Photo: Internet

The statistics were reported at a conference of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) on May 7 to review the sector’s performance in the first four months.

According to reports of VSS units, prolonged adverse impacts and complicated development of the pandemic have caused obstacles in the sector’s task performance in the first months of the year, especially in expanding the network of insurance card holders.

The number of social and health insurance card holders in the first months of 2021 recorded a year-on-year increase but recorded lower growth compared to December 2020.

As of May 6, more than 16 million people nationwide have social insurance cards, covering 32.17 per cent of people of working age.

Among those, nearly 15 million people have joined compulsory scheme and more than 1.1 million joined voluntarily.

There are more than 87 million people with health insurance cards, covering 89.44 per cent of the population and decreasing by 220,000 people compared to last year.

More people who lost jobs due to the outbreak in early 2020 are qualified for receiving lump-sum social insurance payments.

Although insurance membership network expansion has not reached expectations, the collection of health, social and unemployment insurance increased by 7.55 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The insurance debt reduced by 0.3 per cent compared to the same period last year because of production resumption in the first months of the year.

After listening to reports by VSS units, the VSS deputy general directors ordered the units to continue to complete insurance mechanisms and policies, especially give feedback on amended laws on social and health insurance, at the same time, address difficulties of local authorities, accelerate administrative reform, apply IT and renew communication channels to expand the network of voluntary social insurance and household health insurance members.

VSS general director Nguyen The Manh announced the results of the April Government meeting on May 5 during which the Prime Minister assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic was developing in a complicated and unpredictable direction, requiring ministries and sectors to be determined and innovative in performing assigned tasks.

The PM noted that sectors must not be negligent and must have new approaches in the fight against COVID-19.

The VSS general director said the whole sector had overcome challenges and basically completed assigned tasks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the future, the sector will face pressure.

The pandemic has become a common background for all sectors and the VSS should not lay blame on the pandemic as a reason of challenges, he said.

Amid the pandemic, the sector needs to make efforts and be creative to accomplish tasks, he said.

He asked VSS units to switch communication channels to online to avoid crowds, but the communication must still be attractive with short messages.

Insurance payment should be paid online through platforms like digital insurance app VssID.

He requested the VSS units to actively give feedback on amended social and health insurance laws and regulations.

The units must develop a list of difficulties while performing duties and report to the management board in order to find solutions.

Local VSS agencies must continue to order local people’s committees to establish local steering committees on developing insurance member networks.

Directors of local social insurance agencies are asked to develop the database of non-insurance card holders and insurance card holders to update it on VssID./.