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?

Treatment should be free at the point of service. So...no need to pay for anyone.

Collection of revenues to fund the service....that should be based on ability to pay, through the tax system. So, if you annual salary is more that say....150,000 baht say, then an extra 0.5% is deducted from your salary to pay for government provided medical safety net.

I think this is purely a populist measure. Even in Thailand, it is odd that someone would not be able to afford 30 baht -- the minimum wage is ~150 baht/day, right? Thai communities are very tight-knit, I can't believe even the poorest would have trouble borrowing 30 baht if they were really sick. In the current system, there was a waiver of even the 30 baht fee for the poorest, so I can't imagine this will be an improvement.

The problem with *free* is that it removes any incentive to be rational about healthcare one demands. I can imagine people would go to doctor for the smallest of scratches if it were free. Of course, as a result of increased demand, other disincentives would soon appear -- long wait times, bad quality of care etc. State throwing more money at it would not solve problems, demand would just increase further (case in point: NHS in the UK).

Even a small price (30 baht) puts in a barrier to balooning demand -- without this it's difficult to maintain or increase the quality of care.

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

Regards.

Im not sure if you might be indicating Im one of those but I can assure you I am not. I am someone who pays a large amount of Tax and NI.

The point I am making is that if you ask the average person in the UK if they think the NHS should be free they will immediately say yes. They will not even give a thought to the fact that actually it is not and they pay through taxes. They will also not think about this fact when they demand more hospitals, doctors, nurses, shorter waiting times, access to innovative drugs, etc.

My point is that may be when people appreciate that these things cost real money they might start to have more reasonable and realistic expectations.

This will also apply to Thailand in the long term (as they are now offering "free" health care). I just hope they have a good plan for controlling the spending.

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.

There is not "free" healthcare system.

This expression, this ideology I should say, is really misleading.

Public healthcare systems in western countries are monstruous, and out of control, as for the budget they consume.

To scrap the 30 THB fee is, I think, a big mistake. A psychological one. It will make thai people to think that healthcare is free.

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

No, Nazi would definitely be out of place in that context. “Intellectually challenged” might come closer, and be politically correct, too. And it has such a nice ring to it, hasn’t it?

---------------

Maestro

Its a good thing Thaksin didn't scrap the 30 Baht fee and increase the National health budget to help the poor while he was in power or some of the lynch mob here would have called it vote buying.

There is not "free" healthcare system.

Symantics.

Most people with a modicum of intelligence know that all things have to be paid for some way. But to not pay at point of service is regarded as free (at the point of service).

This expression, this ideology I should say, is really misleading.

Nope. It is an ideology. Look the word up on Wikipedia.

An ideology is an organized collection of ideas.

Public healthcare systems in western countries are monstruous, and out of control, as for the budget they consume.

Yes they are. The size of the budget is irrelevent as long as it is well funded and doesn't result in a deficit (if you compare it to military budgets then I think you would find a stark contrast.

The reason most public healthcare systems are under strain is that they are a victim of thier own success. People are living longer and less are dieing because of the system and the balance to those that require it and those that are funding it has become unbalanced.

To scrap the 30 THB fee is, I think, a big mistake. A psychological one. It will make thai people to think that healthcare is free.

And why not. If a Thai girl has a farang then they think EVERYTHING is free