The government is putting medical supplies and medical service charges on the state price control list as part of efforts to deal with price gouging, amid growing concerns over the high cost of private medical care.
Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the proposal will be forwarded to the central committee on prices of goods and services, which is due to meet on Jan 9 next year.
If the proposal is approved, it will be sent to the cabinet for passage.
Yesterday, Mr Sontirat chaired the joint meeting attended by Commerce Ministry officials and representatives from the Public Health Ministry, private hospitals, the Foundation for Consumers, Thai Life Assurance Association and Thai General Insurance Association.
"This is considered a short-term measure that allows the government to exercise legal measures to take care of people after receiving complaints about private hospitals overcharging for medicine and medical services," he said.
"In the long term, the ministry needs to hold talks to form directives for medical professional services as well as doctor fees."
Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said once approved for the price control list, state officials will be allowed to exercise power to issue measures to regulate medical supplies and medical services, such as recovery room charges, food charges, and x-ray and patient care charges.
The joint meeting yesterday also agreed to set up a subcommittee to supervise and take care of medical care charges in the longer term.
Medicine is already on the state price control list.
Mr Whichai said controls on medicine prices are unlikely to be effective, as medicine prices are subject to specific mechanisms, while medical service charges vary among hospitals.
"What the government can do is impose profit margins and reasonable rates for medical service charges, for which a subcommittee tasked to study and consider those measures needs to be set up as soon as possible," he said.
The Foundation for Consumers last year gathered over 50,000 signatures on a petition calling for the government to impose regulations on the price of procedures at private hospitals.
The proposal has been raised by the Public Health Ministry's Health Services Support Department as part of a joint effort to regulate medical care prices at privately run hospitals.
Dr Prompong Peerabol, director of Vibhavadi Hospital, said state measures to regulate medical service charges need to be carefully issued, as they may affect the diversity of medical services provided by private hospitals.
The government should also encourage Thais to buy more insurance policies to allow them to gain access to private hospitals.
