On March 27, the Ministry of Health held a conference to introduce new regulations under the Health Insurance Law (BHYT) and to gather feedback on a draft decree detailing its implementation.

At the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn stated that the amendments to the BHYT Law mark a significant step in administrative reform, facilitating access for citizens, reducing paperwork, advancing digital transformation, and enhancing the efficiency of health insurance policies. The Ministry of Health is working to finalize the draft decree to address practical challenges.

According to Vũ Nữ Anh, Deputy Director of the Health Insurance Department at the Ministry of Health, the draft decree focuses on three main areas: detailing and guiding the implementation of certain legal provisions, resolving difficulties arising from existing decrees (146, 75, and 02), and addressing practical issues in health insurance medical services and payment procedures.

Under the draft, health insurance contribution rates, government support levels, and payment responsibilities remain at 4.5% of monthly salary, pension, or the basic wage.

For government-subsidized health insurance contributions, the current support levels for disadvantaged groups—including low-income individuals and ethnic minorities—will remain unchanged, even if some ethnic minorities are no longer classified as living in economically disadvantaged areas.

A notable change in this draft is the proposal to increase the minimum government subsidy for health insurance contributions for students in grades 1-12 to 50%, up from the current 30%.

Explaining this proposal, Vũ Nữ Anh noted that the Health Insurance Department has received feedback highlighting that students receive less financial support under the current scheme compared to those enrolled through household-based health insurance.

"If students enroll in household-based health insurance, they may receive greater financial support than the current 30% subsidy. Therefore, the Ministry of Health proposes increasing this subsidy to at least 50% to ensure fairness," she said.

This subsidy applies to primary and secondary school students (grades 1-12), while university students will continue to receive the current 30% support. According to policy impact assessments, the government will allocate approximately 3.7 trillion VND to support health insurance contributions for school students.

Source: Tuoi Tre