Positive achievements

Over the past time, Tuyen Quang Province Social Security Office has drastically accelerated the collection of insurance premiums and recovery of unpaid premiums; paid due attention to communication to increase the number of participants in social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance in general as well as in family-based health insurance and voluntary social insurance in particular. The settlement of social insurance benefits, and monthly payment of retirement pension and social security benefits have been carried out timely, adequately and legally. Administrative procedures have been growingly reformed and simplified, facilitating the beneficiaries. Besides the provincial Social Security Office has provided social insurance codes for all local people.

Tuyen Quang Social Security Office has seriously received and handled comments from organisations and individuals on administrative regulations under the jurisdiction of the provincial Social Security Office, ensuring that the implementation of administrative regulations is open, transparent, proper, and legal.

Head of the supervisory delegation from the VSS Board of Commissioners, Ngo Duy Hieu, takes the floor

Acting Deputy Director of Tuyen Quang Social Security Office Ha Thi Nhung said by the end of March, 2023, the number compulsory social insurance participants in the locality was 118,048, reaching 96 per cent of the set target; the number of voluntary social insurance participants was 15,807, equal to 64.54 per cent of the set target; and the number of unemployment social insurance participants was 109,686, equal to 95.78 per cent of the target. The number of health insurance participants reached 756,352, covering 92.73 per cent of the local population.

Of note, healthcare facilities throughout the province have linked medical practice software with the provincial Social Security Office, which effectively supports medical claim reviews.

Besides above-mentioned achievements, Nhung indicated existing shortcomings, namely there is a lack of mechanisms to deal with businesses that suspend operations, have owners escape, or evade insurance premium contributions, causing difficulties in the settlement of benefits for labourers; certain people prefer the lump-sum social insurance payment; the software system of some healthcare facilities fails to meet standard regulations and formats for output data; the medical review remains challenging so as bidding for medicines.

The number of health insurance participants has shown signs of sharp decrease as compared to 2022, because most of the people living in areas which have been removed from the list of areas with most difficult socio-economic situations no longer join the health insurance system; many impoverished households cannot afford health insurance cards; and many others join the health insurance system in other localities where they work.

Another difficulty is due to the COVID-19. Since 2021, quite a few enterprises have been struggling to pay for their labourers’ social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums, which results in arrears.

Remove difficulties, shortcomings

At the working session, representatives from enterprises and medical facilities in the province raised proposals and recommendations. A representative from the provincial Post Office suggested coordination between the provincial Post Office and Social Security Office to increase the number of insurance participants, reinforce digital-based communication, and continue organising virtual conferences, among others.

Regarding the health insurance-covered medical services, a representative from a local general hospital suggested coordination between the social security and health sectors to settle medical costs since early 2022; and to inform about the total health insurance-covered medical costs, process of bidding for medicines, medical equipment, and IT application in health insurance-covered medical services, among others to ensure benefits of the participants.  

Based on the reports and opinions mentioned above, the VSS Board of Commissioners delegation introduced numerous solutions and comments, enabling the Tuyen Quang Social Security Office to better implement social insurance and health insurance policies in the coming time.

Regarding the expansion of insurance participation, the provincial Social Security Office needs to learn about groups of potential participants in voluntary social insurance and family-based health insurance, through which to propose the provincial People’s Committee to direct local authorities to mobilise resources to support participants or to set specific targets for each district/commune.

Regarding social insurance and health insurance, the provincial Social Security Office needs to work with and urge medical facilities to soon complete all necessary documents and dossiers for the settlement of health insurance-covered medical costs as per VSS’s request, and to closely work with medical facilities to effectively adopt the new medical review protocol.

Addressing the working session, VSS Deputy Director General Chu Manh Sinh highly spoke of achievements that Tuyen Quang Social Security Office has made over the past time, saying that he fully understood difficulties and shortcomings in the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies in the locality.

VSS Deputy Director General Chu Manh Sinh addresses the working session

He said, based on the achievements, the provincial Social Security Office needs to put forward more practical solutions and activities, especially solutions to better collect insurance premiums and increase participants; strengthen communication and dissemination of policies and laws on social insurance and health insurance; increase instructions on social insurance participation procedures and processes to employees and employers; work with medical facilities to enhance medical service quality to better serve health insurance participants; focus on administrative reforms to satisfy people and businesses; and aim for sustainability of the Vietnam social security industry. 

“Tuyen Quang Social Security Office needs to work closely with relevant departments and industries to increase the number of social insurance and health insurance participants; reinforce inspections and examinations of the employers’ compliance with laws on social insurance and health insurance; supervise the use of the medical treatment funds covered by health insurance; improve the quality of health insurance-covered medical services and ensure the benefits of the health insurance participants; and focus more on administrative reforms,” said the Deputy Director General.

On the same day, the VSS Board of Commissioners delegation met with Tuyen Quang Province’s People’s Committee, discussing the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies in the locality.

Deputy Chairman Hoang Viet Phuong said the provincial People’s Committee and People’s Council have always cared for and directed the implementation of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance policies in the locality, promulgating documents instructing relevant departments and sectors and local authorities to strengthen communication and implement the insurance policies for local labourers and people. However, he said, weaknesses remain, which leads to delayed contributions of insurance premiums, overspending of the health insurance fund.  

Besides, the official said, the expansion of new participants remains unsatisfactory as the number of labourers joining the social insurance and unemployment insurance system is still lower than potential whereas the number of health insurance participants tends to fall.

Many businesses evade the contributions of social insurance and health insurance premiums or even abuse the contributions, and the use of funds for health insurance-covered medical services in certain establishments is not really effective and economical. The target of ensuring health care expenditures covered by health insurance estimate assigned by the Government is still difficult to fulfil, requiring stronger and sustainable solutions in the coming time.

“These pressing issues are in need of urgent and fundamental solutions,” said Phuong.

Provincial People’s Committee Deputy Chairman Hoang Viet Phuong speaks about the implementation of social security in Tuyen Quang Province

Speaking about tasks in the time to come, the Deputy Chairman said the local government will continue directing the provincial Social Security Office to review the existing shortcomings to propose the People’s Committee to take measures for the serious implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies, and for the expansion of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance participants. Additionally, the locality finds it imperative to strengthen the State management of the collection of unpaid social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums as well as the bidding of medicines and medical equipment.

Concluding the working session, Vice President of Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, commissioner Ngo Duy Hieu acknowledged the drastic involvement of the provincial People’s Committee in the issuance of documents for the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies, which enables the locality to yield positive outcomes year after year. Nevertheless, he said, certain units have not seriously abide by the Law on Social Insurance and certain businesses delay and evade the contributions of insurance premiums, which affects the interests and benefits of labourers.

A view of the working session between the VSS Board of Commissioners with Tuyen Quang Province

Hieu noted that to make the implementation of social and health insurance policies more effective, “it is essential to incorporate the specific target of increased insurance participation in the annual targets for socio-economic development, through which working out increasingly effective solutions for the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies to contribute to the sustainability of social insurance and health insurance system, enabling the local people to benefit from the Party and State’s humane welfare policies.”

He emphasized that Tuyen Quang Province still holds much potential, thus, the provincial Party’s Committee and People’s Committee should continue leading and directing the synchronous and serious adaptation of solutions to better implement social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance policies in the coming time, steadily promoting social security in the locality./.