The National Health Security Office (NHSO) is planning to extend healthcare for members of all three state funds to cover five kinds of cancer this year.
The three state funds are the 30 baht for all illnesses fund, the social security fund and the health welfare for civil servants fund.
NHSO secretary general Winai Sawasdivorn said on Thursday that he would soon hold a meeting with the three state funds and the comptroller general's department to discuss this planned expansion of health cover.
Breast self-examination (Photo by Yingyong Un-anongrak)
It would be extended to cover cervical and breast cancer for female members, and lung, liver and large intestine cancers for male members, Mr Winai said.
The only problem was that the cost of treatment for cancer is relatively high and the three state funds and the comptroller general's department have to discuss how the costs can be set at a standard rate, he said.
The same rate is needed if the NHSO is to be a clearing house that first makes payment on behalf all members of the three state funds and later gets the money back from each fund, he said.
The NHSO secretary general said his office is also conducting a feasibility survey on further extending healthcare cover for other diseases and on healthcare for the elderly, as Thailand is now becoming a society of aged people.
Healthcare for the elderly schemes in developed countries were being studied, including that of Japan which has successfully provided healthcare services for its large number of elderly people, he said.
At this stage the NHSO would focus on overseeing elderly people in their local areas and not on building homes where the elderly can stay without being taken care of by their relatives, Mr Winai said.
Under this plan, it is possible that a healthcare for the elderly insurance fee could be collected, possibly from 40 to 60-year-old people. This detail would be discussed with the three state funds, he added.
This plan is aimed at enhancing cover for members of the three state funds to ensure fair and equal access to healthcare services, creating a single treatment-costs disbursement centre, particularly for those suffering from the diseases which are expensive to treat and who having difficulty accessing healthcare, he said.