Participants also included General Director of the Vietnam Post Chu Quang Hao; Deputy General Director of VSS Tran Dinh Lieu and heads of VSS branches and Vietnam Post branches in localities.

Participants at the meeting

The number of participants increases sharply

Addressing the conference, VSS General Director Manh said the meeting was held to review results of premium collection and the development of social insurance and health insurance participants in the past 11 months of the year in comparison with targets set by the National Assembly and the Government for 2021. He said the growth rate of social insurance and health insurance participants increased in comparison with the early months of this year, but it was still necessary to speed up to fulfil set targets. The whole sector needed to enhance measures and make more efforts.

 VSS Director General Nguyen The Manh speaks at the meeting

Head of the VSS’ Collection Management Department Duong Van Hao said the total number of social insurance participants nationwide reached 16.202 million by the end of November, increasing by 649,500 participants in comparison with October. The total number of people joining compulsory social insurance, voluntary social insurance and unemployment insurance stood at 14.909 million, 1.292 million and 13.207 million, respectively.

Regarding health insurance, there were over 85.4 million participants by the end of November, equivalent to 87.52 per cent of the total population, up 1.058 million participants in comparison with October.

The total amount of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance collection increased rapidly. The total amount of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance debts accounted for 5.8 per cent of the total collection.

VSS Deputy Director General Tran Dinh Lieu speaks at the meeting

Heads of relevant units reported on communication work as well as inspection, supervision and customer care of the sector over the past months. Despite the pandemic, the number of media conferences held in the past 11 months of the year increased 2.6 times compared with the same period last year; the number of news articles transmitted through loudspeakers increased by 1.9 times; news and articles on social insurance and health insurance published by the press increased by 15 per cent over the same period last year; especially online conferences organised via social media about social insurance and health insurance increased eight times compared to the same period in 2020.

Communication contents and methods were renewed and innovated in line with the pandemic. VSS branches in localities have been flexible and creative in organising online conferences. The VSS branch of HCM City held more than 1,000 online sessions to disseminate information about social insurance and health insurance policies via social networks.

Determination to fulfil political tasks

At the conference, directors of VSS in localities, including Ha Noi, HCM City, Ha Tinh, An Giang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Dak Lak and Hai Duong reported on the implementation of collection of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums and development of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance participants in their localities and solutions that they are taking to promote this work.

They all affirmed the determination and efforts to fulfil set targets on collection of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums and development of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance participants.

 Head of the VSS’ Collection Management Department Duong Van Hao speaks at the meeting.  

Head of the VSS’ Collection Management Department Duong Van Hao proposed insurance agencies of provinces and cities closely follow VSS guidelines and direction and implement measures to develop the number of participants, including reviewing data provided by tax agencies to identify the number of eligible workers who have not yet joined compulsory social insurance to encourage them to join; encouraging units to pay enough social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums to prevent debts; carrying out inspections and punishing those units that failed to pay social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums for their employees; and increasing information dissemination and mobilising people to take part in voluntary social insurance and health insurance.

Representatives of insurance agencies in localities attend the meeting

Addressing the conference, VSS Deputy Director General Tran Dinh Lieu said the collection of insurance premiums and development of participants in 2021 underwent many changes due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following the Government’s direction, the sector adjusted plans in line with the new situation. Besides, the support from relevant ministries, agencies, localities and VSS agents helped the sector record positive results in the collection of insurance premiums and the growth of the number of participants.

However, in order to fulfil the targets set by the National Assembly, the Government and the sector for 2021, the whole sector needed to dedicate more efforts and determination.  

Apart from taking regular measures as planned, at this time it was essential for insurance officials to closely follow local employers to identify the number of workers who returned to work to make lists of participants as well as work with local schools to mobilise students to take part in health insurance, he said.

Leaders of VSS in localities also needed to enhance measures to ask insurance collection agents to join the mobilization of people to participate in voluntary social insurance and household health insurance schemes, he said.  

Chu Quang Hao, Director General of Vietnam Post speaks at the meeting

On behalf of the social insurance and health insurance collection agents, General Director of the Vietnam Post Chu Quang Hao said in December, the whole post office system will increase the organisation of online conferences on information dissemination to develop social insurance and health insurance participants and in-person conferences in localities in line with real conditions to mobilise voluntary social insurance participants.

The Vietnam Post would strive to fulfil targets set by the VSS, he said.

Concluding the meeting, VSS Director General Nguyen The Manh praised achievements made by the sector in the past 11 months of the year and urged the whole sector to make efforts to fulfil set targets.

In December, amid the complicated development of the pandemic, Manh said the sector should have flexible adaptation plans, focusing on seven groups of solutions as follows:

1. Continuing to coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies, local authorities and agents to resolutely carry out the tasks in December.

2. Closely follow the labour mobility and operation of businesses, particularly migrants who returned to their hometowns and worked for local businesses to support and mobilise them to participate in social insurance and health insurance.   

VSS Director General Nguyen The Manh speaks at the meeting

3. Continuing to review data from tax agencies to identify the number of eligible workers who have not yet joined compulsory social insurance. This is a good source of data in the context of the pandemic.

4. Enhancing online inspection and examination to detect violations.

5. Continuing to enrich and restructure groups of people for social insurance and health insurance participation, particularly students, participants who temporarily suspended participation and those who are no longer supported to join social insurance and health insurance.

6. Promoting information dissemination to raise public awareness of social insurance and health insurance policies and help them distinguish between the policies and kinds of commercial  insurance; and enhancing measures to mobilise people to take part in social insurance and health insurance.

7. Mobilising all staff of the sector to work to fulfil the set targets.