 |
| The goal of health insurance is to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare services. |
A solid foundation
As the medical center of Central and Western Vietnam, hospitals in Hue City receive thousands of patients for examination and treatment every day. Among them are many patients who require major surgeries, long-term treatment, or advanced techniques costing tens, even hundreds of millions of dong.
While receiving treatment at Military Hospital 268, Mrs. TTTH (69 years old, Thuan Hoa ward) shared: "I suffered from osteoarthritis and needed a joint replacement. The total cost was nearly 70 million VND, but thanks to health insurance, my family only had to pay about 25 million VND. Without health insurance, it would have been very difficult to manage."
Not only for Mrs. H., but health insurance has become a "lifeline" for many families when they unfortunately suffer from serious illnesses or accidents. In the context of rising medical costs, participating in health insurance significantly reduces the financial burden on people, allows them to focus on treatment, and avoids the risk of falling into hardship due to illness.
Over the years, Hue City has incorporated social insurance and health insurance targets into its socio-economic development plan, while also issuing numerous policies to support contribution levels and strengthen the management of the health insurance fund for medical examination and treatment in an efficient and sustainable manner.
Simultaneously, the Social Insurance agency of Hue City is strengthening coordination with the health sector, the finance sector, tax authorities, and local governments in managing participants, expanding coverage, and disseminating policies. In particular, the implementation of the amended Health Insurance Law and the acceleration of digital transformation have brought many advantages to people in accessing healthcare services. Currently, most medical facilities in the area have used chip-embedded citizen identification cards or the VNeID application to replace paper health insurance cards; medical examination and treatment data is linked with the Social Insurance agency, helping to shorten processing time, reduce errors, and improve fund management efficiency.
The effectiveness of the policy is clearly demonstrated by the figures. In 2025, the health insurance fund paid out over 3,544 billion VND for more than 2.53 million medical examinations and treatments. In the first five months of 2026 alone, the fund continued to pay out over 1,485 billion VND for more than 1 million medical examinations and treatments. These figures show the role of the health insurance fund in sharing the costs of medical examinations and treatments and ensuring the rights of participants.
Raising awareness, moving towards sustainable coverage.
In 2020, Hue City had over 1.137 million people participating in health insurance. This number increased to nearly 1.159 million in 2021. By 2025, the entire city is expected to have 1,247,145 participants, bringing the health insurance coverage rate to 104.9% of the target set by the City People's Committee and exceeding the target set by the Prime Minister.
Many families, students, and young people have proactively participated in health insurance to protect their long-term health. "My family of four are all self-employed. Previously, we thought health insurance was a significant expense, so we hesitated. After receiving advice from social insurance officials and witnessing acquaintances receiving tens of millions of dong in health insurance coverage for medical treatment, we decided to enroll the whole family. It's truly an investment in health," shared Ms. NTY from Binh Dien.
However, achieving universal health insurance coverage still faces many challenges. Currently, the groups at risk of interruption in participation are mainly self-employed workers, those who have just finished their period of government support, students after graduation, and some households that have not maintained continuous participation. These are also the groups that the city's Social Insurance agency is focusing on in its outreach and mobilization efforts to minimize the formation of "social security gaps" in the event of health risks.
According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Social Insurance Department of Hue City, in the coming time, the unit will continue to review population data to accurately identify groups that have not yet participated in or are at risk of interruption in their participation in health insurance; coordinate with commune-level authorities to develop appropriate propaganda and mobilization plans; maintain the health insurance participation rate of students; and at the same time promote the application of digital technology in management.
"To date, nearly 99.9% of participant data has been synchronized; 100% of medical examination and treatment facilities are accepting patients using chip-embedded citizen ID cards. The city's Social Insurance agency will continue to tighten management of the medical examination and treatment fund, prevent abuse, and ensure the legitimate rights of participants, thereby contributing to expanding health insurance coverage in a sustainable direction," Mr. Dung said.
In the context of rising healthcare costs, each health insurance card is not only a benefit for each individual but also a symbol of community sharing. Expanding and maintaining health insurance coverage will continue to be a crucial foundation of social security, ensuring that all citizens can confidently access healthcare services when needed.
Source: https://huengaynay.vn/y-te-suc-khoe/tam-the-nho-diem-tua-lon-167236.html
![[Image] National conference summarizing one year of operation of the overall organizational model of the political system, the three-tiered government model.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/07/01/1782882811691_ndo_br_1-jpg.webp)
