HÀ NỘI – Hà Nội Social Insurance may not be able to reduce social insurance debt to 4.04 per cent by the end of 2017.

Remaining social insurance debt until the end of November was more than VNĐ2,800 billion (US$120 million), accounting for 8.47 per cent of the debt collection plan, Dân trí newspaper reported.

Hà Nội owes the highest debt, directly affecting the rights of more than 750,000 workers.

The information was released by Đàm Thị Hoà, deputy director of Hà Nội Social Insurance, at a conference on December 7.

The main reason, according to Hà Nội Social Insurance, is the legal gap in proceedings related to social insurance debt cases. Litigation against enterprises having social insurance debts still faces obstacles.

From January 2016 to November 2017, social insurance agencies transferred dossiers of 492 debt-owing enterprises to the Labour Union, asking them to sue these companies to protect workers’ rights. However, until now, no case of social insurance debt has been processed due to legal issues.

Hòa also said business losses slowed enterprises from paying debts. However, there were some that intentionally avoided paying social insurance, as workers’ knowledge on governmental policies was still limited.

“The mechanisms towards violation of social insurance policies are poor. Not just Hà Nội, the entire intra-information management system of enterprises, workers and social insurance has not been completed,” Hoa said.

$26 million overspending

Nguyễn Đức Hoà, director of Hà Nội Social Insurance, said the Hà Nội Social Insurance Fund overspent more than VNĐ600 billion ($26 million) in the first nine months of 2017.

Rising prices of medical services, dengue cases and inadequate costs of treatments are among reasons cited by Hà Nội Social Insurance.

Some hospitals include employee salaries in the prices of medical services, accounting for more than VNĐ1,300 billion ($57 million).

“Some medical facilities have not been evaluated to assure treatment quality and help reduce 10 per cent of treatment cost compared with 2016,” he said.

Hoà also stressed upon the unreasonable prices of medical services as hospital tended to offer costlier services to make social insurance payment. – VNS