This student is one of 20 students who received between 200 million and 1 billion VND from the health insurance fund during the first 7 months of 2025, according to Vietnam Social Security (VSS). Other serious cases also received substantial support. A patient in Ho Chi Minh City with a respiratory tract infection and myelocytic leukemia received over 473 million VND. Similarly, a patient in Nam Dinh with lymphoma, epilepsy, and myelocytic leukemia received over 452 million VND.
The health insurance card is increasingly seen as a lifeline for those with serious illnesses requiring extended treatment, according to health experts. Many students facing dangerous conditions like sepsis, heart failure, and respiratory failure have their treatment costs covered by the insurance fund.
Health insurance coverage for students is steadily increasing. Statistics show that during the 2024-2025 school year, over 20.8 million students nationwide had health insurance, reaching a coverage rate of 98.4%, a nearly 1% increase compared to the previous school year. In just the first 6 months of 2025, the health insurance fund paid over 2,075 billion VND for 4.3 million student visits, increasing 17% and 7.4% respectively compared to the same period last year.
The government recently issued Decree 188/2025, stipulating new health insurance payment rates for this group. Accordingly, students receive a minimum 50% government subsidy for their health insurance. This means each student pays a maximum of approximately 631,800 VND annually, saving 252,720 VND compared to the previous school year.
According to VSS statistics, about 20.5 million students are eligible for health insurance (excluding children of military personnel and police officers who receive free cards). This means almost this entire group will receive a 50% government subsidy for their payments in the new school year.
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Electronic health insurance card integrated on the VNeID app. Photo: Hong Chieu |
Electronic health insurance card integrated on the VNeID app. Photo: Hong Chieu
By the end of 2024, over 95.52 million Vietnamese people had health insurance, achieving a coverage rate of 94.2% of the population. Last year, there were 186.2 million inpatient and outpatient visits covered by health insurance nationwide, with nearly 143,000 billion VND in claims (an increase of 18,685 billion VND compared to the same period in 2023). By the end of 2024, the health insurance fund had a surplus of 47,600 billion VND.
Le Nga
