Hai Phong expands social security framework

Each health insurance card, a source of support

For Le Van Chac in Tien Minh Commune, the story of his health insurance card is told through the experience of someone who once underwent treatment for heart disease amid concerns about his health and medical expenses. Thanks to health insurance coverage, he received approximately VND 92 million in benefits, significantly easing his family's financial burden during treatment.

For Le Thi Anh in Le Thanh Nghi Ward, meanwhile, the health insurance card is like a “lifeline,” her only hope of saving her son, who is battling cancer every day and undergoing treatment for a recurrence, chemotherapy and an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Her son's total medical expenses exceeded VND 367 million, of which more than VND 296 million was covered by health insurance, easing the family's financial worries to some extent.

According to doctors, cancer treatment is a long-term battle and extremely costly. Each course of treatment can cost tens of millions of VND, and patients often have to undergo multiple courses. Therefore, without health insurance coverage, families facing financial difficulties or with average or low incomes would find it very difficult to afford the full course of treatment.

For many families, the small card has become a “key” opening up access to modern treatment methods. From organ transplants and cardiovascular surgery to cancer treatment and treatment for rare diseases, health insurance has helped thousands of people receive timely medical care. Public confidence in social welfare policies is increasingly being strengthened and spreading.

Supporting the goal of universal healthcare

Under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1468/QD-TTg, for the first time, responsibility for achieving the goal of universal health insurance has been quantified for each province and city on an annual basis. Specifically, Hai Phong must achieve a health insurance coverage rate of 95.5% of its population in 2026; the target is 96.5% in 2027, 97.5% in 2028 and 98.5% in 2029, with universal health insurance to be achieved in 2030.

At present, approximately 3.93 million people in the city are covered by health insurance, representing 95.25% of the city's population. The City Health Insurance Fund covers medical examination and treatment costs for 5.7 million visits each year, with total expenditure exceeding VND 5 trillion…

Dinh Thi Lan Huong, Deputy Director of the Hai Phong Social Security, said that to achieve universal health insurance by 2030, the unit will continue advising the City Steering Committee for the Implementation of Social Insurance and Health Insurance Policies, together with authorities and sectors at all levels, on effectively implementing the policies; step up communications through diverse and varied forms to convey information about health insurance and its benefits, enabling residents to understand and proactively participate; and accelerate administrative reforms and digitalization to make it as convenient as possible for residents to enroll in health insurance.

Alongside the policies already in place, the city will continue to consider, amend, supplement and issue resolutions providing financial support for health insurance enrollment for people aged 50 to under 60 in the city; people of working age who are unemployed; and students of educational institutions in the city.

HOANG HUE

HOANG HUE