Ensuring the rights of health insurance participants when stopping issuing or changing health insurance cards

In order to implement the comprehensive digital transformation roadmap, from June 1, 2025, the Social Insurance sector will stop issuing and reissuing paper health insurance cards to participants. Health insurance participants will use the health insurance card image integrated on the digital social insurance application (VssID), the citizen electronic identification application (VNeID) and the citizen identification card (CCCD) with chip instead of the health insurance card to go to medical facilities for examination and treatment.

Bai Chay Hospital staff perform procedures to register for health insurance examination and treatment using chip-embedded CCCD for patients.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Quyen (47 years old) in Zone 6, Tran Hung Dao Ward (Ha Long City) is working at the provincial administrative unit. Ms. Quyen said: My health insurance card was lost, so I went to the Ha Long City Public Administration Service Center Branch to complete the re-issuance procedure. Here, I was informed that from June 1, 2025, the Social Insurance sector will stop printing, issuing, and re-issuing paper health insurance cards for participants. Instead, use a chip-embedded CCCD or use the VssID application on a smartphone that has integrated the health insurance card image to go to a medical facility for examination. This is a very useful alternative method that is convenient for health insurance participants, especially in cases of regular medical examinations like myself.

After learning that the Social Insurance sector will stop printing, issuing, and reissuing health insurance cards for participants from June 1, 2025 and replace them with chip-embedded ID cards and use the VssID application on smartphones, Ms. Pham Thi Thom (65 years old), a retired official in Zone 5 (Hong Ha Ward, Ha Long City) said: Currently, using chip-embedded ID cards to replace paper health insurance cards is very reasonable. Because people will no longer need to keep and preserve paper health insurance cards. Because paper cards are often lost or damaged and people have to spend time traveling to change their health insurance cards, which is very inconvenient.

To help health insurance participants grasp and update information on the suspension of health insurance cards, on April 8, 2025, the provincial Social Insurance issued Document No. 814/BHXH-QLTST on the use of health insurance card images integrated on the VssID, VNeID, and chip-embedded CCCD applications for health insurance examination and treatment; sent to agencies, units, enterprises, health insurance examination and treatment facilities,educational institutions, People's Committees of communes, wards, and collection services in the whole province to coordinate with the provincial Social Insurance sector for implementation.

Therefore, from June 1, 2025, the provincial Social Insurance will stop printing paper health insurance cards (including cases of requesting to reissue and exchange health insurance cards). Health insurance participants continue to use the previously issued paper health insurance cards or use the health insurance card image on the VssID, VNeID and chip-embedded CCCD applications to present when going for medical examination and treatment instead of the paper health insurance card. The provincial Social Insurance agency will only issue new paper health insurance cards for cases where VssID, VNeID cannot be installed and there is no chip-embedded CCCD (these cases are currently not many).

Social insurance officers at the Ha Long City Public Administration Service Center Branch, where applications for re-issuance and exchange of health insurance cards are received, will inform people about the suspension of issuing and exchanging paper health insurance cards from June 1, 2025.

Agencies, units using labor, and participants coordinate with the Social Insurance agency in collecting, supplementing, and completing information on people participating in health insurance who do not have a personal identification code/CCCD on the data system managed by the Social Insurance sector to complete before May 30, 2025.

At the same time, the sectors, functions, and labor-using units coordinate with the provincial Social Insurance agency to guide health insurance participants to install and use the VssID and VNeID applications to use the health insurance card image when going to see a doctor for health insurance treatment. In cases where there are difficulties in installing the VssID applications, it is recommended that participants contact the Social Insurance agency where they participate in health insurance for guidance and support.

According to Deputy Director of the Provincial Social Insurance, Nguyen Huy Thong, stopping the re-issuance of paper health insurance cards is not simply a reduction in procedures, but a transition to a more modern form of management. Paper health insurance cards will be replaced by chip-embedded ID cards that have integrated health insurance information. This not only saves management and printing costs, but also minimizes the risk of loss, damage and incorrect information for people. For previously issued paper health insurance cards that are still valid or have expired, the cardholder is still participating in compulsory or voluntary health insurance. The health insurance card can still be used normally and enjoys full benefits when going to medical examination and treatment at medical facilities. Because the Social Insurance agency has extended health insurance participation on the industry's system.

Currently, when people go to health insurance medical facilities when using the VssID, VNeID or CCCD applications with chips that have integrated the image of the health insurance card, medical facilities still require patients to present a paper health insurance card, which is against the policy and regulations. Therefore, people need to proactively update information to avoid interruption of benefits when going to health insurance.

Duong Truong

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/dam-bao-quyen-loi-nguoi-tham-gia-bhyt-khi-dung-cap-doi-the-bhyt-3359952.html