Medical supplies, services inch closer to price controls

Medical supplies will be on price control list. PATIPAT JANTHONG

The Commerce Ministry is set to forward for cabinet approval on Jan 15 a proposal to put medical supplies and medical service charges on the state price control list as part of efforts to deal with price gouging.

The proposal was approved by the central committee on prices of goods and services, chaired by Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, which met yesterday.

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.

Yesterday's meeting also approved setting up a subcommittee to work out appropriate measures concerning domestic medical supplies and medical service prices.

The subcommittee will include representatives from the Public Health Ministry, the Commerce Ministry, Thai Life Assurance Association, Thai General Insurance Association, consumer protection organisations, and private hospitals.

"Whether the latest measures will result in lower prices for medicine, medical supplies and medical service charges depends upon the subcommittee's solutions," he said. "Everything has been done to keep the process fair. This is the first time the Commerce Ministry put medical supplies and medical service charges on the state price control list."

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 private hospitals.

In a related development, the committee also approved removing four items -- sugar, paper pulp, plastic pellets, and auto batteries -- from the price control list, lowering the number on the list to 52. Of the total, 46 items are goods and six are services.

The price control list covers essential items for daily use such as food, consumer products, farm-related products (fertilisers, pesticides, animal feed, tractors, rice harvesters), construction materials, paper, petroleum and medicines. Listed foods include garlic, rice paddy, milled rice, corn, eggs, cassava, wheat flour and yoghurt.