The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has spent an additional VND300 billion ($14 million) on providing the poor with free-of-charge health insurance cards this year. The funding, sourced from the state budget, will benefit the needy and ethnic minorities in the ten cities and provinces of Bac Kan, Haiphong, Hung Yen, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc, Long An and Dong Thap. Currently, only 68% of the population has health insurance, mostly employees in the state-run sector, social welfare beneficiaries and ethnic people. Vietnam is likely to raise the percentage of health insurance coverage to more than 70% of the national population by 2015 and 80% by 2020. To encourage the entire population to join the health insurance network, experts have emphasized the need to streamline administrative procedures and increase the quality of medical service as well as the attitude of health workers toward insured patients. The country has spent VND107.53 trillion on assisting disadvantaged people in buying health insurance in the 2012-2015 period. (baodientu.chinhphu.vn 20, Tien Phong – Pioneer Dec 20 p5, Thoi Bao Tai Chinh – Financial Times Dec 20 p2)
