Accordingly, VSS’s recent management, supervision, inspection on settlements of complaints and denunciations detected that medical facilities wrongly issued certificates for labourers to claim social insurance benefits. There were cases of taking advantage of policies, violating the provisions of the law on social security.

During the assessment of sickness and maternity benefits claims in some healcare facilities, VSS detected abnormalities in the issuance of certificates required to get social insurance benefits such as false birth certificates; a large number of certificates issued in a short time; too many leave days per certificate; issuing a certificate of invalid healthcare and pregnancy status…, a large number of certificates issued by a doctor per day that exceeds the maximum allowance which is regulated on Guideline on Examination Procedure which is attached on Decision No. 1313/QĐ-BYT on April 22th 2013. After getting such unqualified certificates, labourers submitted them to their employers who then requested district social security agencies to pay sickness and maternity benefits.

Illustrative image (source: internet)

To prevent the above situation, VSS has sent Document to Provincial Social Security Agencies: Official Letter No. 4733/BHXH-CSXH on Dec. 18^th 2019 on correcting and handling shortcomings in social insurance and unemployment insurance implementation; Official Letter No. 3103/BHXH-CSXH on Dec 1^st 2020 on correcting examination and treatment data and benefits and issuing based records on VSS website and .

To prevent and control violations relating to medical examination and treatment law, social insurance law, VSS requires provincial social security agencies to strictly continue implementing VSS General Director’s directions and the following tasks:

Firstly, with available data, supervision and inspection of issuing certificates in medical facilities with the above derogations need to be strengthened.

Secondly, provincial social security agencies shall stop payment to cases that used unlawful certificates and get back the payment that was wrongly given to labourers in such cases.

Illustrative image (source: internet)

Thirdly, provincial social security agencies shall fully take advantages of software programmes in assessing sickness and maternity benefit claims.

Fourthly, provincial social security agencies were also asked to review certificate issuance in provincial healthcare facilities; detected violations must be timely reported to municipal People’s Committees. The provincial social security would coordinate with the local health departments and related agencies to conduct inspections and transfer suspected violations to the police for further investigation if needed.

Fifthly, provincial social security agencies work with local steering committees on social insurance and health insurance implementation to tighten management, prevent and control violations. This is identified as a focus, regular and uninterrupted task.

Sixthly, it is necessary to enhance policy propaganda to employers, employees to receive feedbacks on unusual employees’ day off benefit.

In the first four months of 2021, VSS has paid sickness and maternity benefits for 3million social insurance participants. VSS always pays special attention to social insurance benefit payment (sickness, maternity …) and beneficiaries. A lot of management methods have been enhanced such as IT application; effective co-operation with local authorities to timely offer the benefits to beneficiaries;  simple payment procedures that create convenience for social insurance participants and beneficiaries, earning their’s trust to the Party and the State’s social security policies.