Universal healthcare pilot scheme offers flexible hospital choice in Thailand

Photo by Adhy Savala on Unsplash

The Public Health Minister, Cholnan Srikaew, has announced the readiness of a new pilot scheme that will enable members of the universal healthcare (UC) programme to seek health services at any hospital. The initiative is aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery, providing UC members with the flexibility to seek eligible services at any hospital. It is expected that the scheme will be initially introduced in a few health zones, which are better equipped to manage this task.

A health zone is a collective of provinces, with 13 such zones existing across the nation, inclusive of Bangkok. The implementation of the scheme in two or three of these health zones will be decided by the health permanent secretary, according to Cholnan, who is also the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party. This decision will be made ahead of a broader…