Bringing insurance policies closer to the people.

"Pay in installments" to take care of your health

As the main breadwinner for her family, with her husband frequently ill and two young children of school age, all the hardships and difficulties fall on the shoulders of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, residing in Huong So ward, Hue City. To afford health insurance for both her and her husband, every time she goes to the market to sell goods, she sets aside 50,000 VND to contribute to the insurance collection staff. After a year, that amount was enough to pay off the debt of over 2 million VND for two health insurance cards, which the staff had previously facilitated for her to receive the cards for renewal. According to Ms. Huong, if the staff hadn't allowed her to "advance" to buy health insurance cards, she wouldn't know where to find the money to pay over 2.5 million VND at once when the payment deadline arrived. Thanks to the support and enthusiastic advice of the collection staff, both her and her husband's health insurance cards have been continuously renewed, ensuring their rights when seeking medical examination and treatment at healthcare facilities.

Similar to Ms. Huong's situation, Ms. Hoang Thi Vui (45 years old), residing in Quang Phu commune (Quang Dien district), negotiated with the collection staff to pay in installments in order to participate in voluntary social insurance for 15 years. This would allow her to receive a pension after retirement, and her children would also receive funeral expenses and survivor benefits. “My husband passed away early, and I have to raise two children on my own. If I don't save up now to participate in voluntary social insurance, when I'm old and weak and no longer able to work, I'll become a burden to my children and grandchildren. Therefore, I chose to pay 957,000 VND/month so that I can receive over 3 million VND/month in pension to cover living expenses and receive a health insurance card. Through negotiations with the collection staff, I was able to pay in three installments, each over 300,000 VND at the beginning, middle, and end of the month, which is quite convenient and reduces financial pressure. Currently, I have been participating for 4 years and 2 months.”

Through research, it has been found that many self-employed workers are choosing to participate in family health insurance and voluntary social insurance through installment payments, reducing the financial burden of having to pay a large sum upfront for retirement and a health insurance card. Instead of paying 1,263,600 VND per payment (the new price from July 1, 2024), people can participate monthly at 105,300 VND/month; or negotiate with collection staff to pay in installments daily or weekly to minimize the amount paid. For voluntary social insurance, people can also choose a participation level ranging from 297,000 to 7,887,000 VND/month and negotiate with collection staff to divide it into smaller installments.

Ms. Dong Thi Nga, a collection officer in Hue City, believes that to attract people to participate in insurance, in addition to experience in disseminating information about voluntary social insurance and family health insurance policies, collection officers also need to be flexible in payment methods to create conditions for families with difficult circumstances and unstable incomes to still be able to participate in these two types of insurance. As a result, the number of people participating in voluntary health insurance and social insurance is increasing, meaning that more and more households are benefiting from the government's policies.

According to Ms. Hai Yen, a collection officer in Quang Dien district, to increase the number of people participating in family health insurance and voluntary social insurance, she is flexible in her communication and persuasion methods, hoping to help people understand and voluntarily participate. Those who can afford it are encouraged to pay in one lump sum, while those facing difficulties are offered installment payments or the option to pay upfront and then pay gradually each month. The important thing is to make them see the benefits of purchasing health insurance and voluntary social insurance and to encourage them to save up to participate.

Staff members disseminate information about family health insurance and voluntary social insurance policies to residents of Tan My market, Thuan An ward.

Flexible closing methods

In addition to negotiating with collection staff for installment payments, splitting contributions into multiple levels when purchasing health insurance cards, or participating in voluntary social insurance, the provincial Social Insurance agency has now become more flexible in its payment methods to facilitate access to various insurance schemes for people in difficult circumstances. Accordingly, people can choose from several voluntary social insurance payment methods: monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually; a lump-sum payment covering several years in advance, but not exceeding 5 years at a time; and those who have reached retirement age can make a lump-sum payment for the remaining years, provided the remaining years are not more than 10 years. For those who have reached retirement age but have not yet met the 15-year contribution requirement, they can continue paying voluntary social insurance and choose a lump-sum payment for the remaining years to receive their pension immediately after payment.

In this system, self-employed individuals participating in voluntary social insurance contribute 22% of their chosen monthly income to the retirement and death benefit fund, but not lower than the rural poverty line and not higher than 20 times the basic salary. Accordingly, the lowest voluntary social insurance contribution is 297,000 VND/month and the highest is 7,887,000 VND/month. To encourage people to participate in voluntary social insurance, the State provides support at a percentage (%) of the monthly social insurance contribution based on the rural poverty line. Specifically, the support is 30% for those in poor households, 25% for those in near-poor households, and 10% for other eligible individuals.

In the first six months of this year, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance and family health insurance increased compared to the same period last year. Currently, the province has 18,234 people participating in voluntary social insurance, reaching 54.02% of the plan; and 1,160,037 people participating in health insurance, reaching 99.15% of the plan. To attract more people to participate, the provincial Social Insurance agency will continue to strengthen communication efforts, explaining the changes in contribution rates, state support levels, and benefits to ensure people understand clearly.

Text and photos: Thanh Huong