Implementing universal health insurance: Fair and humane health care

In the context of new requirements for developing a modern, equitable and effective health system, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 52-CT/TW (dated October 3, 2025) on implementing universal health insurance (HI) in the new period. This is a strategic orientation to upgrade the HI policy, ensuring the principle of humanity - community sharing, towards sustainable health care for all people.

Solid foundation of social security

On a weekend afternoon, Mr. Tran Van Hau (38 years old, a worker at a private garment factory in Binh Phu ward, Ho Chi Minh City) took advantage of his break to go to the ward People's Committee to change his health insurance card due to incorrect information.

People register for health insurance examination at the Tropical Diseases Hospital (Cho Quan Ward, HCMC). Photo: HOANG HUNG

Mr. Hau said that in the past, he thought that having a health insurance card would not be useful many times, but since his wife gave birth prematurely and was hospitalized for a whole month, he has seen the value of this card. Two years ago, Mr. Hau's wife gave birth at 34 weeks of pregnancy. The baby had to be in an incubator, given antibiotics, and monitored continuously. The total cost of treatment was more than 70 million VND, nearly 80% of which was covered by health insurance. "Without health insurance, the family would not know how to manage. From that experience, my whole family actively encouraged relatives to buy health insurance," Mr. Hau shared.

According to Dr. Nguyen Khac Vui, Director of Binh Phu General Hospital (HCMC), the number of patients with health insurance cards coming to the hospital for examination accounts for 92%-93% of the total number of patients. Recently, the hospital has improved the quality of health insurance examinations, shortened waiting times, and applied information technology to help people make appointments and monitor results remotely. "Many people still think that health insurance examinations will take a long time and the quality is not as good as service examinations, but the reality is changing. We do not discriminate between patients with health insurance cards or not," Dr. Nguyen Khac Vui informed.

Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, shared: Health insurance coverage for all people is a "safety net" that helps patients, especially the poor and those with chronic diseases, avoid financial ruin during treatment. Many patients, due to poverty, abandon treatment or come to the hospital too late. Health insurance is the only way to reduce these tragedies. When having a health insurance card, people are bold enough to go for early medical examination, diseases are detected early, reducing the burden on the final line.

Efforts to improve policy

According to statistics from the Vietnam Social Security, by the end of October 2025, the number of people participating in health insurance reached about 94.84 million people, an increase of 0.96% over the same period in 2024. Currently, more than 95% of Vietnam's population has health insurance cards, but there are still millions of people who have not participated, mainly freelance workers, small traders or short-term migrants. Ms. Tran Thi Trang, Director of the Health Insurance Department ( Ministry of Health ), said that up to now, 100% of poor households nationwide have been granted free health insurance cards. Along with that, the state supports 70% of the contribution for near-poor households; many localities mobilize additional resources from the budget and philanthropists to support the rest, helping people participate in health insurance with 100% support.

Deputy Minister of Health Vu Manh Ha informed that after 16 years of implementing Directive No. 38-CT/TW of the Secretariat (September 7, 2009) on promoting health insurance work in the new situation, the tasks and targets on health insurance have been achieved and exceeded the plan. By the end of 2024, the whole country had 13,395 facilities signing contracts for health insurance examination and treatment, including 1,793 public facilities, more than 10,390 commune and ward health stations and 1,212 private facilities. However, the implementation process still has limitations: some places lack leadership and supervision; propaganda is still formal; policies are not consistent; health insurance assessment and payment are still stuck; the quality of medical examination and treatment at the grassroots level and in remote areas has not met the requirements...

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, the health insurance coverage rate increased from 58% in 2009 to 94.26% in 2024, equivalent to about 95.5 million people. The number of people with health insurance cards going for medical examination and treatment increased from 88.6 million (in 2009) to 183.6 million (in 2024). The health insurance participants' rights to medical examination and treatment are also increasingly expanded when the list of drugs, medical equipment and technical services are used according to professional capacity.

To achieve the goal of universal health insurance, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 52-CT/TW to overcome the shortcomings of Directive No. 38-CT/TW and make appropriate adjustments to the 2-level local government model. The Directive has set out the orientation, tasks and key solutions to effectively achieve the goal of universal health insurance, striving for the health insurance coverage rate to reach more than 95% of the population by 2026 and towards full coverage by 2030.

“The Ministry of Health will calculate fundamentally, scientifically , practically and in accordance with legal regulations in coordination with ministries, branches, and health departments of 34 provinces and cities to promote administrative procedure reform, apply information technology, and avoid backlogs in payment of health insurance examination and treatment costs. The Ministry of Health will also coordinate to develop pilot payment norms for health insurance examination and treatment costs according to electronic medical records, and continue to perfect the legal framework to resolve difficulties and problems of medical examination and treatment facilities regarding health insurance payment,” said Deputy Minister of Health Vu Manh Ha.

THANH AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thuc-hien-bao-hiem-y-te-toan-dan-cham-soc-suc-khoe-cong-bang-nhan-van-post822828.html