With the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of social insurance, health insurance and vountary social insurance policies has faced many difficulties. In that context, how has the Viet Nam social insurance sector changed in implementing this task and supported social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance participants?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had comprehensive and profound impacts on the socio-economies of all countries over the past two years and is still developing. Viet Nam has suffered from impacts in many fields, including the implementation of social security policies in general and social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance policies in particular.

However, we can see that, in the context of the pandemic, the social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance policies have proved their role in supporting and assisting participants in overcoming difficulties and stabilising their lives. To help people and workers benefit from social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance policies, the Viet Nam social insurance sector has innovated in implementing its tasks to ensure the dual goals of effective pandemic prevention and control and fulfilling assigned tasks to ensure social security, particularly in improving communications and mobilising people to participate in social insurance and health insurance more flexibly, in line with the real conditions and needs of people and workers.

Illustrative image (source: VSS)

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, Viet Nam Social Security has proposed and carried out many solutions to support people, workers and businesses such as relaxing and delaying contributions to the retirement and survivorship fund for enterprises; paying health insurance costs for those contracting COVID-19 or quarantined and tested; supporting people in making online health declarations; reducing administrative procedures; and providing all level-4 public services online. 

Besides, the Viet Nam social security sector has actively mobilised organisations and individuals to donate funds to present social insurance and health insurance books for disadvantaged people and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020 alone, the Viet Nam social security sector mobilised nearly VND11.6 billion to present almost 74,000 health insurance cards and 1,500 social insurance books for disadvantaged people in various localities. The sector’s staff also donated to the COVID-19 prevention and control fund and the COVID-19 vaccine fund.

The sector has also increased information dissemination to introduce the VssID App to people and organised sessions to guide and support people on how to install and use the app.

The task to deal with social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance was implemented flexibly and creatively, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and floods in the central region, helping hundreds of thousands of workers to have enough financial sources to overcome difficulties. In 2020, over one million people got support from the volunteer scheme with the total amount of pensions paid reaching over VND16 trillion, up 32.7 per cent in comparison with 2019.

Viet Nam Social Security has also strengthened online communications to introduce social insurance and health insurance policies via social networks like Facebook and YouTube.

By the end of 2020, the rate of social insurance coverage among working-age people   reached 32.6 per cent and the number of people joining the voluntary scheme increased to nearly 1.1 million, doubling that of 2019. The number of health insurance participants rose to 88 million, accounting for 90.85 per cent of the country’s total population.

The Viet Nam social security sector has overcome many difficulties to strive to fulfill assigned tasks and targets. In your opinion, how have the press and media agencies contributed to these results?

In order to effectively implement social insurance, health insurance and voluntary social insurance, Viet Nam Social Security always defined that information dissemination and communication are one of the key tasks of the sector and focused appropriate resources to effectively carry out this task. Particularly, cooperation between Viet Nam Social Security and press and media agencies in disseminating information about social insurance, health insurance and voluntary insurance policies has been improved and achieved encouraging results.

The active and proactive participation of press and media agencies has made important contributions to bring guidelines, policies and regulations about social insurance, health insurance and voluntary insurance to life, helping millions of people and workers to be secure in social security, particularly during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Regular and innovative information plays an important role in changing public awareness about practical benefits of social security policies.

The press has also become an important information channel helping to detect, warn and prevent violations of regulations relating to social insurance, health insurance and voluntary insurance and in preventing the abuse of social insurance and health insurance funds.

Illustrative image (source: VSS)

In order to maintain achieved results and improve the efficiency of communications about social insurance and health insurance via means of mass communication, which measures will Viet Nam Social Security implement in the future?

Viet Nam Social Security will continue enhancing information dissemination about social insurance, health insurance and voluntary insurance policies to raise public awareness and responsibilities of the whole society, contributing to developing the social security system.

Accordingly, Viet Nam Social Security will continue renewing information dissemination and communications tasks in terms of both content and forms. One of the solutions is to improve communications tasks of the sector and increase coordination with press and media agencies.