Health protection schemes helping more people, minister tells NA

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has achieved further success in the provision of healthcare services by strengthening health protection schemes under the National Social Protection Strategy.
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Mrs Baykham Khattiya, last week reported on the ministry’s achievements to the National Assembly, noting that all Lao citizens have the same right to receive healthcare services regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion or socio-economic status.

Mrs Baykham Khattiya.

The National Social Protection Strategy 2025 aims to improve equitable access to healthcare services under the National Health Insurance scheme, she added.
By 2030, the people of Laos will have access to the services of the social protection system in terms of health insurance, social insurance and basic social welfare in a broad, equal and effective manner.
In the past year, the health sector has been at the centre of developments to broaden health insurance, enabling 94.5 percent of the population to access basic healthcare.
The National Health Insurance scheme helps to lower the cost of medical treatment, with people needing to pay only 5,000 kip, 10,000 kip and 15,000 kip for a health check at a small hospital, community hospital and provincial hospital respectively, with only 30,000 kip being charged to those requiring admission.
It is envisaged that by 2025 the social protection system will be stronger and more efficient, with the goal of providing better quality services to a wider range of target groups.
A third nationwide survey conducted in 2020 showed that there were 133,997 business units employing 490,373 workers.
In the past two and a half years, 3,178 business units have joined the social security system, equal to 2.37 percent of the total. This means that protection has been provided to 48,842 employees, equal to 30.35 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
Along with the expansion of coverage and the implementation of various types of social security policies, the social security registration process for business units has been improved by cutting the time taken from 30 days to just two working days.
Some 348,124 people are currently insured, comprising 176,833 in the public sector, 148,842 in the corporate sector, and 22,449 people in other sectors.
A total of 827,686 insured persons and their family members are eligible for assistance, equal to 11.18 percent of the 7.4 million citizens recorded in 2022, of which 494,793 work for the government and 332,893 are employed in the corporate sector and as volunteers.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
 (Latest Update July 3, 2023)