The Effectiveness of Health Insurance Policy Implementation is Proactively Enhanced
09/01/2025 09:45 AM
According to Nguyễn Đức Hòa, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Social Security (VSS), in 2024, the entire industry proactively analyzed and assessed key indicators related to health insurance medical examination and treatment (HI-MET). Data from the HI examination and treatment system of VSS shows that, by the end of 2024, an estimated 183.6 million HI-examination and treatment visits will have been recorded nationwide (an increase of 9.6 million visits, equivalent to a 5.53% rise compared to 2023), with total proposed HI fund reimbursements exceeding VND 140 trillion (an increase of over VND 18.2 trillion, equivalent to a 15.2% rise compared to 2023).
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VSS and local social security offices have implemented various measures to control medical health insurance examination and treatment (HIMET) expenses while ensuring policyholders' benefits effectively. Specifically, VSS has proactively identified and assessed challenges and inconsistencies in practice, collaborated with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide official guidance to localities, and strengthened directives for provincial social security office to issue HIMET cost (10 online and 3 in-person for provinces with high cost increases) on HIMET cost control to safeguard policyholders' rights.
Following VSS’s directives and the new regulations of Decree No. 75/2023/ND-CP, local social security offices conducted direct meetings with medical facilities, prioritizing those with rising costs, and outlined key issues for analysis, discussion, and recommendations. Regular analyses and evaluations of HIMET spending, as well as cost (0.98% of total ), compared to VND 1.0989 trillion (1.09%) in the same period of 2023. Some provinces with significant rejected amounts include Thanh Hóa (VND 195.6 billion), Nghệ An (VND 120.8 billion), Ho Chi Minh City (VND 77.6 billion), Hanoi (VND 77.6 billion), Hải Phòng (VND 67.8 billion), Phú Thọ (VND 46.9 billion), and Thái Bình (VND 43.2 billion).
Assessing the effectiveness of HI review in 2024, Lê Văn Phúc, Director of the HI Implementation Department, noted that the increase in medical examination and treatment visits in 2024 was lower than in 2023, and the rise in total expenses was only 1% higher than in 2023. While costs increased, the rate of spending on medical services did not grow as much as that for technical service groups in 2023 (excluding bed-day costs).
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The estimated average cost per health insurance examination and treatment visit in 2024 is VND 882,000. Notably, December’s average spending did not surge as in previous years, when year-end costs typically spiked. VSS has also largely resolved outstanding HI premiums payment issues from before 2023 and ensured compliance with legal regulations on reimbursement and settlements. The total resolved pre-2022 outstanding HI premiums payment approved by the VSS Governing Body was VND 10.74858 trillion.
To improve the management and utilization of the HI fund, VSS has actively participated in and coordinated the central-level procurement of medicines, analyzed medical supply usage, monitored price fluctuations in tenders, and issued.
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