenses covered by health insurance for over 167.2 million turns of inpatients and outpatients, increased by 28.4% compared to 2015.

In particular, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all aspects of economic and social life, social insurance policies have further demonstrated the superiority, humanity, sharing and support to the people and employees, helping workers overcome difficulties due to lower earnings and unemployment. The social insurance industry promptly accomplishes urgent tasks, contributing to removing difficulties for production and business, ensuring social security, such as temporary suspension of contribution to retirement and survivors insurance for businesses, simplification of administrative procedures through electronic transactions, pension payment at home for the elderly...

Regarding administrative reform: The Vietnam Social Security has drastically and synchronously reformed the administrative procedure in accordance with the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, creating optimum conditions for people and businesses when dealing with social insurance agencies. The set of administrative procedures of Vietnam's social insurance industry was reduced from 114 procedures (in 2015) to 27 procedures (in 2019); the number of hours to conduct administrative procedures for people and businesses decreased from 335 hours/year (in 2015) to 147 hours (in 2019). To date, Vietnam has completed all necessary procedures to report to the World Bank for the recognition of 129 hours/year..

Regarding the information technology application: The application of information technology in management has achieved many outstanding results, contributing to the renewal of operation methods and modernization of Vietnam's social insurance industry, meeting the requirements to build e-Government in the Fourth Industrial Revolution period. In 2020, the industry has completed the provision of level 4 public services for all administrative procedures, actively integrated and simultaneously provided 15 level 4 public services of the social security industry and public services in connection with ministries and branches on the National Public Service Portal.

To continue to provide convenient services for the people, Vietnam Social Security has researched, built and successfully deployed its application on the mobile devices for individuals “VssID - Digital Social Insurance”. Thereby, it has provided featuresand utilities to search and look up information on payment  or social and health insurance benefits; health care history; medical examination and treatment centers covered by health insurance; social insurance payment point... Currently, the use of health insurance card on VssID application to replace paper health insurance cards (which can be deteriorated  or lost due to natural disasters) has been piloted for health care services in 10 provinces of the Central region - Central Highlands affected and damaged by storms and floods.

These results make an important contribution to realizing the goal of the Party and State of Vietnam to serve and take care of the people, affirming the Party's sound views in encouraging people to improve their capacity to ensure social security by themselves.

In addition to the achieved results, the implementation of social and health insurance policies still faces countless difficulties and challenges. For instance, the system of policies and laws on social insurance has not kept up with the socio-economic development and has not yet adapted to the population aging process and the emergence of new labor relations; the expansion and development of social insurance participants is still below the  potential; the social insurance coverage increases slowly; the number of people entitled to one-time social insurance benefits increases rapidly; social insurance payment evasion, debt, fraud and profiteering have been slowly handled. Meanwhile, the target set for the rate of universal health social insurance coverage is to reach 35% of the labor force in working age at the end of 2021 and 45% by 2025; for the unemployment insurance is to reach 28% in 2021 and 35% by 2025...

Efforts should be made to achieve the goal of universal social and health insurance coverage

To achieve the set goals, in the coming time, Vietnam must focus on further promoting the reform and building of social insurance to truly become a key pillar of the social security system, firmly expanding the coverage of social insurance, towards realizing the goal of universal social insurance coverage according to the roadmap in accordance with Vietnam’s socio-economic development conditions, making an important contribution to the implementation of social progress and justice.

Specifically:

Firstly, Vietnamese social security  industry should properly organize the implementation of scheme and policies on social and health insurance. It must proactively and actively work with relevant agencies to propose amendments and improvements to the system of policies and laws on social and health insurance in accordance with the real situation, in order to develop Vietnamese social security industry professionally and modernly for the satisfaction of organizations and individuals participating in social and health insurance.

Secondly, Vietnamese social security industry must renew and improve the quality and effectiveness of social and health insurance communications in the new situation in a professional and centralized way, suitable for each target group, focusing on the participants of voluntary social insurance and household-based health insurance.

Thirdly, with the motto of putting the people at the center of service, it is necessary to further promote the administrative procedures reform in the implementation of social and health insurance policies, reduce and simplify procedures to create convenience for organizations and individuals when conducting transactions with social insurance agencies; well implement online public services and inter-agency one-stop- shopmechanism in settling social and health insurance scheme and policies.

Fourthly, it needs to strengthen the application of information technology and comprehensively digitalize all operations of Vietnamese social security industry; as well as connect and share data with relevant ministries and industries to complete the national database on insurance. Also, it is essential to promote electronic payment as well as manage and utilize electronic documents in the system of social insurance agencies and on the National  Data Interlinking of Goverment.

Fifthly, Vietnam social security industry should promote the internal inspection, control  and audit of the social and health insurance law execution, especially the specialized inspection on payment of social and health insurance; and promptly detect and handle violations, frauds, and profiteering of the Social Insurance Fund and the Health Insurance Fund.

Sixthly, it should strengthen bilateral, multilateral, regional and international cooperation in the field of social security; coordinate with relevant agencies to finalize the negotiation and submit to competent authorities for concluding and implementing agreements regarding social insurance with other countries./.

This article was published in the Communist Review No. 961 (March 2021)