Deputy Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang
According to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the fourth Covid-19 epidemic that broke out in the southern largest city last year has driven nearly 800 elderly people alone and nearly 730 people of working age from poor households into difficult circumstances. Worse, over 2,200 Covid-19 orphans were left without the care of their parents. Therefore, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City proposed specific policies to take care of and support the elderly, orphans and people in difficult circumstances.
This is a specific policy to take care of and support the vulnerable populations citywide in order to ensure that no one is left behind.
Beneficiaries are the elderly, orphans and people with difficult circumstances who have not yet been entitled to social policies according to Decree 20. Pensioners, and social insurance benefit brackets and those enjoying monthly social allowance are not entitled to this policy.
Orphans in HCMC are given gifts
Specifically, under the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City’s proposed policy, lonely elderly people are eligible for a monthly amount of VND480,000 a person. Moreover, they are given a free health insurance card.
Meanwhile, people of working age from 16 to 60 years old from poor households who have had a work accident, traffic accident or other accident have been granted free health insurance cards for poor households but have not yet received insurance benefits or monthly social allowance and poor orphans will receive monthly support of VND480,000 each.
For orphans in difficult circumstances, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City proposes to support tuition fees for preschool children, public and non-public high school students and continuing education students equal to the tuition fee set by the People's Council.
Particularly, children studying at private schools will receive an amount of support equal to that of public schools’ tuition fees. Children are provided with a free health insurance card. Accordingly, they will be given a monthly amount ranging from VND 480,000 to VND 1.2 million a person.
The support package will be carried out from May 1, 2022, to the end of 2023.
Furthermore, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has a report on specific policies on strengthening and improving the capacity of health stations in districts and wards in the period of safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of the Covid-19 epidemic and until 2025. The pilot period for the supporting policies will be until the end of 2025.
According to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the grassroots healthcare stations in districts and wards play an important role in preventive medical activities, disease prevention and control, and medical examination and treatment and primary healthcare.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 310 grassroots medical stations with more than 2,014 medical workers including 276 doctors, 163 contract doctors and 28 doctors from big hospitals to help their peers in district facilities.
Therefore, in order to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment and gain patients’ trust in healthcare stations in districts, Ho Chi Minh City needs to have policies to attract good medical workers for local healthcare institutions.
Specifically, doctors who are participating in a pilot program to practice at a general hospital attached to a health station will receive a support level of VND 60 million for 18 months. Nurses and midwives who are participating in practice at the health station receive an amount of VND 30 million as support for 9 months.
In addition, retired doctors who are willing to work in district medical facilities will enjoy a salary of VND9 million per month while elderly nurses will have a salary of VND7 million a month.
The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City also proposed that sanitation workers and security staff working at the health station will be given a salary of VND 5.5 million a month.
Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Phan Van Mai, Chairwoman of the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thi Le, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City To Thi Bich Chau, Head of Propaganda Department of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue attended the meeting.
