Localities urged to raise health insurance coverage to over 95% by 2025

Specifically, the health insurance coverage rate is expected to increase to 92.6 percent in 2022 to 93.2 percent  in 2023, 94.1 percent  in 2024, and 95.15 percent  in 2025.

The Government asked provincial/municipal People's Committees to envisage solutions to achieve the aforesaid goals.

Particularly, the Government ordered localities to take measures to raise the health insurance rate to cover all members of poor and near-poor households over the next three years.

The Government also tasked the Ministry of Education and Training to ensure 100 percent of students join health insurance by 2023.

Health insurance was first introduced in Viet Nam in 1992.

Health insurance is an agreement whereby insurance company agrees to undertake a guarantee of compensation for medical expenses in case the insured falls ill or meets with an accident which leads to hospitalization of the insured.

Generally, insurance companies have tie-ups with the leading hospitals so as to provide cashless treatment to the insured. In case the insurance company has no tie-ups with the hospital, they reimburse the cost of expenses incurred by the insured. The government also promotes health insurance by providing a deduction from income tax./.