Specialists say no flood at border facilities
Concerns about the potential of the country’s public care method to control the rising problem have been uncovered by reports of an unexpected increase in the number of patients from neighboring nations seeking treatment at hospitals along the border.
Montien Kanasawadse, assistant permanent director of the Public Health Ministry, stated in an interview with the Bangkok Post that the system was meant to ensure that everyone who lives on Thai soil has access to basic care, regardless of where they came from.
Dr. Montien claimed that the government has set up different funds to cover the costs and is actively working with various international organizations to assist with the situation.
Just three groups of non-Thai citizens are entitled to get free medical in Thailand, he said, refuting concerns about the influx of foreign patients.
They are migrant workers under the international health insurance finance, foreign workers with work permits and registered under a social protection program through their Thai employers, and those who are stateless and are currently undergoing a Thai recognition number verification process.
Montien: Not everyone is ready
People CONCERNS
A Facebook post on a Facebook page named Drama-addict, which claimed border hospitals are having trouble because of a rise in excursions by non-Thai people from neighboring nations who want to profit from the kingdom’s general medical insurance, was the start of public worry about the influx of foreign patients.
Additionally, according to the article, more and more female immigrants are visiting Thai hospitals to give birth to their children who will eventually gain Thai membership.
Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha, a member of the national committee on public healthcare transformation, claimed that the Public Health Ministry is ignoring a growing issue that threatens the system of public care.
He urged the government to realize that the government has limited resources and is already struggling to deliver public healthcare to Thai citizens. A rise in international patients along the border may only make things worse for health facilities and staff.
The circumstance had gone beyond “humanitarian help” because it is becoming a business, he said.
Many workers paid for phony employment documents, which allowed them to receive free public medical under Thai law.
Our people healthcare system could collapse under the additional burden, according to the government.
International organizations should improve these nations’ care systems. Thailand shouldn’t be responsible for their people,” Dr Thiravat said.
Thiravat: Healthcare company under stress
REALITY ON THE GROUND
The condition is not new, according to a senior doctor at Mae Sot Hospital in Tak state who declined to be identified.
The doctor, located near the Myanmar borders, often sees non-Thai individuals, who account for 40 % of all people, due to the limited company and therapy capacity in their hometown.
Most pay for the company.
Some patients had no means of paying for their care, and some were taken in by global NGOs, who took charge of their medical expenses.
” The situation hasn’t caused a strain on our money. The hospital can continue to operate under the guidance of the 30-baht widespread healthcare program, the asynchronous people’s healthcare fund, and other financial aid programs, he said.
He claimed that it would be much better if Myanmar established its own private care system to meet local requirements.
The government sets aside money each year for a public healthcare fund to help hospitals along the border and care for stateless people in the nation, according to Dr. Supakit Sirilak, the director of the Health Systems Research Institute ( HSRI ).
They include 700, 000 people whose Thai citizenship is in the method of being verified. When these individuals claimed medical rights at the doctor, misperceptions may occur among the community, he said.
” This don’t produce any conflicts, “he said, before reminding that not all international people are entitled.
However, Nimit Thian-Udom, chairman of the Aids Access Foundation, said hospitals does keep a flexible method for individuals suffering from nausea, regardless of where the come from. He claimed that the government should put more effort into offering medical care to foreign workers to improve their well-being.
Migrants who are unable to pay for medical care may approach the healthcare unit, which will assess their requests based on humanitarian principles, according to Dr. Montien, the deputy permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry.
He said that the costs that cannot be paid by the patients will be partially covered by donations from humanitarian organizations.
Supakit: Misperceptions might arise
Nimit: Maintain humanitarian principle