According to Decision No.  1666/QD-BHXH of the General Director of VSS promulgated on December 3, 2020, the new model health insurance card will begin to be implemented from April 1, 2021, replacing Decision No. 1313/QD-BHXH promulgated on December 2, 2014.

Printed embryos of health insurance cards according to the provisions of Decision No. 1313 /QD-BHXH have not been used up until the effective date of this Decision, and are allowed to continue to be used and granted to participants of health insurance.  While waiting for the replacement of the health insurance card under the provisions of this Decision, the health insurance card issued to the participant of health insurance is still valid, it will continue to be used for medical examination and treatment.

Information about the participant's set of health insurance card numbers along with the participant's address (place of residence or workplace) and the time of exemption from co-payment within the scope of the health insurance benefits when going to the participant's correct level of health care is updated on the next portal receive data on Health Insurance Medical Review system, data receiving portal and the VSS ‘s portal.

Overview of the meeting

At the meeting, Deputy General Director Tran Dinh Lieu emphasized that converting the old card model to the new one should not cause difficulties and troubles for the beneficiaries of the health insurance policy. The people and health care facilities covered by health insurance must be fully and clearly informed about changes and benefits when they are issued and used a new model health insurance card.

In the process of preparing for the implementation of the new model health insurance card, the Deputy General Director asked relevant units on their functions and duties, to review and adjust professional software and guide the provincial social security agencies to meet the requirements of printing, issuing and managing health insurance cards;  support for updating and statistical data on the use of card embryos;  notify the health insurance facilities of health insurance on the use of the new card template and make adjustments to the software connected to the Health Insurance Medical Review Portal of Vietnam Social Insurance ... Preparation steps should be accelerated, however,  must ensure accuracy and consistency.

About the laminating of new model health insurance cards after being printed, the provincial social insurance security actively arranges human resources to deploy plastic injection or hire plastic injection to grant participants to ensure the prescribed deadline.

 Compared with the current model of health insurance card, the new model of health insurance card has many differences that bring benefits to participants and medical facilities.  Specifically, the size of the new health insurance card will be more compact, making it convenient for people to preserve in their wallets, limiting the case of loss or damage of health insurance cards.  The paper weight of the card used has a thicker thickness and is laminated with plastic, increasing the durability and stiffness of the card.

 In particular, the new card number will be shorter with 10 characters of the participant's social insurance code, used to look up information about the health insurance card (replacing 15 characters of the current health insurance card number).  The back of the new card template has more detailed instructions on how to use the health insurance card, helps participants know how to look up information about the health insurance card and their benefits, understand how to contact the social insurance agency for guidance.  and provide answers related to the card and card usage.

 For health insurance facilities covered by health insurance, this health insurance card will overcome the problem of barcode blurring.  From there, it helps health insurance facilities of health insurance to use clear, accurate barcode readers and faster procedures.