In the first six months of 2023, although the number of participants in social and health insurance increased compared to the same period last year, the growth rate was slow. The main reason was due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which caused many businesses to have a shortage of orders, reduce working hours or rotate shifts to retain employees. Some businesses even had to let employees take unpaid leave, suspend or terminate labor contracts.

Deputy General Director Tran Dinh Lieu delivered a speech at the Conference

These factors have had a negative impact on the target and task of developing participants for social and health insurance, as well as reducing the amount of late payment for social and health insurance in the whole sector. In addition, some provincial and municipal social security agencies have not implemented measures effectively, leading to a decrease in the number of mandatory participants or voluntary participants compared to 2022.

According to the VSS, the conference to share experience in developing participants for social and health insurance in 2023 and the period of 2023-2025 in Nghe An is part of a series of activities of the sector in 2023, aimed at overcoming difficulties and striving to achieve the targets assigned by the Government in 2023, as well as drawing lessons and experiences to implement more effectively in the period of 2023-2025.

Sharing the common challenges facing the country that affect the sector's operations, Deputy Director General Tran Dinh Lieu stated that in recent times, the VSS has conducted surveys and studied the socio-economic reports of provinces to find solutions and development scenarios for social and health insurance participants. Despite the many challenges facing the economy, there are still optimistic signals. It is noteworthy that many measures of the Government to promote economic recovery and development (tax support, interest rates, bank debt rescheduling...) have been implemented; many foreign investors have returned to the Vietnamese market; many businesses are still maintaining their workforce.

Delegates attending the conference

However, to achieve the set targets and tasks, Lieu emphasized that local social security agencies need to identify their potential and strengths, and develop appropriate scenarios for participant development in line with reality. In addition, based on the practical situation of each locality, the social security agencies need to develop an overall scenario to fulfill the assigned tasks in 2023.

Lieu emphasized that local social security agencies must have a good grasp of the situation of businesses and employees in their respective areas. From there, they need to identify ways to expand the coverage of social and health insurance participants, determine which groups are potential targets, and coordinate with which units or organizations and how to carry out these tasks effectively. According to the Deputy Director General, the demands of the sector are increasing while carrying out these tasks in a difficult environment, so closely monitoring the reality of each unit and individual is a necessary and effective solution.

At the conference, representatives from local social security agencies and service organizations shared their experiences and best practices in developing social and health insurance participants. They also discussed and proposed solutions to address obstacles in carrying out their tasks in their respective areas.

Based on the shared experiences and best practices, Lieu requested that after the conference, local social security agencies should continue to exchange information regularly with other localities that have successful models to apply, as well as find models and solutions suitable for their own areas. In addition, the departments and units under the VSS should also exchange, monitor, urge, propose, and resolve obstacles in a timely manner to help the local social security agencies implement their tasks effectively according to the guidelines./.