Proactively 'resolving difficulties' in implementing insurance policies

(Baonghean) - Social insurance and health insurance are two pillars of the social security system, contributing to the implementation of fairness and maintaining political and social stability. However, the implementation of social insurance and health insurance in the province still faces some difficulties, requiring efforts and determination to overcome with many synchronous solutions of the insurance industry...

In mid-May 2016, at Nghe An Oncology Hospital, the Youth Union of Vinh City Social Insurance organized a program to distribute free porridge and promote the 2014 revised Law on Health Insurance. Attending this meaningful volunteer event, we were truly moved by the responsibility and community spirit of the union members and young people. They had to wake up at 3am to prepare a pot of delicious, nutritious porridge and were not afraid to stand in the hot summer noon, constantly scooping porridge, gently handing it to hundreds of poor patients waiting in line.

Ms. Dang Thi Ai Lien (Hung Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen) - a patient who received porridge at the volunteer program, emotionally shared: "I have been treated for cancer at the hospital for nearly 10 days now, a serious illness, high medicine costs, and no conditions for additional nutrition. Receiving nutritious porridge here, I was very touched. Then, many of my questions about health insurance were enthusiastically answered by the children, guiding me through the necessary procedures."

Officers and members of Vinh City Social Insurance give free porridge to poor patients.

It is known that the funding for the program is entirely from the generous contributions of officers and employees of Vinh City Social Insurance. At the volunteer event, more than 600 portions of nutritious porridge were given away, along with leaflets and posters explaining some articles in the 2014 amended Law on Health Insurance to patients and their families.

The first implementation but the results recorded were beyond expectations, the program has created a bridge of sharing, empathy and humanity; at the same time, created opportunities to approach and directly propagate to patients and their families - the beneficiaries and those who have many concerns about the health insurance policy about the new points of the revised law.

This is one of the good ways, in the group of solutions to "overcome difficulties" of the provincial Insurance industry in implementing social insurance and health insurance policies. Accordingly, the challenge of Nghe An Insurance industry at present is that although the development of social insurance and health insurance participants has increased, ensured and exceeded the targets assigned by superiors, in general, the potential has not been fully exploited.

People learn about the leaflets promoting the Law on Social Insurance and Health Insurance amended in 2014

Statistics in 2015 showed that the rate of people participating in health insurance accounted for 76.95% of the population, exceeding the assigned target of 74.4%. In particular, some groups of subjects had high coverage rates such as students 91.34%; people from near-poor households 90%. As of December 31, 2015, the total number of people participating in social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance was 2,448,928, accounting for 3% of the total number of participants nationwide.

Not satisfied with the results achieved, the provincial Insurance sector has made efforts to implement many solutions to "cover" the social insurance and health insurance network in the whole province, focusing on propaganda. In the first quarter of 2016, the provincial Social Insurance signed a program to coordinate the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies with departments and branches: the Fatherland Front Committee, the Provincial Labor Federation, the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, the Department of Information and Communications, Nghe An Newspaper, Nghe An Radio and Television Station to mobilize the participation of the entire political system in implementing social insurance and health insurance policies.

Based on the coordination programs, conferences to disseminate and popularize the Law on Social Insurance and Health Insurance and business dialogues were held from the province to the district, with the participation of target groups at the grassroots level, contributing to bringing social insurance and health insurance policies to the people and workers in the province. Through these conferences, difficulties of individuals and units in the process of participating in and enjoying social insurance and health insurance policies were promptly resolved.

Along with that, the provincial Social Insurance has organized training and granted certificates to 1,338 collection agents, and established 458 collection agents. Up to now, the whole province has 1,200 social insurance and health insurance collection points in 427 communes, wards and towns, creating favorable conditions for people to access and participate in social insurance and health insurance. In particular, in 2015, the provincial Social Insurance has basically completed the investigation and list of households participating in health insurance, reaching a rate of 96.5%. This is a rate that is highly appreciated in the top of the national Social Insurance.

Workers complete unemployment insurance procedures at Nghe An Employment Service Center. Photo: Minh Quan

From the beginning of 2016 to now, with the application of the Law on Social Insurance and the Law on Health Insurance amended in 2014, the policies and regimes have many innovations and supplements, while the previous problems still need to be resolved; the implementation guidelines are slow, not specific, and some policies and regimes have not been guided to resolve, causing many difficulties in the direction, management and implementation of the sector's staff. Regarding social insurance, the situation of social insurance arrears is still common, many employers owe large amounts of social insurance such as: Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company 24, Nghe An Petroleum Construction Corporation, Nghe An Transport and Trading Joint Stock Company, Dredging and Seaway Construction Joint Stock Company II, Truong Son Automobile Industry Joint Stock Company...

Faced with that reality, the provincial Insurance sector has proactively and regularly coordinated with relevant departments and sectors to urge the collection of social insurance and health insurance premiums with the aim of resolving the regime for employees; organized and coordinated the organization of many debt collection teams, inspection teams, and audit teams at units with large and long-term debts. As a result, in 2015, the interdisciplinary team worked with 653 units employing laborers with large and long-term debts, made records of administrative violations against 285 violating units, sanctioned 133 units, enforced 48 units, and recovered an amount of 72,556 million VND.

In parallel with the above measures, the provincial Social Insurance organized a survey of workers who had terminated their labor contracts, were eligible to take leave to enjoy social insurance benefits, but had not been resolved due to their social insurance debts, in order to organize dialogues and remove difficulties for businesses. With the synchronous implementation of measures, in 2015, the social insurance and health insurance debts in the province decreased by 1.35% compared to 2014 (excluding the debt of the State budget for health insurance contributions for the subjects). Some localities with low outstanding debts: Yen Thanh, Tan Ky, Ky Son, Do Luong...

Mr. Le Truong Giang - Director of the Provincial Social Insurance affirmed: Thanks to the efforts to implement positive, proactive solutions, suitable to the characteristics of each unit, the Insurance sector of Nghe An province has achieved many remarkable results. In the coming time, Nghe An Provincial Social Insurance will continue to maintain and be active, creative in many effective groups of solutions, promote administrative reform, change the style from administration to service, from pre-inspection to post-inspection and increase the application of information technology in performing tasks, creating maximum conditions for people and businesses in the transaction process.

Phuoc Anh