Amid difficulties caused by diseases and natural disasters, social and health insurance policies, Vietnam’s major social security policies, have been effectively implemented, said an official at a conference held on January 14.

General Director of Vietnam Social Security Nguyen The Manh said the most important task ahead is to expand the coverage of social and health insurances toward a goal of reaching all people nationwide.

In 2020, about 88 million people or 90.85% of the population joined the health insurance network, up 25.6% from 2015. The figure meant Vietnam has basically completed its universal health insurance target ahead of schedule.

The social insurance network also expanded, having more than 16.16 million participants (32.7% of the workforce), including over 1.12 million voluntary ones. The number of voluntary participants doubled that of 2019.

The collection of social insurance and health insurance premiums exceeded the revenue estimate set for 2020 by 1%.

Manh attributed the growth, despite economic slowdown that caused people to lose their jobs, to efforts made by the sector and its collaboration with other sectors and units in implementing communication campaigns and other synchronous measures.

The work will continue this year, he added.