He ordered the Department of Social Insurance Book and Health Insurance Card to instruct social security offices in provinces and cities to quickly prepare an additional list of people for whom health insurance is paid by the State budget and send the list to local People's Committees to promptly ensure people's rights.

The order was made when Manh chaired a meeting with relevant units on the implementation of Decree No 75/2023/ND-CP, issued on October 19, 2023, by the Government. The meeting aimed to discuss and urgently implement amendments and supplements related to the responsibility of organising and implementing policies of Viet Nam Social Security; especially ensuring timely benefits of health insurance participants according to the new points specified in the decree.

The units, including the Department of Health Insurance Implementation, Information Technology Centre, Centre for Medical Claim Review, Legal Department, Department of Finance and Accounting, were required to provide technical support and assign medical examination and treatment expenditure estimates, covered by the health insurance fund, and pay medical examination and treatment costs, covered by the health insurance fund, within the assigned responsibilities of the sector, he said. It must promote communication work to promptly inform people about new points when participating in health insurance, ensuring maximum rights and benefits for people when receiving medical treatment covered by the health insurance fund, he said.

 Director General of Viet Nam Social Security, Nguyen The Manh, chairs a meeting with relevant units on the implementation of Decree No 75/2023/ND-CP, issued on October 19, 2023, by the Government

The Decree adds two groups of people who are supported by the State budget to pay health insurance premiums. The first group is the people of ATK communes and revolutionary ATK areas during the resistance war against the French and the Americans, with the residence information of the people has been updated in the National Database on Population, Database on Residence, which do not belong to provisions in Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 12 of the Law on Health Insurance. ATK is the name of the area – including the three provinces of Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang and Bac Kan – that late President Ho Chi Minh selected as a safety zone to build a revolutionary base during the Anti-French resistance war (1946-54).

The second group, who is supported with at least 70 per cent of the health insurance premium, is ethnic minorities living in communes of Region II, Region III, and extremely difficult villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the period 2016-20, but these communes are no longer on the list of communes of Region II, Region III, and extremely difficult villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the 2021-25 period, according to Decision No 861 of the Prime Minister. The People's Committee of provinces and cities can base on the local budget and legal funding sources to decide on the level of additional support in addition to the level of support for health insurance contributions from the State budget.

The Decree also adds the groups of health insurance participants that the health insurance fund covers 100 per cent of their medical expenses. The groups consist of people participating in the resistance war and defending the fatherland; people who serve people who have contributed to the revolution and permanently reside in ATK communes and revolutionary ATK areas. Besides, the Decree allows health insurance participants to present chip-based identity cards or other legal documents that have been electronically identified at level 2 on VNeID application according to the provisions of Decree 59/2022/ND-CP to replace health insurance cards when the participants go to medical facilities for examination and treatment.

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The Decree abolished the regulations on total payment of medical examination and treatment costs, covered by the health insurance, in Clauses 4, 5 and 6, Article 24 of Decree No 146/2018/ND-CP. At the same time, the decree amended regulations on payment principles based on service prices as follows: medical costs will "be paid according to the actual amount used for the patient and the price according to current regulations".

The decree has supplemented regulations on preparing and assigning medical examination and treatment expenditure estimates, covered by the health insurance fund as follows: the Prime Minister assigns the estimates for Viet Nam Social Security, Viet Nam Social Security assigns the estimates for social security offices in provinces and cities; then the social security offices in provinces and cities announce the estimates for medical facilities. The decree also amends the rights and responsibilities of relevant parties in implementing health insurance policies. Accordingly, medical facilities have the right to be provided with timely information when the Health Insurance Claim Review Information System detects an increase in medical insurance costs that are higher than the average cost of the same medical facilities.

For Viet Nam Social Security, it is responsible for perfecting the information and technology system to meet the needs of receiving, assessing and providing timely feedback to medical facilities on health data, covered by the health insurance fund; ensure accuracy, safety, confidentiality of information and the rights of relevant parties. /.