Pupils and students have been selected as the group that needs to be soon covered with health insurance in the roadmap of Việt Nam to have universal health insurance coverage.

Dinh Mai Hanh, deputy head of the VSS’s Insurance Notebook and Card Management Board, said the sector is making efforts to realise the goal of 100 per cent of students participating in health insurance scheme in the 2020-21 academic year, especially in the COVID-19-affected situation.

An overview of the seminar

On the threshold of every new school year, the VSS issues a letter asking local insurance agencies to strive for the full coverage among pupils and students. This year the health insurance participant has become more necessary in the context of COVID-19. This is a "card" to protect students’ health.

The VSS has ordered provincial social security agencies to implement a number of solutions to achieve the full coverage, including reviewing and assessing health insurance policy in the previous school year and rewarding schools and individuals who well performed the tasks; mobilising financial sources to cover health insurance payment for students having disadvantaged circumstances.

Dr Nguyen Nho Huy answers questions raised at the online seminar

In order to achieve the target of full health insurance coverage among pupils and students, Dr. Nguyen Nho Huy, deputy director of the Physical Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said it requires synchronous solutions and co-ordination among sectors.

The education sector, the VSS and the health sector play a crucial role, he said.

It is necessary to perfect policies and legal documents to improve the effectiveness of the healthcare system at school as well as to disseminate policies to the targeted groups.

The education and social security sectors need to step up inspection and evaluation of health insurance implementation at grassroots level as well as supervise acting role of local authorities, Huy said.

“The Government has recently approved administrative penalties for those who deliberately do not pay health insurance. We attach importance to persuasion to encourage students. We also propose stronger punishments on those who are able to afford the payment but deliberately delay in order to increase the rate of health insurance participation in the coming time,” he said.

Nguyen Hoang Ha who works at a high-level education institute said “We have seen many pupils and students hesitate about health insurance scheme and wonder whether they should buy it or not. We need to have timely solutions and provide students with information about the scheme.”

It is necessary to raise awareness of students about the benefits of health insurance participation such as medical examination and treatment. It is important to inform families about the scheme to agree with the school to buy health insurance, helping ensure health for students during their learning process, she said./.