The cabinet has approved a 191-billion-baht budget for the office handling the Universal Healthcare Coverage scheme in fiscal 2020.
National Health Security Office secretary-general Sakchai Kanchanawattana said the per-capita budget for the universal healthcare package would rise by 173 baht to 3,600 baht per person. About 48.26 million people are eligible for the scheme.
He said 141 billion baht of the budget would be earmarked for the National Health Security Fund. That is up 6.5 billion baht from fiscal 2019.
Additionally, a 3.6-billion-baht budget would be set aside for health services for HIV/Aids patients and 9.4 billion baht for patients suffering from chronic renal failure, he said.
Health services would also be given 1 billion baht apiece to treat chronic diseases and bed-ridden patients in communities.
A budget of 1.49 billion baht would be given to medical units in remote or dangerous areas, as well as the deep South, and a 268-billion-baht budget would be earmarked for primary care services.
New healthcare services would be added in 2020, according to Dr Sakchai.
These include a special type of genotyping before carbamazepine therapy to ward off the risk of allergies; screenings for colon cancer for people aged 50-70; and 12 types of surgery that can be performed in a day.
Others are laparoscopic surgery, an increase of medicines for those suffering from Alzheimer’s, thyroid cancer, and diseases resulting from peripheral neuropathy, as well as more medicine for those resistant to Aids treatments.
According to Dr Sakchai, health services will be widened to cover all bed-ridden patients, including those eligible for the government’s welfare fund for civil servants, and the social security fund for employees in the private sector.
