Article 4 of the Government’s Decree No.146/2018/ND-CP dated October 17, 2018 stipulating and guiding the implementation of measures to enforce some articles of the Law on Health Insurance gives specific guidance for groups of people who are supported by the state budget to pay health insurance contribution, including:

1. People belonging to near-poor family based in the near-poor criteria as regulated by the Government and the Prime Minister.

2. Members of multi-dimensional poor family based who are not listed in cases prescribed at Point a, Clause 9, Article 3 of this Decree.

3. Students.

4. Members of agricultural, forestry, fishery, and salt-making family based who have an average living standard according to the regulations of the Government and the Prime Minister.

* Article 8 of the Decree stipulates:

1. Since this Decree became effective (December 1, 2018), the state budget supports certain groups of people in health insurance payments as follows:

b) Supporting at least 70 percent of contribution for those specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 4 of this Decree;

c) Supporting at least 30 percent of contribution for those specified in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 4 of this Decree.
2. In cases where a person belongs to many groups receiving support as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, he/she shall enjoy the highest support level.

3. The People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces shall rely on the capability of local budgets and other legal sources, including 20 percent ​​of the funding specified at Point a, Clause 3, Article 35 of the Health Insurance Law (where possible) to build and submit to the provincial People’s Council to decide the level of support for health insurance contribution higher than the contribution support level specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

* With regard to contributions of pupils and students to health insurance, the Decree’s Clause 5 of Article 9 stipulates:

a) On a periodic basis, every 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, pupils and students, or parents or guardians thereof, shall be responsible for paying health insurance contributions on their part as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 10 hereof to social insurance agencies;

b) The state budget shall give support as follows:

- Health insurance contributions of pupils and students studying at educational institutions or vocational training establishments affiliated to ministries and central bodies shall be supported by the central budget. On a periodic basis, every 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, provincial-level Social Insurance agencies shall make general reports on the number of health insurance cards which have already been issued, contribution amounts collected from pupils and students and contribution amounts supported by the state budget by using the Form No.1 of the Appendix to the Decree and send them to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS). The VSS then prepares a consolidated report for submission to the Ministry of Finance in order to transfer the state budget’s support amounts to the health insurance package in line with Clause 9 of this Article.

- Health insurance contributions of pupils and students studying at educational institutions or other vocational training establishments shall be supported by the budget of the local jurisdictions where these educational entities are located, irrespective of registered permanent residences of pupils and students, including the central budget allocations (if any). On a periodic basis, every 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, social insurance agencies shall make general reports on the number of health insurance cards which have already been issued, contribution amounts collected from pupils and students and contribution amounts supported by the state budget by using the Form No.1 of the Appendix to the Decree, and send them to the financial authority in order to transfer state budget expenditures used for supporting health insurance contributions to the health insurance package in accordance with Clause 9 of this Article.