Private hospitals demand govt rules on endemic Covid treatment
Private hospitals want the government to outline what treatment rights patients will have under their healthcare schemes when Covid-19 is declared endemic in July.
“The plan must include Covid-19 diagnosis, treatment and patient transfer criteria, as well as coverage and compensation under the three government-managed healthcare funds,” said Private Hospital Association chairman Dr Chalerm Harnpanich on Sunday.
The three health schemes are universal healthcare (gold card), social security, and the scheme for civil servants – all of which have extra budget reserved for treatment of Covid-19 patients.
However, Chalerm said this extra budget is likely to be withdrawn when Covid-19 becomes endemic, leaving the schemes to manage treatment expenses on their own. “Private hospitals therefore would like to see clear and concrete measures in all aspects relating to treatment of Covid-19 as an endemic, so we can set our strategies accordingly.”
Chalerm also expressed concern that opening the country to foreign travellers will see more foreigners seeking treatment at private hospitals. This could affect their capacity to treat Covid-19 patients when it becomes an endemic, he said.
He added that the current mortality rate of around 50 deaths per day, or 0.62 per cent of about 8,000 cases, was still too high to declare endemic Covid-19. The government has set a target of 0.1 per cent mortalities for transition to endemic Covid-19.
On Monday, Thailand recorded 6,488 Covid-19 cases and 55 deaths, while 12,755 patients recovered and left hospitals.
Cumulative cases this year (since January 1) total 2,107,903.
The government plans to declare Covid-19 endemic on July 1.