Dao Viet Anh, VSS deputy general director, said the VSS was established on February 16, 1995, following a Government decree. It consists of social security agencies at central and local levels.

In 2002, the VSS took over the task of implementing health insurance policies from the health ministry.

Following assigned functions and tasks, since its establishment, the VSS has continuously made efforts to implement social security and health insurance policies and gained remarkable achievements.

Over the years, the VSS has encouraged people to apply for insurance, taken care of beneficiaries and continuously improved service quality.

The VSS has also proposed to the Government and the National Assembly amendments to the Law on Social Security and Law on Health Insurance, making the laws core pillars of the social security system.

Bui Sy Loi, vice chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, said the Party and the State have put focus on developing the social security system to better ensure basic human rights in accordance with the national socio-economic growth and gradually approaching international standards.

For many years, especially since the doi moi (reform) policy was launched in 1986, the Party and the State have always paid attention to developing and implementing social security policies, regarding it as a target and also a driving force for socio-political stability and sustainable development, he said.

Social security system structure has been strengthened with four parts. They are preventive policies (training, vocational training, hunger eradication, poverty reduction); risk minimisation and compensation policies (social security, health insurance); risk-overcoming policies (emergency and regular subsidies) and policies to ensure basic social services (health, education, housing, clean water, communication).

Among those, social security and health insurance policies are the most basic and important pillars of the social security system.

According to the participants at the conference, a number of social security polices have not been synchronised with other social protection, poverty reduction and employment policies.

The social security policy for the informal sector is limited to retirement and survivors. The health insurance polices have not met demands of people from all walks of life. The payment of health insurance premiums and benefits has not been adjusted to catch up with development of high-quality healthcare services.

According to VSS deputy general director Dao Viet Anh, the VSS will face challenges on the way to realise the target of social security and health insurance universalisation.

Opinions at the conference will serve as recommendations for the sector to improve itself.

With the attention from the Party and the State; solidarity, dynamism, creativity and dedication to the work of the entire staff, he believes the VSS will overcome challenges to professionalise and modernise the sector, looking towards the satisfaction of insurance participants./.