SURVEY: Thai Health Care -- Keep or make changes?

[Scott]

There was a recent thread about the National Health Security Office (NHSO).   The Public Health Minister stated that it would continue as is.   Previously, a possible 10% - 20% copay for medical services was being considered.   Which of the following best describes your opinion on the Thai Health care proposals.  

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1117944-public-health-minister-vows-to-keep-universal-healthcare-scheme-unchanged/

 

[Srikcir]

 

As the system currently stands with a hypothetical co-payment, I checked No.

• Co-payment needs several rules for application. Required if one can afford it, ie., not on welfare, not poverty level, net worth above certain level.
• Even above such thresholds, ie., still below middle-income level or designated net worth cut-off, there should be a maximum annual or life time on total co-payments made.

[dotpoom]

Question!

   What does the word "copayment" mean?

[newnative]

    I didn't know which way to vote on this.  My Thai partner's mother is 88 and has been in and out of the hospital for the past 2 1/2 months.  Bangkok resident, no medical insurance.   Maybe the system works for something simple like a broken arm, or an annual check-up that you can wait for an available appointment for, but when you are dealing with something that needs immediate attention like colon cancer that has spread to another organ it gets a lot more complicated--and expensive.  

   Her current medical bills total more than 1.5MB and we're nowhere near the finish line.  At this point she is still in the hospital.  She has been in the ICU 3 different times for about a week or more each time and that is not free--far from it.  It was work just finding a hospital in Bangkok with room to take her and then a doctor to do the surgery.  Maybe it is easier out in the sticks.

   If she gets strong enough to do chemotherapy apparently there are 2 types she could use with her cancer.  One is less invasive with fewer side effects but each treatment costs much more than the other one. Neither is free--you choose expensive or very expensive.  I keep asking my partner isn't medical care suppose to be free or you just pay a small fee and I keep getting the answer no.

   Luckily she has 5 children and they are all contributing to her medical bills but it's a struggle for them to pay these very large and continuing bills. 

    It seems like there should be some better options for Thais than what my partner and his siblings are dealing with now.  I suppose the very poor get some sort of free care, although perhaps with a long wait, and the very rich can take care of high medical bills, but it doesn't seem very good for Thais in the middle--neither poor nor rich.

[Scott]

15 hours ago, dotpoom said:

Question!

   What does the word "copayment" mean?

Copay is when part is payed by the insurance plan and part by the person.   In most health care schemes, the amount paid by the insurer is the larger amount with a small part payed by the consumer.  

[Orton Rd]

I do not understand the question, what has it got to do with foreigners anyway?