The debate aims to make recommendations for the upcoming draft amendment to the Law on Health Insurance. The workshop is part of "Viet Nam - Germany Law Week".

Associate Professor Nguyen Hien Phuong, deputy director of the Institute of Comparative Law, said health insurance was one of the main pillars of the national social-security system that ensured direct payments of medical expenses to participants without commercial purposes.

Phương said the system of legal documents in the health sector had been improved in terms of both quality and quantity.

Regulations on people participating in health insurance aimed to cover the entire population with a remarkable speed, he said.

Specifically, the proportion of people participating in the health insurance was 42 per cent in 2006, while the number reached nearly 89 per cent by the end of 2019, equal to 85.6 million people, he said.

Accordingly, the benefits of health insurance participants had been continuously expanded, ensuring that they could better access medical services to improve the quality of their health, he said.

It was estimated that only 28.1 million people had examination and treatment sessions in 2000, while the figure reached over 186 million in 2019, he said.

On the other hand, 100 per cent of medical facilities nationwide had signed contracts for medical examination and treatment for health insurance participants, contributing to the administrative reform in the health sector in Viet Nam and increasing benefits for participants, he added.

Also at the workshop, Thich Chan Quang, from the Buddhist Sangha of Viet Nam, said that health insurance was not only a legal obligation of each citizen but also a moral obligation.

It was a contribution to help the poor and vulnerable in society, he said.

Tran Quang Huy, Vice Principal of Ha Noi Law University said social security was considered one of the solid foundations for economic development and social stability in every country in the world, including Germany and Viet Nam.

The workshop was organised to create a forum for scientists, experts and students to exchange from a scientific perspective on the legal provisions on health insurance of Germany and Viet Nam, he said.

It helped to clarify the position, role and importance of the law on health insurance, in particular, and contribute to improving legal knowledge on social security in general, he said.

Axel Blaschke, Chief Representative of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Institute in Viet Nam said health insurance was compulsory for families in Germany.

He added that when a woman gives birth, she just needs to notify the state to get health insurance for the child without paying a fee because having a child could cause a family to fall into poverty.

Children receiving health insurance for free was one of the measures to help reduce the financial burden on families, he said.

The delegates at the workshop also agreed that the completion of institutions and policies related to health insurance and social insurance was the foundation for a sustainable socio-economy, serving international integration.

They also recommended Viet Nam Social Security continue promoting disseminations on the Party and State’s policies and laws on health insurance, towards achieving the goal of universal health insurance coverage as well as strengthen dissemination on the humanity of the health insurance policies.

It would help raise the awareness of every individual and organisation about the rights and obligations in implementing the health insurance policies, the delegates said./.