Vietnam will expand its national health insurance coverage, including preventive care and check-ups and ensure more effective and enhanced healthcare for all Vietnamese. Vietnam is working on a plan to achieve the goal of universal coverage by 2030.
According to media reports, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra signed a decree on 13 May 2026, promulgating an action plan to implement the government’s directive on advancing universal health insurance in the new development phase.
The plan sets out concrete tasks and solutions to fully institutionalise the directive, while guiding all stakeholders in implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies to ensure more effective health insurance coverage, with the goal of achieving universal coverage by 2030.
A central focus of the plan is the gradual expansion of health insurance benefits, particularly to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses for patients.
From 2026, Vietnam will incrementally increase reimbursement rates and spending on preventive care, early diagnosis and treatment, especially for priority groups such as policy beneficiaries, near-poor households, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, with a view to ensuring the sustainable maintenance and expansion of health insurance coverage, targeting completion by March 2027.
The health insurance fund will also broaden its coverage to include selected preventive services, nutrition-related care, chronic disease management, periodic health check-ups, and screening services based on professional requirements.
To support this expansion, the Government will diversify funding sources and ensure the long-term sustainability of the health insurance fund. A pilot mechanism is set to be developed to mobilise additional resources, including allocating part of revenues from taxes on tobacco, alcohol, beer and sugary drinks to fund preventive healthcare services, early screening and management of non-communicable diseases. This policy is expected to be finalised by the fourth quarter of 2028.
The Government aims to expand health insurance coverage to over 95.5% of the population by 2026, moving towards full universal coverage by the end of the decade.