VSS Deputy Director General Nguyen Duc Hoa speaks at the working session

Coordination to tackle difficulties and obstacles

Reporting at the meeting, a representative from the Dong Nai Social Security Office said the office has signed contracts on medical examination and treatment covered by health insurance with 99 health establishments, including 25 public facilities and 74 private facilities.

As of March 20, the province has 235 out of 258 medical facilities that carry out health examination and treatment covered by health insurance via chip-based ID cards with 533,978 uses of chip-based ID cards to search for information about health insurance.

The total number of ID cards synchronised with health insurance cards to use the ID cards for medical examination and treatment in the province reached over 1.9 million. In the first quarter of 2023, the Dong Nai Social Security Office provided assessment of health examination and treatment cost covered by Health Insurance for over 1.25 million people with total funds of around VND548 billion ($22.9 million), up 24 per cent and 29 per cent in the quantity and value in comparison with the same period last year, respectively.

The Dong Nai Social Security Office also proactively coordinated with relevant agencies to tackle some obstacles relating to costs existing from 2021, review and agreed to complete the payment of over VND282 billion ($11.8 million).

On March 16, the People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province organised a meeting to hear a report from the provincial Department of Health about the implementation of the health insurance policy. The Dong Nai Social Security Office continued to coordinate with the Department of Health to direct medical facilities in the province to ensure enough medicines and medical equipment for patients following the Prime Minister’s Circular No 72/CĐ-TTg.

Regarding the development of participants, as of March 17, 2023, the province had 2,819,747 social insurance and health insurance participants and 2,808,147 health insurance card holders, reaching 90.2 per cent of the total population. As a result, the province needs to increase the figure by 2.8 per cent from now to the end of 2023 in order to fulfill the target of 93 per cent assigned by local authorities.

The number of compulsory social insurance participants increased to 771,644, accounting for 50 per cent of the labour force. It means the province needs to develop an additional 4 per cent in participants to reach the assigned target of 54 per cent.

The Dong Nai Social Security Office has also settled insurance benefits for participants in a timely manner and in line with regulations. It has enhanced coordination with State management agencies to manage social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance participants and beneficiaries from grassroots levels.

The Dong Nai Social Security Office sped up the implementation of non-cash payments when settling insurance and unemployment benefits. The total number of people who get retirement pension and social insurance allowances by non-cash payment in urban areas reached 45.7 per cent and the rate of people getting one-time social insurance benefits and unemployment insurance benefits reached 100 per cent.

Director of Dong Nai Social Security Office Pham Minh Thanh said in the first quarter of 2023, as the socio-economic situation underwent unfavorable changes such as businesses encountering many difficulties and a number of workers losing jobs; however, relevant units and social security offices of districts and communes and all staff of the sector strived to implement assigned tasks and gained initial positive results.

The management and use of social insurance and health insurance funds were carried out in line with regulations. The Dong Nai Social Security Office enhanced administrative reform, sped up digital transformation and improved the capacity of staff.

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Solutions

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director General of VSS Nguyen Duc Hoa spoke highly of the staff of the Dong Nai Social Security Office in implementing many measures to fulfil assigned tasks.

However, he said, the development of social insurance and health insurance participants still failed to meet the province’s potential as Dong Nai has strong industrial development.

He instructed the Dong Nai Social Security Office to focus on measures to gradually raise awareness of local people and workers to participate in social insurance and health insurance, limit lump-sum social insurance withdrawal and increase the rate of voluntary social insurance participants and household health insurance participants. 

It is, therefore, necessary to promote communication tasks to disseminate information and raise public awareness of social insurance and health insurance policies; strengthen supervision and inspection to discover violations of social insurance and health insurance regulations, particularly the evasion of social insurance and health insurance contributions. 

He asked the Dong Nai Social Security Office to work harder in implementing assigned tasks despite difficulties and challenges./.