Group claims new health bill is unfair to millions
Members of the People's Health Systems Movement on Tuesday gathered outside the United Nations building in Bangkok to call for the National Health Security Bill draft to be cancelled as they claim it would affect the right of 48 million people to free healthcare.
They also claimed that the law amendment process for this draft was against Article 77 of the constitution, which requires the government to gather opinions from all stakeholders and conduct a regulatory impact assessment before passing a law.
They said the bill would also hurt public sector and reduce roles in the people sector.
The group's representative plan to hand the letter of objection to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House.
The bill, if endorsed, would replace the current National Health Security Act that governs much of the country’s healthcare sector including the universal coverage healthcare scheme.
There are 14 major differences between the current law and the draft. Among them are the definition of “public health services” and the decision to provide basic financial assistance to adversely affected service users, without having to determine first who are responsible.
The government has encouraged people to offer their comments on this draft via the websites of various authorities, including www.lawamendment.go.th, until June 18.
The authorities also intend to organise public hearings on the draft.
The first hearing is scheduled to take place on June 10 in Songkhla province, the second in Chiang Mai on June 11, the third in Khon Kaen on June 17 and the last one in Bangkok on June 18.
Representatives of various sectors will also be invited to public-consultation sessions regarding the draft on June 20-21.