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Groups of Beneficiaries Whose HI Contributions Are Paid by the State Budget

The Circular provides detailed regulations on groups of beneficiaries whose HI contributions are paid by the state budget, including people with meritorious services to the revolution; relatives of people with meritorious services to the revolution; persons providing care for people with meritorious services to the revolution living in their families; veterans; youth volunteers; and people living on island communes and in special administrative-economic zones,. In particular, the group of veterans includes people who participated in the resistance war before April 30, 1975, as well as those who participated in the war to defend the Fatherland and performed international missions in Cambodia and assisted Laos after April 30, 1975.

The Circular specifies the following principles: each person may have only one established record identifying their category of HI participation; where a person falls under multiple categories, they shall be included in the list under the category with the highest HI benefit level; identification must be based on documents and records issued by competent authorities; and before the list is approved, the information must be checked and cross-referenced against the National Population Database.

For beneficiaries living in the community, the commune-level People's Committee shall compile the list. For people receiving regular care at residential care facilities, facilities providing care and nursing for war invalids and people with meritorious services to the revolution, and social assistance facilities, the list shall be compiled by the respective care facility.

Simplified Procedures, with Priority Given to Electronic Processing

For community residents, individuals shall complete a declaration form and submit it  directly or by postal service to the Public Administration Service Center under the commune-level People's Committee of their place of permanent residence, or submit their application online through the National Public Service Portal. The commune-level People's Committee shall review and compile statistics, prepare and approve the list, and transfer the electronic data to the grassroots-level social security offices for issuance of HI cards.

Notably, where the beneficiary's information has already been updated and  verified in the specialized database on people with meritorious services, the SI  database, or a connected and shared national database, electronic data shall be used, and people with meritorious services shall not be required to resubmit documents already available in the database.

When there is a change in, or receipt of, a dossier affecting the beneficiary's status ( increase, decrease, , change in benefit level or personal information), the agency responsible for compiling the list shall update and adjust the data and send it to the grassroots-level social security office within no more than 5 working days for timely adjustment, issuance or replacement of the HI card.

The Circular requires intensified application of information technology and digital transformation in the preparation, approval, transmission, receipt and management of data on health insurance participants, ensuring consistency, synchronization, security, efficiency and interoperability. Agencies, organizations and individuals involved in this process must comply with the laws on information security, cybersecurity, protection of state secrets and protection of personal data; they are strictly prohibited from disclosing, losing or altering personal data, or using such data for other purposes.

Provincial and municipal People's Committees shall direct the Departments of Home Affairs to organize implementation, review and identify beneficiaries, and coordinate with social security offices in cross-checking and verification. Commune-level People's Committees shall be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the lists and shall conduct monthly reviews and updates of increases and decreases. Vietnam Social Security shall direct and provide professional guidance throughout the system on the receipt of lists and electronic data and the issuance of HI cards to beneficiaries in accordance with regulations.

Lists and records  prepared and approved under Circular No. 30/2019/TT-BLĐTBXH before the new Circular takes effect shall remain valid for the issuance of HI cards; participants or agencies responsible for compiling the lists shall not be required to repeat the procedures, except  in cases of changes in personal information, benefit levels, or termination of participation as prescribed. When the Circular takes effect, Circular No. 30/2019/TT-BLĐTBXH dated December 26, 2019, of the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs shall be repealed./.