Residents in Ba Ria - Vung Tau are keen to continue receiving health insurance support. Previously, contribution support for over 1,700 individuals in voluntary social insurance and more than 52,000 health insurance enrollees ceased following the merger with Ho Chi Minh City.
While awaiting new directives from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, the local social insurance agency advises residents to proactively continue their contributions to maintain their benefits.
On July 2, Nguyen Van Quang, a relative of 73 year old female patient in Ho Chi Minh City’s Rach Dua Ward, visited Vung Tau Hospital to process the receipt of health insurance medication. There, he was informed that the health insurance card of the patient had expired and needed to be renewed for use.
The policy providing 100 percent health insurance contribution support for the elderly woman and others like her has expired.
This support was previously granted under Resolution No. 12/2024/NQ-HDND, effective July 17, 2024, which specifically aided Ba Ria - Vung Tau residents aged 65 and above. However, with the merger and operation of Ho Chi Minh City as of July 1, this resolution is no longer in effect.
When visiting Tam Long Ward to purchase a health insurance card, local inhabitant Le Van Ba mentioned that he has a pre-existing condition, but since the health insurance support ceased on July 1, he has proactively purchased a three-month health insurance plan to alleviate the burden of medical expenses while awaiting new policies.
For Duong Thi Teo, an elderly bread vendor in Long Dien Commune, the expense of a health insurance card presents a considerable financial burden given her modest income. She anticipated receiving a free health insurance card from Ba Ria - Vung Tau starting August 2024, which would significantly ease her access to medical care. Consequently, she expresses her hope that this support will continue once she becomes a resident of Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the local social insurance agency, to support people who participate in voluntary social insurance and families that buy household-based health insurance, the People's Council of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province previously issued four resolutions and allocated funding for these support policies from 2020 to 2024.
Specifically, Resolution No. 04/2024/NQ-HDND outlined the criteria for establishing and determining the number of members in local public security teams, along with allowances, support levels, and operational funding for these grassroots security forces.
Under this resolution, all of the cost of issuing health insurance cards and two-thirds of the lowest voluntary social insurance premium (as regulated by law) are covered. The resolution has supported 1,518 individuals with health insurance cards, totaling VND958,440,600 and 1,722 participants in voluntary social insurance with funding exceeding VND2.2 billion.
Resolution No. 12/2024/NQ-HDND regulated support policies for health insurance cards for residents aged 65 and above who permanently reside in the province. The policy covered 100 percent of the health insurance card cost and had supported 50,687 people, with a total amount of over VND32 billion.
Proposal to support health insurance cards for elderly persons
According to the local social insurance agency, to safeguard the rights of residents during the restructuring of provincial administrative units and the implementation of a two-tier local government model, the agency has requested the People's Committee of the former Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province to direct departments, agencies, and relevant units to complete the disbursement of support funds for voluntary social insurance and health insurance. This includes 1,722 voluntary social insurance participants (over VND 2.2 billion) and 52,205 health insurance participants (over VND32 billion).
Additionally, a representative of the agency said that it had proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee submit to the HCMC People's Council a continuation of supportive policies for voluntary social insurance and health insurance participants to ensure maximum benefit for residents of the three former provinces.
Furthermore, the agency encouraged residents—while awaiting the HCMC People's Council’s resolution—to proactively continue paying their own contributions to maintain uninterrupted participation in household-based health insurance or voluntary social insurance schemes. The agency, along with relevant HCMC authorities, will continue to advise the HCMC People’s Committee in submitting this matter to the City People's Council.
