Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the public not to link the Universal Coverage Healthcare Scheme (UC) with the planned procurement of Chinese submarines and turn them into political issues.
Speaking on Saturday after returning from the Leaders' Summit of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region in Japan, Gen Prayut said the UC, better known as the gold card scheme, was a populist policy which requires a large state budget, while the country has been studying the submarine purchases for almost 10 years.
The premier said the submarine project must be proposed to the cabinet for approval, adding the procurement will take several years and an adequate budget will be earmarked for the project.
The three Chinese submarines are estimated to cost 12 billion baht each. "As for the UC, the government has to seek more money to provide care for people in the country. However, they will probably face a decline in the quality of medical services due as the budget will still be inadequate," Gen Prayut added. The two issues are different and should not be linked, he said.
Meanwhile, Nimit Tian-udom, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) board member, said Gen Prayut misunderstands the UC issue.
"Budget spending for the UC is considered low, accounting for about 10% of government budget," he said.
The UC's capitation budget was 1,202 baht per head per year when the scheme was first launched in 2002, according to the NHSO report.
It will be increased to 3,028 baht per head per year in the next fiscal year for a total of 160 billion baht to cover the healthcare for 48 million UC members as well as the NHSO management costs.
Some doctor groups described the UC as a costly project despite Thailand's health expenditure of 4% of GDP, which is below the World Health Organisation's ideal maximum rate of 6%. This means there is still room to improve and expand healthcare coverage.
Mr Nimit said the UC is not the only government healthcare scheme. The Civil Servants Welfare (CSW) and the Social Security Scheme are also on offer. He said the CSW's 12,000 baht per head per year cost is four times higher than the expenses for UC members.
"This difference [the UC's capitation compared to the CSW's] shows clearly the UC is cost-effective. Increasing the UC budget each year is within reason," said Mr Nimit.