Re: "Price controls may be placed on soaring medical costs", (Online, Dec 27).
Will all businesses be next, and 10-million-baht watches be reduced to one million so we poor people can get one? As a heart patient, one of the medicines I take daily costs me 130 baht each. Multiplied by 365 that's 47,450 baht. The hospital could offer a more generic and dependable medicine as an alternative.
Price control demands that those prices know what they are doing -- that is, are not just capable but will provide justice. In the case of apartment utility ceilings, where landlords now are limited to charging what utilities charge the landlords, building owners and operators are having to come up with complicated mathematical measures to break even.
Drugs are overpriced, period. And who knows who is in whose contract with whom? That the government sees itself as the just arbitrator of this complicated matter is amazing. From what I see, no one likes paying five or 10 thousand or far more at a private hospital. But, you don't wait all day, things are centralised and convenient, and most of the meds are genuine and issued properly. Can you say this about government hospitals? Here in Korat, while we had explained that my wife required a special anti-rejection booster shot for her cancer treatment, the government hospital still issued a regular one which resulted in an emergency visit to a private hospital.
Frank G Anderson
Lame-brained excuses
Re: "Bring English to life", (PostBag, Dec 27).
Robert Exell's letter suggests many excellent ways to learn English. I remember when the old Bangkok Post used to print lessons by notable educators, both for business English and for academic needs. I used to clip them out and still have them. It might work in Laos or another neighbouring country. Here in Thailand, the entire education process is not run by experts, but by myopic political appointees, most of whom cannot speak English, have never visited classrooms since they left school, and take the attitude that as this is Thailand, Thais (meaning themselves), know best how to handle things. It is as bad as barring retired expat teachers who are living here from volunteering or even helping out. I was once told expats will take jobs away from Thai teachers, another lame-brained excuse. Continue singing "jinga-ben". It goes with the mentality. Go for it, Khun Robert. But remember, some things simply will never change. There is little to no incentive.
Yankeleh
Correction
The company involved in the Rolls-Royce scandal in "Who trusts the NACC?" (Editorial, Dec 27), is Rolls-Royce Plc, not Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. We regret the mistake.
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