The Ministry of Education and Training will propose to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance to review and amend Circular 41 to extend the deadline for paying health insurance premiums for students, allowing parents to choose to pay every three months, with the payment period potentially postponed to December.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia, Decree No. 105 dated November 15, 2014, guiding the implementation of some articles of the Health Insurance Law, stipulates that students are supported by the state with a minimum of 30% of their health insurance contributions, while they must pay 70%. Students from poor households, families of war invalids and martyrs, etc., receive different levels of support.

The amended Law on Health Insurance also stipulates that health insurance is mandatory for all citizens, including students. Joint Circular No. 41 of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance stipulates that health insurance premiums can be collected every six months or annually.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Nghia.

"However, according to the Ministry of Education's investigation, some schools have required students to pay 12 months' worth of fees at once at the beginning of the school year, causing difficulties for students and their families who have to pay multiple fees at the same time, leading to public outrage," Ms. Nghia said.

Therefore, the Ministry of Education has proposed several solutions, such as issuing guidelines for schools to collect fees every six months and not at the beginning of the school year to reduce the financial burden on parents.

Secondly, the Ministry recommends that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance review and amend Circular No. 41 to extend the payment period for health insurance for students. Instead of paying every 6 months or 12 months, they could pay every 3 months, and the payment could be postponed until December.

Deputy Minister Nghia stated that health insurance is a major policy, and implementing health insurance for students aims to ensure their right to medical examination and treatment, thereby educating them about compassion and sharing with the community.

"Allocating 7% to secondary schools and 5% to preschools for primary healthcare services for students is necessary. This funding will be used by educational institutions within the national education system to purchase medicines and common medical supplies to organize initial medical examinations and treatment for students," Ms. Nghia said.

Currently, given the reality that many schools lack adequate facilities for their health rooms and sufficient medical staff, the Deputy Minister stated that the Ministry of Education will coordinate with the Ministry of Health to continue directing the improvement of the school health system, especially enhancing the capacity of health rooms to provide effective primary healthcare in schools, and using the funds allocated from the health insurance fund appropriately and efficiently.

"There have been reports that, in addition to health insurance, some other insurance funds are also being introduced into schools. The Ministry of Education has issued a directive instructing schools to only collect health insurance as required by law, and not to collect voluntary insurance within schools," Deputy Minister Nghia said.

According to VnExpress