06-Jun-16 Vietnam's Prime Minister targets 90% of Vietnamese having health insurance by 2020. After 25 years of implementing health insurance, coverage has reached 75%. He asked local authorities and ministries to prepare specific plans and tasks to achieve the 90% target. All hospitals must connect their data to national health insurance inspection networks in order to receive payments. [image: Vietnam Net]

05-Jun-16 160 million people are so far members of the "JKN" universal health insurance program in Indonesia, and it has been credited with helping many since its 2014 launch. But it faces numerous challenges, from underfunding, to slow and patchy implementation, to long lines at clinics in densely populated areas, where the system has become a victim of its own success. [image: AFP-JIJI]

02-Jun-16 Over a third of Malaysians are directly paying for medical services despite universal health care, an excessive figure that can lead to financial catastrophe, the Health Minister said. He said Malaysians' out-of-pocket payments were approximately 35% of the country's overall health expenditure. [image: The Malay Mail Online]

31-May-16 Singapore-based Imagene Labs and New York-based LifeNome Inc have announced a partnership to bring genomic personalization to Southeast Asia. The partnership will leverage on the genetics testing facilities of Imagene Labs together with the proprietary bioinformatics platform of LifeNome, to provide consumers in the region with personalized guidance on nutrition, fitness, skincare and other wellness topics. [image: Pulse / LinkedIn]

24-May-16 In 2001, Thailand introduced the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS). The UCS, which spread to all provinces the following year, provides outpatient, inpatient and emergency care, available to all according to need. By 2011, the program covered 48 million Thais, or 98% of the population. [image: Dulyanut Swdp / Getty Images]