Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, speaks at the meeting.

Opening the conference, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh asked participants to focus on analysing and assessing achievements and shortcomings of the implementation of the Resolution and propose policies, orientations, targets and solutions to improve the role of the Party leadership over social insurance and health insurance.

Fulfilling key tasks and developing the social insurance and health insurance system

At the conference, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Do Ngoc An spoke about the implementation of the Resolution. During the 2012-20 period, Party committees and authorities at all levels led and directed the implementation of the Resolution with the issuance of related documents and guidelines.

Cooperation in information dissemination from central level to localities was carried out effectively while inspection and supervision tasks were also implemented, helping to raise public awareness of the importance of social insurance and health insurance. Also, Party committees and authorities at all levels directed the implementation of groups of solutions set by the Resolution, bringing in following results:

- The system of policies and laws on social insurance and health insurance continued to be improved in line with the socio-economic development of the country. The payment of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance benefits was carried out in line with the laws. The number of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance participants kept increasing annually. The number of health insurance participants exceeded the set target. Health insurance participants’ benefits were expanded and financial sources for health examination and treatment at medical establishments were ensured. (As of December 31, 2020, the number of social insurance participants reached 16.188 million, equivalent to 33.5 per cent of people of working age. Of which, 15.064 million are compulsory social insurance participants, and 1.124 million are voluntary social insurance participants, a ten-fold increase in comparison with 2012, and reaching a coverage rate of 2.2 per cent, higher than the target of 1.2 per cent set by the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No 28-NQ/TW about reforming social insurance policies. The number of unemployment insurance participants was 13.324 million, increasing by 5.05 million in comparison with 2012, equivalent to 27 per cent of the population of working age. By the end of 2020, almost 88 million people joined health insurance, accounting for 90.97 per cent of the population. So, Vietnam has basically fulfiled the target of universal health insurance coverage).

- Investment restructure of the Health Insurance Fund shifted toward safety. The Fund has gradually become a basic financial source to serve medical examination and treatment, contributing to reducing healthcare costs for people.

- Social insurance and health insurance service quality has improved. Administrative procedures were simplified and State management over social insurance and health insurance was strengthened. 

Co-chairs of the conference

- The social insurance policy has replaced and compensated for part of the income of employees when they encounter risks, contributing to stabilizing the lives of millions of workers when they retire or are unable to work. The health insurance policy has proved and promoted its key role in the social security system, helping people access healthcare services and helping to improve medical services, towards improving health quality of people and the community, and contributing to reducing poverty among vulnerable groups, particularly poor and nearly poor people and those living in remote and mountainous areas.

Party attention and direction with involvement of the whole political system

Speaking at the conference, leaders of ministries, sectors and localities agreed that Resolution 21-NQ/TW has a very important meaning in the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies, demonstrating the Party’s deep and comprehensive attention in directing the implementation of social insurance and health insurance tasks. With the involvement of the whole political system, the implementation of Resolution 21-NQ/TW over the past eight years has brought about positive changes and meaningful achievements, contributing to creating a foundation for sustainable socio-economic development. 

During the 2012-2020 period, under the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels, social insurance and health insurance policies have gradually proved and promoted their role as a key pillar of social security policies. During the implementation of Resolution 21-NQ/TW, Party committees, ministries and sectors mastered and disseminated information about the importance of social insurance and health insurance policies; synchronously carried out measures and incorporated the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies with socio-economic development programmes and social security policies; promoted the development of business and production and increased income for people and employees to raise the social insurance coverage rate; simplified administrative procedures and social insurance policies and improved service quality; innovated operation methods of the social insurance and health insurance system; paid attention to inspection, auditing and supervision over the enforcement of laws on social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance; and effectively used and managed the social insurance and health insurance funds.

Targets and tasks in the future 

Apart from achievements, participants at the conference also discussed shortcomings in the implementation of Resolution 21-NQ/TW such as the development of social insurance participants failing to fulfil the target set in the Resolution; social insurance and health insurance debts were still recorded in many localities; abuse of social insurance and health insurance policies; slow payment for medical examination and treatment expenses covered by health insurance; and quality of medical examination and treatment services covered by health insurance failing to meet the requirements.

Discussing reasons for these shortcomings, the participants said they were attributed to the lack of direction and management of some Party committees and localities about social insurance and health insurance tasks; the ineffective cooperation between State management agencies and social insurance agencies in managing, deploying, supervising and inspecting the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies; a number of cadres and public employees lacked professional skills; and the completion of related institutions failed to meet the requirements of the development of social insurance participants. 

Closing the meeting, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh said the enhancement of Party leadership over social insurance and health insurance tasks during the 2012-2020 period was the right policy of the Party and State, meeting people’s aspirations and helping to bring social insurance and health insurance policies into life, contributing to fulfilling the targets of ensuring social security sustainably, stabilising politics, security and national defence, and narrowing the development gap between different regions of the country.

Participants at the meeting

He stressed that as the country’s economy still faced many difficulties, and people’s lives were seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Party and State paid great attention to social security, of which social insurance and health insurance were two great policies that played a key role in the social security system of the country. Therefore, he asked relevant ministries, agencies, authorities and Party committees to continue taking measures to manage and direct the effective implementation of social insurance and health insurance tasks as follows:

- Continuing to manage and direct social insurance and health insurance tasks with orientations and missions set in the socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2030 period: “Implementing universal health insurance, targeting to reach a health insurance coverage rate of 95 per cent of the population”; and “Completing the legal system on social insurance and health insurance towards universal social insurance, developing the social insurance system into a modern, flexible, diversified, multi-tier and international integrated system; Continuing to modernize the management of social insurance professionally and effectively; Targeting to have 60 per cent of the labour force participating in social insurance and 45 per cent of the labour force participating in unemployment insurance”.

- Implementing orientations, solutions and missions set by the sixth session of the 12^th Party Central Committee on a number of issues relating to innovating and arranging the apparatus of the political system to make it operate more effectively and efficiently; continuing to renew the organisation and management system to improve the operation quality and efficiency of public units; enhancing healthcare and improving health for people in the new context; population tasks; and by the Resolution of the seventh session of the 12^th Party Central Committee on reforming social insurance policies, thus helping to create foundation for the development of social insurance and health insurance services and improvement of quality and efficiency of the social insurance and health insurance sector.

Participants at the conference

- Continuing leading and directing social insurance and health insurance tasks as the country sets a target of sustainable and rapid economic development. In that context, demand for services, particularly healthcare services, will increase in terms of both quantity and quality; and requirements for ensuring social security and social equality will also increase while the State’s resources are limited, urging the participation and sharing of all economic sectors and people.

- Continuing to lead and direct social insurance and health insurance tasks in the context of the country’s deep and wide international integration with obligation to fulfil international commitments and treaties in many fields, including social insurance and health insurance; continuing to reform social insurance policies as well as innovating operation methods of the social insurance and health insurance system; improving the capacity of staff working in the field of social insurance and health insurance; expanding international cooperation; promoting the application of information technology and modernisation of the social insurance and health insurance management system./.