More than 81.5 million Vietnamese people, or nearly 87 percent of the population, were covered by health insurance by the end of June, according to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS).

Health insurance covers nearly 87 percent of population - Illustrative image

Twenty-three out of 63 provinces and cities reported the coverage rate of over 90 percent. All the provinces and cities fulfilled or surpassed the targets assigned by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

In the first half of this year, health insurance cards were used 84.9 million times in health check-ups and treatment, up 9.4 percent against the same period last year.

The health insurance fund disbursed over 47.3 trillion VND (2.1 billion USD), accounting for 52 percent of estimates assigned by the Government, excluding spending for people managed by the social insurance agencies of the Ministries of Public Security and National Defence.

Sixty out of 63 cities and provinces had their expenses exceeding the funds they were allowed to use in the period, with13 posting the overspending of more than 200 billion VND (8.7 million USD).

In the reviewed period, the total collection of health insurance premiums was estimated at nearly 38 trillion VND (1.65 billion USD), while debts were valued at 3.5 trillion VND (152.4 million USD).

In 2018, 2.316 medical clinics, excluding communal medical stations, signed contracts on providing check-ups and treatment for health insurance card holders, up 147 establishments compared to that of 2017.-VNA