Scrapping Of Bt30 Healthcare Fee Welcomed

[george]

Scrapping of Bt30 fee welcomed

BANGKOK: -- Patients and doctors yesterday welcomed cancellation of the Bt30 fee for the government's universal healthcare scheme.

Bang-orn Chandon, 51, who came to see doctors at Bung Khla Hospital, in the northeastern province of Nong Khai, said she was very glad she no longer had to pay the fee.

She said the fee was a burden given the fact she visited hospitals quite frequently. And, compared to families for whom the Bt30 cost had already been waived, she said it was not fair - because her family was also poor.

"Sometimes, when I didn't have money, I just didn't go to the doctors, although I was sick," she said.

Dr Phatcharapha Ratan-phunkij, who works in the primary care unit at a hospital in Phu Kradung district in Loei, said the unit decided in 2002 not to collect the fee after realising it was a burden to those who did not have money.

"We'd lost touch with many patients, not because they didn't pay attention to their health, but because they could not afford to pay the travel costs or even the Bt30 fee," she explained.

Dr Witaya Charuphunpol, the director of the Khon Kaen Central Hospital, said they had not seen a rise in the number of outpatients on the first day the hospital stopped collecting the fee, as some had predicted.

Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla said he had ordered the National Health Security Office to gather data to justify why the new per-capita budget should be increased to Bt2,089, from Bt1,659.

Mongkol said he would meet with Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula again once the information was in hand to back approval of the proposed budget.

However, if the Finance Ministry did not agree with the budget proposal, he said the health ministry would have to seek other solutions to make sure the new budget covered the loss caused by the cancellation of the Bt30 fee.

--The Nation 2006-11-02

[leisurely]

rather humbling to think that people can't afford 30 baht

[sriracha john]

Good to see that Thaksin scare tactics failed.

He tried so hard to try and convince the populace that the whole health care program hinged on his TRT Party getting re-elected and that without his precious benevolence, people would have nothing.

Good for the coup to show this was just another of Thaksin's lies. Not only did the program continue, it was made free.

[Dakhar]

I don't see how "free" inspires quality.

[Jai Dee]

I don't see how "free" inspires quality.

It doesn't... nor does it pretend to.

It simply makes medical treatment freely available to all Thai citizens.

Quality of such treatment is completely another issue.

[johnnyk]

Even upcountry Thailand does not have a bad standard of health care. I had occasion to go to a hospital in Khon Kaen (forget the name) and service/treatement was excellent.

No, its not perfect but nowhere is and its way ahead of what you would find in Burkina Faso.

[chownah]

Free hospital stays might turn hospitals into free guest houses.

[hammered]

This is a positive development for poorer people.

[cclub75]

Not even a word on how to finance such a generous move.

I've got one suggestion for the next governement : create the "30 THB donation" scheme.

With Thaksin 2 = 30 THB fee to pay

With Military 1 = free

With Military 2 or Thaksin 3 or MiliKsin 1= 30 THB bonus to collect

Sounds logical, non ?

[sting01]

Even upcountry Thailand does not have a bad standard of health care. I had occasion to go to a hospital in Khon Kaen (forget the name) and service/treatement was excellent.

No, its not perfect but nowhere is and its way ahead of what you would find in Burkina Faso.

Where in Burkina Faso?

Dare to precise your point?

[cclub75]

A good reminder... Nothing is free.

Scrap the 30 THB fee, ok, but government should say who will pay...

More subsidies or fewer services for "Universal Healthcare Scheme"

National Health Security Office (NHSO) is threatening to remove some services from the universal-healthcare scheme's coverage, if the government turns down its request for an increase in flat-rate subsidies.

Following the scheme's cancellation of Bt30 fee per medical visit, NHSO has requested that the subsidies per head increase from Bt1,659 to Bt2,089 to cover the loss of incomes.

"We are going to clarify to the Finance Ministry clearly as to why the increased subsidies are necessary," NHSO secretary general Sa-nguan Nitayarumphong said yesterday.

He said the increased subsidies would prevent the removal of some services for the scheme.

Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30017879

[Simbo]

A good reminder... Nothing is free.

Scrap the 30 THB fee, ok, but government should say who will pay...

More subsidies or fewer services for "Universal Healthcare Scheme"

National Health Security Office (NHSO) is threatening to remove some services from the universal-healthcare scheme's coverage, if the government turns down its request for an increase in flat-rate subsidies.

Following the scheme's cancellation of Bt30 fee per medical visit, NHSO has requested that the subsidies per head increase from Bt1,659 to Bt2,089 to cover the loss of incomes.

"We are going to clarify to the Finance Ministry clearly as to why the increased subsidies are necessary," NHSO secretary general Sa-nguan Nitayarumphong said yesterday.

He said the increased subsidies would prevent the removal of some services for the scheme.

Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30017879

Put VAT up one% and give it to the health service. That way, the more you can afford to spend, the more you pay.

[Jai Dee]

Health Security Project budget will be raise up to 2,089 baht per head

The Public Health Minister, Md. Mongkhol Na Songkhla, will request for an increase in the health security budget during the Cabinet meeting today. The sum of money per person will be raised to 2,089 baht instead of 1,659 baht, to aid the hospitals in service funds.

The Public Health Minister will send the proposal to the Cabinet while this request has been verified by the Board of National Health Security Office already. He hopes the Cabinet will approve the budget for the sake of helping the hospitals to achieve the best and thorough services for everyone.

As for the means to develop the project so that it will cover 48 million people in the country, Md. Mongkhol said he will help the people to gain better benefits in treating sicknesses with higher expenses especially Renal Failure.

At this moment, research has been conducted for finding the possibility to push this disease into the health security system.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 14 November 2006

[Gumballl]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Edited November 14, 2006 by Gumballl

[Rinrada]

Even upcountry Thailand does not have a bad standard of health care. I had occasion to go to a hospital in Khon Kaen (forget the name) and service/treatement was excellent.

No, its not perfect but nowhere is and its way ahead of what you would find in Burkina Faso.

Where in Burkina Faso?

Dare to precise your point?

West Africa.....name means "land of the honest men"capital city Owagga-du-gou....used to be French........easier than Nigeria.Liberia/Cote D Ivore..etc....even got a well known Film Festival.

[samran]

the rules of economics apply differently to health. It is something that is counter intuitive, but it is the case, and which 99% of economists would agree with.

On the issue of scrapping the 30baht scheme, you have to wonder what is the administrative cost of simply collecting it. A bit like minting penny coins, the cost of doing so is more than the face value of the coin.

In my opinion the '30-baht' tag was more a marketing gimmick by TRT rather than anything else. Scrapping helps sever the TRT legacy in this area, as well as getting rid of an administrative burden of hiring people to collect the 30 baht.

And....for the segment of the population who are needing to access the scheme, 30baht can be quite alot. I've done some studies of rural family income in the provinces, and many simply live in-kind income and bartering, with annual cash income being only in the 20K-30K/year range. That's no more than 83 baht per day, so 30 baht is a lot when you look at it from that perspective.

[Dakhar]

83 baht a day..... How many times are you getting sick? Lets say you go 20 days without the need of medical care. That is 1,660 baht, if you see a physician on the 21st day, you will have spent less than 2% of your income on medical care.

That is a joke! I was spending almost 50% of my monthly net income on private health insurance in America.

In america, an avg. visit will cost over 100$, which is right about the average daily income of an American. Thirty baht, isn't even half the daily income. The 30 baht Thais medical system was plenty cheap. But as a person that knows a bit about medicine..... Whew, lets just say you pay for what you get. But at least you get that in Thailand. In America you don't even get what you pay for.

[Jai Dee]

Free Medical Service to replace Bt30 Health Scheme

Secretariat of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has affirmed that the interim government has not abolished the health security project but may be replacing the 30 baht health scheme with free medical services.

Md Sughuan Nittayarampong (สงวน นิตยารัมภ์พงศ์), Secretariat of NHSO, said residents in many provinces misunderstood the government and they the 30 baht health scheme had been abolished. Dr Sughuan further added that residents had given up going to hospitals as they fear paying up huge amount of money for medical treatment. The secretariat affirmed that the government replaced the 30 baht health care with free medical service for 48 million gold card holders who attend the health security project. The procedure of the free service is the same as the 30 baht health care. They can still present their gold card to the hospital and receive treatment without having to spend money.

As for the new medical scheme, the NHSO meeting on November 27 will consider allocating budget to various hospitals based on the latter's performance.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 November 2006

[Johpa]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Oh holier than thou sahib, how nice it must be to be able to live the good life as a neo-colonial in Thailand with your head forever buried deep in the sand to avoid seeing the poor of the country.

I would be most happy to take you on a tour of villages where people have little free cash and live a life of self-sufficiency by finding food in the forests. I have known plenty of people unable to afford transportation and 30 baat for health care. They tend to be elderly or minorities. They can include alcoholics who drink cheap liquor you have probably never seen. They may even smoke cigarettes from very poor quality tobacco rolled in newspaper. They may dig for grubs for a lunch and a dinner of a single cabbage, rice, and some chilis. Fortunately for Thailand, the environment provides enough to prevent outright malnutrition.

Oh, but it is just their tough luck having been born poor, without access to much of an education. Feel no pity for these folks but rejoice in the glory of those born in wealthier societies who are now able to live an even more luxurious life in Thailand than in their homeland. I mean they really freaking earned their good birth fortune while that poor sod living in his little hut, often landless due to some eduacated city schemer decades ago, deserves his misfortune because, well that's the way the ball bounces, eh?

And how dare these poor folks attempt to escape their poverty by cheap alchohol and cigarettes. The neve of them not wanting to accept their fate.

One in a million? I could personally introduce you to hundreds.

[baboon]

Exactly what is so objectionable about free/affordable health care for the poor and wretched in any country if you are not a self-serving imperialist scumbag????

[Robski]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Am I allowed to call someone a nazi in this forum? how about right wing ideologue? horrible little man.

Edited November 17, 2006 by Robski

[Creeper]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Gumballs, you come across as a stereotypical "I'm alright Jack" Farang a$$hole.

You appear to be lacking in any compassion and understanding of what some peoples day to day lives consist of.

I'm quite sure that many Thai people that are poor would love a US Garbage collectors wage, come to think of it, so would the majority of English teachers too.

[Diablo Bob]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Gumballs, you come across as a stereotypical "I'm alright Jack" Farang a$$hole.

You appear to be lacking in any compassion and understanding of what some peoples day to day lives consist of.

I'm quite sure that many Thai people that are poor would love a US Garbage collectors wage, come to think of it, so would the majority of English teachers too.

That's right, in many cities in the USA, garbage collectors are in the union, Teamsters earning more than $25/hr plus benifits..... sign me up!

[slimsam]

Perhaps Gumball is basing his opinions on the UK NHS service which of course has been free for many years. We have seen the budget grow to become an enourmous black hole for money and yet people are still not happy with it. Long waiting lists, dirty hospitals, underpaid nurses, overworked doctors, the complaints list goes on. May be when something is percieved to be free we start taking it for granted ?

[Indifferent]

At last. Thailand has made one of the major breakthroughs into the 1st world ideology (with perhaps the exception of the Yanks).

Concern over healthcare of the masses is one of the traits of a forward thinking country.

How to fund it? Well. Many ways.

One is to increase the contributions from businesses.

Perhaps someone could clarify, but I think many businesses don't pay thier workers if they are absent, so why not use that saved money to get that person back as quickly as possible through mandatory contribution. Or, if it is taken out before tax, it can become a tax management benefit for the company. Or even increase corperate tax, etc, etc, etc.

Another is employee contribution (like the National Insurance contribution in the UK).

Another (as already been proposed) increase VAT, but this hits the have not's as well as the haves.

Many options.......

[Robski]

Perhaps Gumball is basing his opinions on the UK NHS service which of course has been free for many years. We have seen the budget grow to become an enourmous black hole for money and yet people are still not happy with it. Long waiting lists, dirty hospitals, underpaid nurses, overworked doctors, the complaints list goes on. May be when something is percieved to be free we start taking it for granted ?

There is a two tier health service in the uk, as there is with many things.

By undermining the public sector people are forced (if they can afford to) into the private sector where Tony's buddies are more than happy to deprive them of their hard earned cash, even though they have already paid tax and national insurance for public healthcare.

Edited November 18, 2006 by Robski

[Indifferent]

Perhaps Gumball is basing his opinions on the UK NHS service which of course has been free for many years. We have seen the budget grow to become an enourmous black hole for money and yet people are still not happy with it. Long waiting lists, dirty hospitals, underpaid nurses, overworked doctors, the complaints list goes on. May be when something is percieved to be free we start taking it for granted ?

Indeed. But better than nothing eh?

However. After living here for a while, I can't help that think many aspects of UK living be very different from as they are now if the UK had had ethnocentric policies similar to LOS. I'm sure if this was the case, Birmingham wouldn't be quite the same.

IMHO I think Canada (rather than the UK) is currently the best model for developing country to be aiming for. And free healthcare is one of their benefits.

[dog412]

wow, so i've got one group of posters telling me that the "lousy" fifty or sixty dollars being spent by "tourist visa and voa abusers" ain't nothing in the Thai scheme of things, and another group saying how many Thai cannot afford 30 baht for health care. god bless diversity.

[younghusband]

Can't afford 30 baht??? BS. Maybe one in a million. Anybody who believes that "we" can save them all with handouts is foolish. In every society somebody has to be poor (even destitute). That's the reality of the world that we live in. Don't even try to feel sympathy for the garbage collector. Somebody has to do it, and since you are unwilling... well, there you go.

Poor folks will try to escape their misery with alcohol, cigarettes, and/or even a donation to the church/temple. But jeez, 30 baht to save their own gluteus maximus... oh no, that's too much.

Am I allowed to call someone a nazi in this forum? how about right wing ideologue? horrible little man.

Instead of ranting incoherently and hurling ineptly off target abuse, how about responding in a rational manner.I don't much like the tone of the OP myself but he does make a fair point.Is actually Bt 30 an unreasonable minimum payment for the vast majority of Thais? If you don't agree what are your reasons? For those who genuinely can't afford Bt 30, how can treatment be directed gratis?

[teletiger]

Anybody who thinks that the UK NHS is free, must be another freeloading ######, who's never paid national insurance tax.

Regards.