Vietnam Enhances Health Insurance for Students Ahead of New Academic Year

On September 4, Vietnam's Social Security Administration organized an online exchange program themed "Health Insurance for Students - Health Backpack for the New Academic Year 2026-2027." The program, held on the Vietnam Social Security Administration's portal, aimed to provide information, consultation, and timely answers to public concerns regarding social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance policies, with a particular focus on student health insurance ahead of the new academic year. According to the Vietnam Social Security Administration, social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance are crucial social security policies that contribute to ensuring the rights of citizens and employees, while also forming the foundation for sustainable social stability and development. Health insurance, in particular, plays a practical role in caring for and protecting public health. For students, participating in health insurance helps them receive healthcare services from school and reduces the financial burden on families in case of illness or disease. As of the end of August 2026, it is estimated that 22.59 million people nationwide participated in social insurance, including 19.86 million in mandatory social insurance and 2.72 million in voluntary social insurance. The number of people participating in unemployment insurance is estimated to reach 17.91 million, and the number participating in health insurance reached 98.81 million. The total collected amount for social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance by the end of August 2026 is estimated to be VND 454.8 trillion. Alongside the expansion of coverage, the benefits for participants continue to be ensured. In the first eight months of 2026, approximately 5.84 million people nationwide received benefits for sickness, maternity, rest, and health recovery. Nearly 550,000 people received unemployment benefits, and over 11,500 people received vocational training support. For health insurance, healthcare facilities received approximately 131.54 million visits for examination and treatment, with a proposed payment cost of about VND 118,430 billion. Notably, the number of people receiving lump-sum social insurance payments in the first eight months of 2026 continued to decrease compared to the same period in 2025. The Vietnam Social Security Administration attributes this result to the impact of new regulations in the 2024 Social Insurance Law, along with increased propaganda and advocacy efforts to enhance employees' confidence in social insurance policies, thereby encouraging long-term participation and benefit realization. In the context of the new academic year 2026-2027, providing comprehensive and accurate information on student health insurance policies is increasingly practical. This is also the time when parents, students, and schools pay attention to contribution rates, payment methods, benefits for medical examination and treatment, initial registration for medical care, the use of health insurance card information, and related new regulations. During the online exchange, experts and representatives from the operational units of the Vietnam Social Security Administration directly received and answered readers' questions about student health insurance. They also discussed issues related to social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance policies that are of public interest. Through this program, the Vietnam Social Security Administration hopes to bring policy information closer to the people, helping students, parents, and schools understand health insurance policies correctly, participate fully, and better enjoy their health insurance benefits. It also aims to create an additional direct interaction channel for the Vietnam Social Security sector to listen to, receive, and address difficulties and arising issues in practice. At the online exchange, guests and experts answered approximately 70 questions from readers. The questions focused on various important topics such as the medical benefits for students under health insurance, regulations on health insurance contributions for the new academic year, health insurance policies for students residing in areas with difficult/especially difficult socio-economic conditions or safe zones. Additionally, many questions were related to social insurance policies for household businesses, voluntary social insurance, as well as unemployment benefits and unemployment insurance policies under the Employment Law. Information Source: Nhan Dan