The Swiss Embassy in Vietnam, Roche, Swiss Re and Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VINARE) co-organized a roundtable discussion on “Cancer insurance in Vietnam – Bridge the gap between innovations and access to treatment” on 22 May 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Cancer is a global problem and is currently the second most likely cause of death after cardio vascular diseases. According to “The Global Burden of Disease Study” cancer accounts for more than 21% of all deaths in Vietnam, a greater percentage than is caused by HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria combined. Cancer diseases (mostly lung, breast, gastric and liver) are increasing at alarming rates in many Asian countries and according to Globocan by 2020 more than 20 million new cases of cancer are expected every year, 70% of which will be in developing countries.

A high ranking delegation of experts and stakeholders of the relevant industries and government authorities representatives gathered for a roundtable discussion to explore a private insurance scheme in order to make cancer diagnosis and treatment more affordable for a large number of Vietnamese people.

Mr. Andrej Motyl – the Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam gave the opening speech emphasizing the Swiss government’s support for health initiatives in Vietnam. He is strongly promoting the commitment and endeavors of leading Swiss corporations to transfer knowhow to Vietnam, thereby contributing to alleviate the hardship of cancer disease for the Vietnamese people.

The Ambassador emphasized that cancer treatment cost is a burden to the Capita GDP income of Vietnamese population. He referred to a discussion with Mr. Marcel Tanner, Head of the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel “Recent research has shown that cancer has the most devastating economic impact of any of cause of death in the world, with USD 900 billion worldwide costs yearly. In central Vietnam, breast cancer treatment is around USD975, i.e. half of per Capita GDP of Vietnam and much more than the per Capita GDP in the highlands. So, one cancer treatment destroys the whole GDP income of a year!”.

The roundtable discussion was chaired by Mr. Trinh Thanh Hoan, Vice Chairman of Association of Vietnamese Insurers. Short introductory presentations were delivered to set the stage for the roundtable discussion.

Dr. Pham Xuan Dung, Deputy Director of HCMC Oncology Hospital provided an overview of cancer burden and their treatment costs respectively in Vietnam. Representing Vietnam Social Security (VSS), Dr. Vu Xuan Bang, Deputy Director of Health Insurance Policy Implementation Department, outlined the contribution of the Social Security for cancer treatment in Vietnam. VSS welcomed the initiative of the private insurance market as it will support the Government in financing expensive treatment costs.

Roche, a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, Roche presented a Cancer Private Insurances topic, this project was implemented in cooperation with Swiss Re and the insurance industry in China.

Swiss Re, a leading and highly diversified global re/insurance company, has already proven its dedication to the Vietnamese market by supporting the Agriculture Insurance pilot programme that provides catastrophic protection to farmers in Vietnam. Swiss Re will now work with the Vietnamese Government and insurance industry to help narrow the health protection gap by offering reinsurance capacity and technical assistance to design insurance solutions that can improve the quality of life of people in Vietnam.

All participants appreciated the initiative and discussed the underlying necessary legal and regulatory framework as well as data requirement and availability for a sustainable private cancer insurance scheme in Vietnam. Mr. Trinh Thanh Hoan concluded the roundtable discussion and emphasized the value of this good joint initiative expecting VINARE in cooperation with the Association of the Vietnamese Insurers to coordinate the next steps amongst all stakeholders in the insurance, pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in order to elaborate a concrete solution soon.