Social insurance and health insurance policy within the Military is the foundation of the social security system for military staff members and their families. Therefore, researching and developing this policy constitute an important element that contributes to making the Military adept, compact, strong towards modernity, capable of fulfilling all assigned tasks.

Social insurance and health insurance policy represents the concretisation of our Party and State’s viewpoints and guidelines into resolutions, directives, and legal normative documents, aimed at better ensuring the rights to comprehensive and sufficient  participation and enjoyment of social insurance and health insurance services, granted to the people, including members of the armed forces. Grounded on resolutions, directives, and policies on social insurance and health insurance by our Party and State, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) have promulgated several documents, programmes, and plans with specific, scientific targets, guidelines, and measures in accordance with the Military’s task requirements and beneficiaries.

Adhering to directions of Viet Nam Social Security, over the years, MND Social Security has closely cooperated with relevant agencies in advising leaders of the MND on directing offices and units across the Military to synchronously implement measures for raising the quality of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance. It is worth noting that the work of propagating and disseminating social insurance and health insurance policies and laws across the entire Military has been carried out in an regular, in-depth, practical manner, while social insurance and health insurance payment and receipt have been under statutory regulations. Due regard has been paid to closely, opportunely granting social insurance books and health insurance cards and implementing regimes and policies for beneficiaries. Benefits relating to social insurance and health insurance have been sufficiently guaranteed. The process of appraising, managing, supervising, and forecasting medical examination and treatment expenses has been seriously maintained. Health insurance fund has been used to the right purpose and closely supervised by competent offices. More importantly, when COVID-19 pandemic broke out, MND Social Security advised the CMC and the MND to issue documents directing offices, units, and enterprises across the whole Military to provide timely financial assistance for employees and employers heavily affected by the pandemic.

However, there have been some weaknesses in mechanisms, policies, and statutory regulations on the Military’s social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance. Military staff members’ period of participation in social insurance could hardly reach 75% of retirement pension. Military staff members as non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and cadets at schools have lower one-time social insurance allowance and retirement pension than other beneficiaries. As for service men, it is hard for them to get paternity leave due to military peculiarities. Military staff members, especially non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who participate in social insurance less than 12 months will not be allowed to receive burial allowance. There have been no offices in charge of health insurance implementation for the standing militia force. There have been a lot of difficulties in the transfer of medical examination and treatment.

In the upcoming time, in order to turn social insurance and health insurance into the mainstay of the Military’s social security system and encourage all military staff members to keep their mind on their work, all-level party committees, commands, and persons in charge of social insurance and health insurance should continue raising their responsibility, proactively dealing with difficulties, and well implementing a number of measures as follows.

First, renewing and bettering the work of propagating and disseminating policies and laws on social insurance and health insurance. Doing so will enable all service men and women, defence employees and workers, and contract labourers within the Military and their families to be fully aware of the superiority of our socialist regime and our Party and State’s social security policy for the Military. Cadres in charge of social insurance and health insurance should give advice to party committees and commands of offices and units on renewing the contents, forms, and methods of propagation to make all service men and women, particularly non-commissioned officers, soldiers, defence employees and workers, and contract labourers thoroughly grasp benefits of social insurance and health insurance so that they will raise their responsibility for their task, actively take part in social insurance, and contribute to ensuring long-term social security. The contents of propagation must be comprehensive, brief, easy to remember, and easy to understand, with a focus on resolutions, directives, and guiding documents by higher echelons on social insurance and health insurance, especially the Law on Social Insurance, the Law on Health Insurance, the Law on Employment, and the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment. Besides, the work of propagating and disseminating social insurance and health insurance should be integrated into political and legal education.

A training on social insurance profession in the Military

Second, continuing giving advice on amending and supplementing laws and legal normative documents regarding social insurance and health insurance. The Military’s operations represent complex, high-intensity, dangerous peculiar labour; therefore, military staff members’ service depends on age and health under the Military’s regulations. Moreover, the period for calculating retirement pension and allowance of staff members under the MND’s management will depend on their service prescribed in the Law on Viet Nam People’s Army Officers, the Law on Professional Service Men and Women,  Defence Employees and Workers. According to the method of calculating retirement pension and allowance percentage stipulated in the current Law on Social Insurance, service of military staff members and employees in isolated, remote, border, sea, island areas will not be equivalent to that of others outside the Military. Besides, rights during the process of medical examination and treatment have yet to be ensured as several military infirmaries have yet to be recognised as district-level hospitals. Equipment of medical facilities located in isolated, remote, border, sea, and island areas (Truong Sa islands, DK1 Platform) has yet to be relevant to combat readiness and natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control. That necessitates MND Social Security continuing to give advice to  the General Political Department, the CMC, and the MND recommend our Party, State, National Assembly, and Government to amend and supplement laws and legal documents on social insurance and health insurance, especially the Law on Social Insurance, the Law on Health Insurance, the Law on Employment, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, and the Government’s decrees  in accordance with the Military’s particularities, such as age, working area, and period of participation in insurance. Significance should be attached to ensuring the continued period of participation in social insurance for non-commissioned officers and soldiers after their completion of military service as well as funeral fee and health insurance for members of the standing militia force.

Third, raising the quality and effectiveness of investigation and inspection work. Investigation and inspection play a role of importance to better guaranteeing rights of beneficiaries, opportunely detecting and settling shortcomings, and proposing amendments and supplementation. Thus, MND Social Security will continue closely cooperating with competent offices in advising the General Political Department, the CMC, and the MND to develop plans on investigating, inspecting, and supervising social insurance and health insurance work performed by offices, units, hospitals, and infirmaries across the Military so as to avoid profiting from social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance funds. It is important to step up administrative reform, raise the quality of social insurance settlement, collection, and expenditure, devolve responsibilities to offices and units, and closely control the payment of social insurance benefits for beneficiaries in a timely, sufficient, proper fashion.

Fourth, further applying information technology to insurance management and services. This measure acts as a determinant to raising the quality of insurance work in the Military, building E-Government, and realising digital transformation. To that end, MND Social Security will proactively assist the General Political Department and the MND in preparing information technology human resources and organising training courses on software use for cadres in charge of social insurance and health insurance across the Military. Due attention should be paid to implementing the Project on “building the information technology system for MND Social Security’s social insurance and health insurance management”, with a view to standardising insurance services, streamlining administrative procedures, and ensuring focalised, uniform, synchronous, close management and information safety at MND Social Security. Besides, consideration should be given to maintaining data links between MND Social Security and health insurance-covered medical facilities across the Military as the basis for appraising and paying medical care costs, creating a favourable condition for health insurance card holders, making contributions to improving troop health and modernising the Military.

Sr. Col. CAO XUAN THANG, Director of MND Social Security