More than 234,000 cancer patients received medical treatment under the Universal Healthcare Coverage Scheme (UC) last year, according to information released by the National Health Security Office (NHSO) yesterday.
The UC scheme, or so-called "30-baht gold card", was initiated in 2002 for people who are neither private sector nor government employees to ensure they have access to health care.
Dr Sakchai Kanchanawattana, secretary-general of the NHSO, yesterday said cancer patients had undergone 4.1 million medical treatments under the UC scheme between 2016 and 2018 at a cost of around 26.6 billion baht.
Last year alone, 234,116 insured cancer patients received 1.43 million treatments costing 9.5 billion baht.
According to Dr Sakchai, the top five cancers among UC-registered patients are breast cancer, liver and bile duct cancers, colon cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer, respectively.
He said cancer normally requires costly treatment that forces many patients and their families to borrow money and sends some into bankruptcy.
Accordingly, the National Health Security Committee included cancer treatments in the scheme's benefits, Dr Sakchai said, adding that patients are entitled to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Dr Sakchai said the UC scheme allows the patients to receive ongoing treatment, which helps stem the spread of the disease.
"Patients suffering from some kinds of cancer can be totally cured if they receive treatment at an early stage," he said.
The UC scheme has also succeeded in procuring some expensive cancer drugs, including letrozole, docetaxel and trastuzumab, he noted.
From this year, those insured aged 50-70 will be entitled to free screening for colon cancer which can be totally cured if caught early enough, Dr Sakchai added.
