Healthcare activists have called on the government to reduce inequality in the medical treatment provided to patients covered by three main healthcare schemes, stop considering the Universal Healthcare Coverage (UC) scheme as a fiscal burden, and regulate the cost of healthcare at private hospitals.
Speaking at a healthcare reform seminar held yesterday, Suntree Sengking, a health activist who is a board member of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), has urged the government to do two things to reform the country healthcare system for the better. Firstly, the government will have to reduce inequality in the medical treatment provided to patients under the three healthcare schemes -- the UC, the healthcare scheme for civil servants and the social security fund (SSF).
''The budget for government officials' medical treatment is now set at 14,000 baht per head, while those covered by the social security fund and the universal healthcare coverage get only 5,400 and 3,000 baht per head respectively. This means people covered by these schemes get more limited treatment and cheaper medicines," she said.
Ms Suntree said about 5-6 million government officials and their families are given six to seven billion baht a year for their health care by the Comptroller-General's Department, while about 10 million people eligible for the SSF receive just only 2-3 billion annually and more than 50 million people in the UC scheme get 10-20 billion baht a year.
She said if the government can reduce the budget allocated for civil servants to 7,000 baht per head, it will have more money to allocate to members of the UC and the SSF. ''I do not say that every group should receive the same standard, but I think the gap between these groups should be narrowed,'' she said.
Ms Suntree said that secondly, the government should also stop considering the UC scheme as fiscal burden. ''Out of a national budget of 2-3 trillion baht a year, 260 billion baht goes ion public health care, which is less than 17% of GDP, while the budget for the UC is only 4% of GDP which is not much at all,'' she said.
Saree Ongsomwang, secretary-general of the Foundation for Consumers, who is now also a board member of the NHSO, said many hospitals in the private sector operate similar to businesses and the government is unable to regulate the cost of healthcare at these hospitals. "These private hospitals have been drawing resources away from the public health sector, so they should be regulated," she said.
