Your weekly business update on Vietnam.
Sharp, crisp, well-crafted - like your favorite bánh mì sandwich.
Xin chào! Welcome to Bánh Mì Brief - where we slice through Vietnam’s business buzz faster than a street vendor cuts bánh mì for the morning rush.
This week: Healthcare, rule-writing, and Hanoi‘s trading for boulevards - Sounds boring? We promise it’s not.
Grab your cà phê and let’s get into it.
HEALTHCARE
The 2030 care promise
Vietnam just made its boldest social promise yet: free healthcare for every citizen by 2030, with the state and the Health Insurance Fund covering all essential medical expenses while patients keep only minimal co-pays for advanced services. If executed as planned, the roadmap would effectively erase basic hospital fees within the health insurance package and shift the system’s focus from treatment to prevention.
Starting in 2026, every citizen shall receive a free annual health screening alongside an electronic health record that tracks conditions over time. Doing the math, with roughly 100 million people and about USD 10 (VND 250,000) per check-up, the yearly bill comes to around USD 1bn. Manageable at first glance with the Health Insurance Fund’s accumulated surplus of more than USD 1.6bn by end‑2023.
Free sounds simple, but details matter. Critics want clarity on what is covered -implications for insurers included - and worry about financing when most medical equipment and drugs are priced globally but contributions are local. The promise is big and execution will hinge on disciplined financing, robust primary care, and clear guardrails so generosity does not outpace the system’s ability to pay.