What is Health Insurance, and Is It Mandatory?

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of the 2008 Law on Health Insurance, as amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of the 2014 Amended Law on Health Insurance:

"Article 2. Definition of Terms
In this Law, the following terms are defined as follows:

1. Health insurance is a mandatory form of insurance applied to subjects as prescribed by this Law to provide healthcare services, operated by the State on a non-profit basis.
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Thus, health insurance is a mandatory type of insurance applied to specific groups under the law to ensure healthcare services, and it is implemented by the State on a non-profit basis.

If I Have Private Health Insurance, Do I Still Need to Participate in School Health Insurance?

According to Article 12 of the 2008 Law on Health Insurance (as amended by Clause 6, Article 1 of the 2014 Amended Law on Health Insurance), the categories of participants are as follows:

"Article 12. Participants in Health Insurance
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4. Groups receiving government-subsidized contributions include:
a) Members of near-poor households;
b) Students.
5. The household-based health insurance group includes those in households, except for those specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.
6. The Government shall regulate other participants outside of those specified in Clauses 3, 4, and 5 of this Article; determine the issuance of health insurance cards for individuals under the management of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security; and establish the implementation roadmap, benefit levels, and payment methods for health insurance."

Based on this provision, students are required to participate in mandatory health insurance, with the government subsidizing part of the cost. Therefore, if a student falls under the mandatory student health insurance category with government-supported contributions, they must purchase health insurance through the school.

However, students who belong to groups fully covered by the government, such as those from poor households, ethnic minorities living in economically disadvantaged areas, family members of People's Army soldiers, or residents of island communes/districts, are exempt from purchasing school health insurance.

Thus, if an individual purchases private health insurance from an external insurance company that is not part of the State's health insurance system, they are still required to participate in school health insurance under the law.