People in extremely disadvantaged areas are given free health insurance cards.

(Baonghean) - Supporting health insurance payments for people in particularly difficult socio-economic areas is a humane policy of our Party and State. Implementing this policy, over the past years, Nghe An Social Insurance has been proactive, active, and fulfilled its tasks well, ensuring the people's right to health care. In particular, in the first 6 months of 2017, facing some specific difficulties, the efforts of the provincial Social Insurance sector are very commendable.

Ky Son is one of the mountainous districts with many socio-economic difficulties in Nghe An province. Proactively preparing the database for issuing health insurance cards in 2017, since the end of 2016, Ky Son District Social Insurance has issued a document advising the District People's Committee, directing communes to review, compile statistics, and make a list of beneficiaries of health insurance support.

Medical examination for people in Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district. Photo: Document

However, according to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quynh - Deputy Director of the District Social Insurance, this year the issuance of health insurance cards has encountered some difficulties. Specifically, for subjects in extremely disadvantaged villages, communes in Region III, Region II, Region I in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, the approved list from the Central Government was issued late (until April 28, 2017, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 582/QD-TTg on approving the list of extremely disadvantaged villages, communes in Region III, Region II, Region I in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2016-2020). This means that if we wait for the list to be issued, the health insurance policy for the above subjects will be delayed, affecting medical examination and treatment.

Therefore, to facilitate the people, from the beginning of 2017, the provincial Social Insurance has advocated "going one step ahead", consulting and receiving approval from the Provincial People's Committee on issuing health insurance cards in 2017 for ethnic minorities, people living in extremely difficult villages, communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas based on the list sent by the Provincial People's Committee to the Ethnic Committee for submission to the Prime Minister for approval according to the provisions of Decision No. 50/2016/QD-TTg. Immediately upon receiving instructions from the provincial Social Insurance, based on the data prepared since the end of 2016, the district Social Insurance quickly deployed the issuance of cards to the people.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quynh - Deputy Director of the District Social Insurance added that the next problem is that in the documents guiding the subjects to be granted cards from the state budget, the contribution support only mentions the concept of "particularly difficult areas", the scope is general, not specific. Therefore, the problem arises that there are some subjects who are ethnic minorities living in villages that are not particularly difficult villages in communes of region II, communes of region III, and some subjects who are people living in villages that are not particularly difficult villages (villages not on the list sent by the People's Committee of Nghe An province to the Ethnic Committee to submit to the Prime Minister according to Decision No. 50/QD-TTg) but that village is in a commune of region III (particularly difficult commune in ethnic minority and mountainous areas). This reason makes the relevant departments and branches not have the basis to issue health insurance cards to these subjects, so they have to temporarily stop to wait for instructions.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Cuong - Deputy Head of the Department of Social Insurance Books and Cards, Nghe An province said that to "remove obstacles", Nghe An province's Social Insurance has sent a document requesting the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Provincial Ethnic Committee to give opinions on determining the subjects to be granted health insurance cards according to their authority. To resolve this issue, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has sent a document requesting guidance from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ethnic Committee and Vietnam Social Insurance.

The response document of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health clearly stated that the issuance of health insurance cards to subjects is based on the provisions of current laws on health insurance, in which the criteria for determining criteria are that people are living in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions, communes with especially difficult socio-economic conditions approved by the Prime Minister.

Based on the direction of the Ministries, on May 10, 2017, the provincial Social Insurance, the provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Ethnic Minorities Committee of Nghe An province issued Official Dispatch No. 711/LN-SLDTB&XH-BDT-BHXH on the proposal of the implementation plan of the 2017 health insurance policy paid by the state budget.

On May 19, 2017, the Provincial People's Committee issued a directive in Official Dispatch No. 3538/UBND-VX on advising on the implementation plan of the 2017 health insurance policy paid by the State budget, accordingly, assigning the Department of Finance to preside over and coordinate with relevant departments, branches and sectors to propose funding sources to issue health insurance cards to the above subjects. Immediately after that, the Provincial Social Insurance issued a document guiding district-level units to issue health insurance cards to people belonging to the above subjects. Up to now, all of the above subjects have been issued health insurance cards, ensuring the right to medical examination and treatment.

The process of resolving problems of Nghe An provincial Social Insurance is assessed as proactive, positive and thorough. Not only ensuring the earliest possible issuance of cards to people, the provincial Social Insurance also directs the refund of the amount of money spent on purchasing health insurance cards or medical examination and treatment costs during the period when people have not been issued health insurance cards under the state support program.

People do medical examination and treatment procedures using health insurance cards at Tuong Duong District Medical Center. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Tuong Duong is one of the districts that has done a good job of refunding. Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoa - Director of Tuong Duong District Social Insurance said that the whole district has 148 villages within the scope of Decision 582, of which, there are 22 villages with about 6,000 people facing difficulties due to the concept of "particularly difficult areas" in the Decision.

Thanks to the timely direction of the provincial Social Insurance, Tuong Duong District Social Insurance quickly completed the work of issuing cards to these subjects, and at the same time, propagated and provided detailed instructions on refund information for the people to know.

“The refund is very simple. People only need to bring the health insurance card they purchased during the period when they were not granted a card under the state support program, or the bill for payment of medical examination, treatment, and medicine within the scope of health insurance payment to the district social insurance office to be refunded in cash immediately. Even if people lose their receipts or bills, if they come to notify, the social insurance can still look up the medical examination and treatment information on the interconnected system to resolve it. Up to this point, according to preliminary statistics, we have refunded more than 10 million VND to dozens of people,” Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoa affirmed./.

Phuoc Anh