Moving toward Universal Coverage of Social Health Insurance in Vietnam : Assessment and Options
To address the growth in resultant out-of-pocket (OOP) payments and associated problems of financial barriers to access, the government issued several policies aimed at expanding coverage throughout the 1990s and 2000s, particularly for the poor and other vulnerable groups. Universal coverage (UC) can be an elusive concept and is about three objectives: (a) equity (linking care to need, and not to ability to pay); (b) financial protection (ensuring that health care use does not lead to impoverishment); (c) effective access to a comprehensive set of quality services (ensuring that providers make the right diagnosis and prescribe a treatment that is appropriate and affordable; and (d) to ensure that the financing needed to achieve UC is mobilized in a fiscally sustainable manner, and is used efficiently and equitably. The objective of this report is to assess the implementation of Vietnam social health insurance (SHI) and provide options for moving toward UC, with a view to contributing to the law revision process. It analyzes progress to date on the two major goals of the master plan. The report assesses Vietnam's readiness to meet these goals, the challenges it will face in achieving UC, and key reforms needed to overcome those challenges. It does so through a health financing lens, focusing on how resources are mobilized, pooled, and allocated, and how services are purchased. The report also examines the stewardship of financing that is, the organization, management, and governance of SHI as it has direct implications for achieving UC. The report ends by pulling together the recommendations in the form of an implementation road map.
Summary: | To address the growth in resultant
out-of-pocket (OOP) payments and associated problems of
financial barriers to access, the government issued several
policies aimed at expanding coverage throughout the 1990s
and 2000s, particularly for the poor and other vulnerable
groups. Universal coverage (UC) can be an elusive concept
and is about three objectives: (a) equity (linking care to
need, and not to ability to pay); (b) financial protection
(ensuring that health care use does not lead to
impoverishment); (c) effective access to a comprehensive set
of quality services (ensuring that providers make the right
diagnosis and prescribe a treatment that is appropriate and
affordable; and (d) to ensure that the financing needed to
achieve UC is mobilized in a fiscally sustainable manner,
and is used efficiently and equitably. The objective of this
report is to assess the implementation of Vietnam social
health insurance (SHI) and provide options for moving toward
UC, with a view to contributing to the law revision process.
It analyzes progress to date on the two major goals of the
master plan. The report assesses Vietnam's readiness to
meet these goals, the challenges it will face in achieving
UC, and key reforms needed to overcome those challenges. It
does so through a health financing lens, focusing on how
resources are mobilized, pooled, and allocated, and how
services are purchased. The report also examines the
stewardship of financing that is, the organization,
management, and governance of SHI as it has direct
implications for achieving UC. The report ends by pulling
together the recommendations in the form of an
implementation road map. |
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