At the session, NA deputies highly appreciated the implementation of social and health insurance policies by the Government, relevant ministries and the Vietnam Social Security.

The achievements proved the humanity of the policies, which were believed to be the pillar of the country’s social security system, NA deputies said.

Illustrative image (internet)

The session was organised to discuss the implementation of social insurance policies, the management and use of the social insurance fund in 2020; and the implementation of Resolution No 68/2013/QH13 on accelerating the implementation of policies on health insurance, towards universal health insurance in 2019-20.

NA deputies also said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the social and health insurance policies played a role in helping employees and employers to overcome difficulties and restore production and business.

Speaking at the session, Deputy Tran Thi Hien of Ha Nam Province said the NA including the content on the implementation of social and health insurance policies and the management of social insurance fund on the agenda of the session was a good chance for people to learn about the pillar of the social security system.

Hien also said that people and businesses applauded the NA, the NA Standing Committee and the Government in issuing timely policies to support people and business that were affected by the pandemic.

There were policies related to social insurance, such as reducing payments to retirement and survivorship funds; labour accidents, occupational diseases; unemployment insurance and cash support for employees from the unemployment insurance fund in 2020, she said.

The operation of the social and health insurance policies showed that despite limitations, the social insurance sector continued achieving positive results in increasing social insurance participants; managing the social insurance fund and ensuring the balance of the fund, she said.

The application of information technology in the operation of policies was also promoted. All administrative procedures reached the highest level (fourth level) in terms of public service provision, she said.

Deputy Nguyen Truong Giang of Dak Nong Province said Viet Nam Social Security provided online public services at the highest level for all administrative procedures of the sector so far.

It also connected and provided public services on the National Public Service Portal, he said.

Besides, Viet Nam Social Security had applied information technology in analysing data and finding signs of abuse, he added.

Deputy Nguyen Hai Anh of Dong Thap Province said following to the Government's report, the development of social insurance participants in 2020 achieved positive results with the total number of participants reaching over 16.1 million, an increase of nearly 400,000 compared to 2019, accounting for 33.5 per cent of the workforce.

Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Son of Hai Duong Province said the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance increased dramatically, reaching 1.1 million people, double that of 2019.

It showed the great efforts of the social insurance sector while the pandemic had negative impacts on socio-economic development in 2020, he said.

Previously, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the Government together with relevant ministries and localities synchronously deployed solutions to expand services of health insurance and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment covered by health insurance.

By 2020, 90.85 per cent of the population participated in health insurance, exceeding the target set by the NA’s Resolution No 68, he said.

Moreover, the quality of medical examination and treatment at the grassroots health system had been improved, he said.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said, although the social insurance policy in our country was still young, only starting in 1995, it developed very quickly in accordance with Vietnamese and international practices.

The social insurance fund had become the largest-scale fund after the State budget so far, he said.

It was estimated that the fund increased by 120 times by the end of 2020, with an average growth rate of 20 per cent year after year, he added.

The NA Standing Committee and the Government issued five resolutions and many decisions, including policies related to supporting employees and employers from the balance of the fund with a total support of over VND50 trillion (US$2.2 billion) during the pandemic, he said.

The policies were warmly welcomed by social insurance participants, he said.

“Social insurance has gradually become a pillar of the social security system, contributing to improving the resilience, preventing and remedying risks for employees in the process of joining the labour force,” he said.