Integrating the Poor into Universal Health Coverage in Vietnam

This case study is aimed at providing a descriptive assessment of the key features of Vietnam's Social Health Insurance (SHI), focusing on the impediments to integrating the poor into universal coverage. The trajectory of SHI in Vietnam is similar to that of many other countries in the East Asi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Somanathan, Aparnaa, Dao, Huong Lan, Tien, Tran Van
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington DC 2013
Subjects:	ability to pay abuse access to health care access to hospital access to services Adult mortality Adult mortality rate adverse selection aged ambulatory care Capitation capitation payment capitation system certification child delivery child health Clinical laboratory clinics Communicable diseases contraception Contraceptive prevalence contribution rate cost control cost-effectiveness delivery system Dental care Dependency ratio developing countries diagnosis Diagnostic Assessment Dialysis doctors drug list drugs economic growth Economic Review elderly Emergency services enrollees equity in access fee schedule Fee-for-service fee-for-service basis Fee-for-service payment fertility fertility rate financial barriers financial protection financial risks general practitioners government agencies gross domestic product Gynecology health care Health Care Program health care providers health care system Health Coverage Health Economics Health Expenditure health expenditures health facilities health financing health financing system Health Insurance health insurance funds health insurance program health insurance schemes Health Organization health outcomes health policy health risks health sector health services health spending health status Health Strategy Health System Health System Financing health systems Health Systems Strengthening healthcare healthcare services hospital autonomy hospital beds hospital care hospital revenues Hospital Services hospitals ill health illnesses immunization incentives for providers incidence analysis income income countries income elasticity Income inequality Indexes inequities Infant Infant mortality Infant mortality rate Infant mortality rates infection rates informal payments informal sector inpatient care insurance package insurance premium insurance premiums insurance system insurers Integration labor force Life expectancy Life expectancy at birth live births local governments market economy Maternal mortality Maternal mortality rate medical care medical care costs medical education medical equipment Medicines midwives Ministry of Health minority morbidity mortality National Health national health insurance national health insurance fund National Health System Neonatal mortality normal deliveries nurses nursing nursing care nursing homes Nutrition outpatient services patients payments for health care Physician Physicians pocket payments policy change Policy Document policy formulation population density population groups populous countries pregnant women prenatal care prescriptions preventive care price controls primary care private hospital sector private pharmacies private sector probability progress provider payment provincial hospital provincial hospitals provision of care public health Public health expenditure public health infrastructure Public health services Public Health System Public hospital public hospitals public providers Public Provision public sector quality of health quality of health care quality of services quality services referrals rehabilitation research institutions resource allocation respect rural areas rural population sanitation sanitation facilities school children service delivery service provider service providers Skilled birth attendance Social Affairs Social Health Insurance social mobilization Social Security technical capacity tertiary levels Tuberculosis under-five mortality universal access Universal Health Insurance Coverage urban development urbanization user fees village health workers visits vulnerable groups woman workers working-age population
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13315

Description
Summary:	This case study is aimed at providing a descriptive assessment of the key features of Vietnam's Social Health Insurance (SHI), focusing on the impediments to integrating the poor into universal coverage. The trajectory of SHI in Vietnam is similar to that of many other countries in the East Asia and Pacific region. The poor were covered under a separate Health Care Fund for the Poor to begin with. The 2009 Law on Health Insurance merged all of the different programs into one. Health insurance premiums for the poor were fully subsidized by the government and enrolment became mandatory, resulting in almost complete enrollment of the poor by 2011. Vietnam has combined elements of contributory social health insurance with substantial levels of tax financing to provide coverage for the poor and informal sector. The case study is structured as follows. Section 2 describes the institutional structure and system characteristics of Vietnam's SHI. Section 3 addresses the main topic of the case study - the impediments to integrating the poor. Section 4 concludes by addressing the pending agenda.

Integrating the Poor into Universal Health Coverage in Vietnam

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