NHSO will earmark Bt600 million to cover elderly citizens who are confined to bed

This scheme, created to support Thailand’s transition to an ageing society, will in three years expand to cover up to a million ailing seniors, Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said.
The Cabinet approved the Bt600-million budget for long-term care put forward by medical facilities and local administrative bodies, Rajata said.
He was speaking after presiding over an NHSO board meeting on Monday to discuss 2016 budget proposals.
He said the board also approved the inclusion of unlimited childbirth allowance and Inactivated Polio Vaccine in the universal healthcare system, provided IPV is first made part of the national list of essential medicines. Previously, only Oral Polio Vaccine was allowed,
The board also approved the coverage of HIV/Aids preventive measures, which would be carried out jointly with the Disease Control Department, in a bid to prevent new infections, he added.
NHSO acting chief Prateep Thanakitcharoen said the government was placing importance on the universal healthcare scheme, and is allocating Bt147.772 billion to cover the Bt3,028.94 per head subsidy for 48.7 million members – a 6 per cent increase from the previous fiscal year.
Other funds approved by the government include Bt3 billion for the care of people living with HIV/Aids (including preventive measures); Bt6.3 billion for chronic kidney patients; Bt959 million for chronic diabetes/high blood pressure/mental illness patients; and Bt600 million for bedridden elderly patients.