Social Health Insurance in Vietnam

This paper aims to provide an overview of the social health insurance scheme in Vietnam, including historical development and current policy issues. It shows that the scheme has significantly contributed to the impressive progresses of the country’s health sector, but it also will face a variety of administrative and financial challenges posed by labor mobility, widening inequality, poverty severity, and expected aging population. The paper also discusses some policy recommendations to improve effectiveness of the scheme, as well as to cope with challenges for further development.