Give migrant workers better healthcare coverage: forum

Hirunya Paduka, director of the Ministry of Public Health’s Health Insurance Group, said private firms could sell health insurance to millions of migrant workers in the country, a move that would benefit the workers and the private firms. 

She said 1.3 million migrant workers had received Universal Health Coverage cards. But about a million migrants were not documented and don’t have any insurance cover because of confusion over whether to provide health insurance through hospitals or have migrants buy it directly. 

Hirunya said the one-year Universal Coverage card provided by the state cost about Bt2,100, meaning the government had received billions of baht from the 1.3 million registered workers. 

She hopes the private sector would help migrants get coverage. 

“The Health Insurance Group would have enough budget to sustain the healthcare system for migrant workers as long as they can sell a million cards per year.” 

Thailand was among the 150 nations that signed a pact on sustainable development at the UN in September. The pact focuses on economics, social, and environment development over the next 15 years. The main point is not to leave anyone behind. 

The healthcare part of the agreement focuses on quality of life so people live longer, by giving everyone access to universal health coverage and access to quality care. 

Chalermpol Chamchan, a researcher from the Institute for eople and Social Research, revealed at the forum that a project entitled “One Stop Service” had played a significant role in increasing the number of migrant workers getting health insurance. 

This has happened because workers are required to have a health insurance document to register for a work permit. 

“I think making the health insurance compulsory for migrant workers will help them access quality health care,” he added.

Kha Kha Hlaing, a Myanmar volunteer in Samut Sakhon, said the big problem for migrant workers who did not have health insurance was depositing the money to get medical services. Migrants had to deposit Bt3,000 to get access to hospital care. Most don’t have any access to medical care because their employers don’t want to put them in the social security scheme, as it requires a monthly contribution from employers, she said. The scheme offers many benefits, including medical benefits. 

She cited the case of child whose leg was broken and her mother did not have enough money to pay the hospital. The hospital only acted after the child’s family collected money from its family members, friends, and neighbours.