Bt30 Healthcare Scheme Back, Payment Voluntary: Thailand

[webfact]

Bt30 scheme back, payment voluntary

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Bt30 healthcare scheme returns today for holders of the government's so-called "golden card", but the payment is voluntary and required only in cases in which medication is prescribed.

The Public Health Ministry has revived the Thaksin-era Bt30 plan after the Democrat-led government abandoned it in favour of free universal coverage.

There had been debates over whether the fee should be collected at all, but the ministry and the National Health Security Office, which administers the scheme, finally decided that the payment would be voluntary.

There is one exception when the Bt30 payment is required - for treatments in which doctors prescribe medications.

The plan covers about 25.9 million holders of the NHSO's gold health-security cards.

Twenty groups of people are exempt from paying the Bt30 fee, among them Buddhist monks and novices and other clergy, in addition to patients undergoing emergency treatments.

Boasting the motto "undergoing examination without medication, no payment of Bt30", Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said the voluntary payment policy would boost the confidence of patients while encouraging hospitals to maintain their good services or improve them.

-- The Nation 2012-09-01

[Ricardo]

"payment voluntary"

I-spy, with my little eye, a U-turn ! But a welcome & sensible one, this time.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Ricardo

[rubl]

Boasting the motto "undergoing examination without medication, no payment of Bt30", Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said the voluntary payment policy would boost the confidence of patients while encouraging hospitals to maintain their good services or improve them.

Wouldn't most people who take the effort to go and see a doctor require some form of medication? Therefor might not 99% of patients need to pay 30 Baht? Keep in mind that even a visit because of a mild cough seems to lead to at least three different tablets being prescribed and the obligatory vit-C of course

[Pib]

There is one exception when the Bt30 payment is required - for treatments in which doctors prescribe medications.

Which means there are really no exceptions as Thai doctors always prescribe a bucket load of pills.

[madmitch]

"Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said the voluntary payment policy would boost the confidence of patients while encouraging hospitals to maintain their good services or improve them."

30 baht or nothing, it;s the same treatment, the same long waits and the same bucket of pills. But the patient is more "confident" because he/she has paid a tiny bit of money? Sure!

And how is a few thousand baht a day really enough to maintain or improve hospital services?

[vijer]

Ah just another way for the rich to make sure the poor pay as much as possible. Don't forget they need to make up the shortfall created by giving corporations a big tax break. The Hiso's in Thailand have learned a lot from republicans in the US.

[belg]

free free, in life nothing is for free, somebody always have to cough up taxes for someone else to get something "for free"

[whybother]

"payment voluntary"

I-spy, with my little eye, a U-turn ! But a welcome & sensible one, this time.

Not sensible. Why put the infrastructure in to collect payments, when the payment doesn't cover the infrastructure, and it isn't even a requirement.

[Krit]

This might just be a very smart idea.

In many cases medication is unnecessary, but patients often feel upset and "cheated" if they go to see a doctor and have to pay, but are not prescribed anything. Even in Western countries doctors easily end up overprescribing drugs such as antibiotics just to please the patient, even though they may have determined that the patient has a viral instead of a bacterial infection, and thus antibiotics will not help. This overuse and misuse of antibiotics leads to emergence of resistant bacteria...

Hopefully Thai doctors will feel easier to say, "You will be okay, you don't need any medication, and this visit was free."

Edited September 1, 2012 by Krit

[Ricardo]

"payment voluntary"

I-spy, with my little eye, a U-turn ! But a welcome & sensible one, this time.

Not sensible. Why put the infrastructure in to collect payments, when the payment doesn't cover the infrastructure, and it isn't even a requirement.

Sorry, you're right, I was assuming that a donations-box emptied monthly of a few hundred Baht couldn't possibly cost much to administer, indeed it might even empty itself without administrative-help !

[asiawatcher]

More of nothing.

[LuckyLew]

same people

same policies

can we get to the end game ..

when is the coup?