Circular No. 21/2011/TT-BTC on the management and use of funds for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence, congratulating longevity, celebrating longevity, and commending and rewarding the elderly.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the management and use of funds for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence; congratulating, celebrating longevity, and commending and rewarding the elderly

at the place of residence; celebrating longevity, honoring the elderly, and commending and rewarding senior citizens

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Pursuant to the Law on the Elderly dated November 23, 2009;

Pursuant to Decree No. 06/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on the Elderly;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, promulgated by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Finance stipulates the management and use of funds for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence; congratulating, celebrating longevity, and commending and rewarding the elderly as prescribed in Articles 13, 21, and 24 of the Law on the Elderly as follows:

Article 1. Scope and Applicability

1. Scope:

 These Circulars regulate the sources of funding; contents and expenditure levels; preparation, execution, and settlement of funds for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence; congratulating, celebrating longevity, and commending and rewarding the elderly.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

a) Agencies, units, and organizations assigned the task of implementing policies for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence; congratulating, celebrating longevity, and commending and rewarding the elderly.

b) The elderly are Vietnamese citizens aged 60 years or older as stipulated in Article 2 of the Law on the Elderly.

Article 2. Sources of Funds

1. Local budgets ensure funding for primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence and for congratulating and celebrating longevity of the elderly.

2. Funding for commending and rewarding the elderly with outstanding achievements shall be implemented according to current regulations on the decentralization of state budget.

3. Sources of fundraising, contributions, and sponsorships from organizations and individuals both within and outside the country.

4. Other lawful sources of revenue as prescribed by law.

Article 5. Contents and expenditure levels

1. Primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence:

Health stations of communes, wards, and towns (hereinafter referred to as commune health stations) are responsible for providing primary health care services for the elderly at their place of residence, and local budgets guarantee funding for the following activities:

a) Expenditure on propaganda and dissemination of general knowledge about health care; instructing the elderly on skills to prevent diseases, treat illnesses, and self-care:

 - Expenditure on purchasing materials, books, newspapers related to elderly health care. The amount of expenditure is settled based on actual occurrence within the approved budget estimate by the competent authority.

- Expenditure on organizing propaganda sessions at commune health stations, and mobile propaganda sessions to villages and hamlets in mountainous, highland, remote, border, and island areas:

+ Remuneration for lecturers: 200,000 VND per person per session.

+ Expenditure on drinking water for participants. The amount of expenditure is regulated according to current regulations on the system of expenditures for organizing meetings for state agencies and public service units.

+ Expenditure on renting conference halls, backdrops, banners, tables, chairs, audio equipment, etc. (if applicable). The amount of expenditure is carried out according to contracts, receipts, or invoices (in cases of service rental).

+ Broadcasting on village radio: Payment for editing is 75,000 VND per page of 350 words; payment for announcers is 15,000 VND per session.

+ Expenditure on travel expenses for commune health station staff conducting mobile health promotion campaigns according to current regulations on travel expenses for state agencies and public service units.

b) Expenditure on establishing and managing health records of the elderly: Expenditure on office supplies, printing health records, purchasing notebooks, and equipment to support the monitoring and management of health records of the elderly. The amount of expenditure is settled based on actual occurrence within the approved budget estimate by the competent authority.

c) Expenditure on organizing regular health check-ups for the elderly:

- Commune health stations develop plans, coordinate with higher-level medical facilities to organize regular health check-ups for the elderly in the locality according to professional guidance from the Ministry of Health. The funding for regular health check-ups for the elderly is guaranteed by the local budget within the annual budget estimates of the agencies and units tasked with health checks for the elderly, based on the professional medical hierarchy and local budget decentralization.

- Based on the guidelines for regular health check-ups issued by the Ministry of Health, the current local hospital fee rates, and the scale of the health check-up sessions, the heads of agencies and units tasked with regular health checks for the elderly prepare lists of beneficiaries to be submitted to the competent authorities for approval to serve as the basis for preparing annual regular budget estimates for their own agencies and units to implement.

d) Commune health stations dispatch medical personnel to provide medical services at the place of residence for lonely elderly people and those seriously ill, and are responsible for:

- Support for transportation costs from the commune health station to the residence of isolated elderly individuals who are seriously ill and unable to visit medical facilities. The maximum support rate is 3,000 VND/km for mountainous, remote, and island areas; 2,000 VND/km for other regions.

 - Support for medical examination and treatment costs at the place of residence for isolated elderly individuals who are seriously ill and have difficult circumstances. The maximum support level is equivalent to the medical examination and treatment cost under health insurance at the commune level.

đ) People's Committees of communes, wards, and towns are responsible for supporting transportation costs for health workers and isolated elderly individuals who are seriously ill to medical facilities upon the request of the commune health station. The support level is based on the fare for public passenger transport vehicles or the actual rental cost of transport vehicles (in cases where there are no public passenger transport vehicles).

2. Congratulating and celebrating longevity of the elderly:

a) Gift amounts for congratulating and celebrating longevity of the elderly:

- Elderly individuals aged 100 years are congratulated and presented with gifts including 5 meters of silk fabric and 500,000 VND in cash by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

- Elderly individuals aged 90 years are congratulated and presented with gifts including goods worth 100,000 VND and 300,000 VND in cash by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city.

- The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city shall determine the gift amounts for elderly individuals aged 70, 75, 80, 85, 95, and over 100 years based on the socio-economic development conditions of the locality.

Funding for congratulating and presenting gifts to elderly individuals aged 90 and 100 years is allocated within the annual regular budget estimates of the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (the standing body of the Provincial Committee for the Elderly). Funding for presenting gifts to elderly individuals aged 70, 75, 80, 85, 95, and over 100 years is allocated within the annual regular budget estimates of the People's Committees of communes, wards, and towns.

b) Contents and expenditure levels for organizing congratulatory and celebratory events for the elderly:

People's Committees of communes, wards, and towns are responsible for coordinating with the Elderly Association at the local level and families of the elderly to organize congratulatory and celebratory events for the elderly in a solemn, economical manner, and in accordance with local cultural traditions and customs; ensuring funding for the following activities:

- Expenditure on printing or purchasing "Longevity Congratulations Certificates".

||| - Water and fruit expenses, sweets. The average expenditure is 10,000 VND per participant.

||| - Hall rental, screen, tent, table and chair rental, audio equipment, etc. (if applicable). The actual expenditure shall be carried out according to the contract, receipt, or invoice (in cases of service rental).

3 ||| ||| Expenditure for commending and rewarding elderly individuals with outstanding achievements: The form and amount of rewards shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Encouragement and Reward and related guiding documents.

Article 4. Responsibilities of the Association of the Elderly at all levels

1 ||| ||| The Vietnam Elderly Association at all levels shall supervise the implementation of initial health care services for elderly individuals under their management; they are responsible for providing information about elderly individuals and coordinating with commune health stations in the implementation process.

2 ||| ||| The Vietnam Elderly Association at provincial and centrally governed city levels shall be responsible for compiling lists of elderly individuals aged 90 and 100 years old to send to the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to establish budget estimates for longevity wishes and celebrations in accordance with the specified criteria and standards; they shall coordinate with the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to organize the implementation of plans for longevity wishes and celebrations as prescribed.

3 ||| ||| The Vietnam Elderly Association at local levels shall cooperate with the People's Committee of communes, wards, towns, and families of elderly individuals to organize longevity wishes and celebrations for elderly individuals aged 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 years old or older on one of the following days: Vietnamese Elderly Day, International Elderly Day, Tet Festival, or the birthday of the elderly individual.

5 ||| ||| Establishment, execution, and settlement of the budget for initial health care services for elderly individuals residing in the community; longevity wishes and celebrations, and commendation of elderly individuals.

||| ||| The work of establishing, executing, and settling the budget for implementing initial health care services for elderly individuals residing in the community, longevity wishes and celebrations, and commendation of elderly individuals shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and related guiding documents.

Article 6. Implementation Provisions

1 ||| ||| This Circular takes effect from April 10, 2011.

2 ||| ||| During the implementation period, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for supplementation and amendment./.