Forum explores harmonising of healthcare schemes
Play
A FORUM in Bangkok this week was seen as a preliminary step in the country's move to create a National Health Security Council to harmonise the three healthcare schemes - Universal Healthcare Scheme, Social Security Scheme and the Civil Servant Medical B
The First National Conference on Thai Universal Health Coverage was hosted by a coordination committee for health security, which concluded yesterday.
A major topic of the forum was to achieve equal and fair health standards among all levels of the population by reforming the health security system.
In seeking ideas for a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) system, experts stressed the need for public participation and localisation to ensure this equality around the country.
“A strong public role is needed both to achieve universal coverage and to ensure equitable access and use of the health system,” said Prof Anne Mills from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines in the UK.
Mills said she drew from the experience of country members in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
She concluded that the wealth of the country to subsidise a fund for a UHC system was not the major factor in establishing a successful health security system which provided equal access to healthcare for all the population.
She cited the US, where the most funds were spent on the healthcare system – but it ranked worst on the list of OECD countries for health equity.
“In a more diverse health system, a stronger public role is critically needed to ensure the equality of health,” she said.
Dr Narongsak Angkasuwapla, former deputy public health minister, agreed that localisation of the health security system was equally important in health security system management.
“Thailand is a big country with a lot of regions. Each has its own problems, therefore the centralised health security policies may not be relevant and suitable to address individual regional problems,” Narongsak said.
He suggested local interests should be enhanced into the health security system by allowing local people to participate in the system.
“Locals should have the ability to determine that central policies were appropriate for them and they should take part in the health development in their region,” he said.
On the other aspect of equity in the health security system, Mills suggested that different levels of equity should be guaranteed. Groups of people with different needs should have access to the specialised healthcare they requir-ed, while those with similar healthcare needs should have their kind of healthcare services within reach.
Prof Ammar Siamwalla, on the coordination panel for the health security chairman, said this forum was just a first step and it was too early to come out with substantial plans for all health schemes.
He admitted the harmony needed to bring these parties together would be hard to achieve. There were still many different opinions among the agencies responsible for each health scheme.
