VietNamNet Bridge – Living in a faraway place, it is essential for expats to know about the country's healthcare service as an effective way of protecting themselves. Below is an overview of the healthcare service in Viet Nam that expats should take into account. Public healthcare service in Viet Nam is overloaded. Even though there has been dramatic improvement in the past few years, the public healthcare service in Viet Nam remains a major issue. Firstly, doctors are seriously overworked, with the number of patients having significantly increased. Overworked doctors may suffer health problems themselves, and, as a result, may offer lower quality of care to their patients. Not only doctors, facilities in public hospitals are also failing to meet treatment demands. At present, in many public hospitals in Viet Nam, it is extremely … [Read more...] about Expat guide to healthcare service in Vietnam
Vietnam expat health insurance
Vietnam’s life insurance market faces challenges
Twenty-four-year-old Ms. Trinh Van Anh, the manager of an international school in Hanoi, does not have a life insurance policy and hasn’t thought about getting one, even though her monthly salary of $1,000 is higher than most of her peers. “No one recommends I take out a policy,” she said. “No one knows what life insurance covers, what it gives the policyholder, or what the benefits are.” Like Ms. Anh, many other Vietnamese people remain confused about what life insurance can actually bring. Even though premiums in Vietnam are on track for yet another record year, the gains are coming from a very low base and foreign insurers have yet to truly crack the market despite dominating. It should take only a few more years, though, for them to make more substantial headway. Foreign insurers’ playground 2016 continued to see robust growth in Vietnam’s insurance market, with the life insurance segment reaching a ten-year high. Insurance … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s life insurance market faces challenges
Vietnam failing its young migrants
Thanh, a worker in the Thang Long Industrial Zone, is one of many young people who recently migrated to Hanoi in search for a job. Like many other Vietnamese youth who migrate from the rural regions to the city, Thanh has to pay higher fees for sexual and reproductive healthcare when accessing public health services. "I migrated to Hanoi for a better job and moved away from the health center at which I was initially registered for my health insurance. When I go now to a public health clinic for reproductive health issues, I end up having to pay higher fees for services compared to those who are locally registered residents. I wish it was different as I now have difficulty accessing these services as I can't afford them..." August 12th marks the International Youth Day, and this year the focus is on the issue of youth migration. Young people, aged 10-29 years old, make up approximately 38 percent of the total population of Vietnam, recording the highest proportion of young people … [Read more...] about Vietnam failing its young migrants
Health insurance sector opens up
With the health insurance sector regaining its charm, existing players are rolling up their sleeves in anticipation of intense competition. According to the Association of Vietnamese Insurers (AVI), insurance firms virtually neglected this segment until two years ago when it returned to their sights. "In the past two years, the health insurance market has grown by 30 percent a year, becoming one of the three most lucrative segments along with motor, property and casualty insurance," Phung Dac Loc, AVI's general secretary, said. AVI data shows that the 27 non-life insurers in the market collect around 600 billion VND (34 million USD) in personal accident and heal insurance premiums annually. Nguyen Huu Huan, marketing director of Liberty Mutual, said Vietnam is one of the smallest markets the American insurer operates in. "But Liberty Mutual is an international operation. Vietnam is probably one of the top two countries that gets the most attention with its huge potential," he said. In … [Read more...] about Health insurance sector opens up
Expats and traffic accidents in Vietnam
When Lisa Hamilton received a phone call from Vietnam informing her that her son, Ryan Gallaher, had been involved in a motorbike accident, she says her first reaction was that he had broken a leg or had some other minor injury. But after her son’s friend explained the seriousness of the accident, she was in shock. Gallaher, 35, sustained severe head injuries when he crashed his motorbike while not wearing a helmet. He had been out drinking alcohol in the southern coastal city of Vung Tau, where he had been teaching English. Over the next five days, Hamilton struggled to get to Vietnam. She had to apply for a visa and a passport, which she did not have at the time since she had only been out of her native Canada once, before she could get on a plane. She arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on June 9 2010, five days after her son’s accident. “I guess I must have been naive,” she says. “I thought all I had to do was get to my son and everything would be taken … [Read more...] about Expats and traffic accidents in Vietnam