Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Thursday that the 30-baht “gold card” Universal Healthcare Coverage scheme is not facing a financial crisis, emphasising its stability with reserve funds for hospitals totalling 46 billion baht after liabilities.
Mr Somsak led the meeting of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) board on Wednesday to address recent concerns about hospital budget deficits allegedly caused by the universal healthcare system”s compensation mechanism. Some critics claim reimbursements under the scheme do not fully reflect actual treatment costs.
He clarified that among the 304 million outpatient visits made by the scheme subscribers in the 2024 fiscal year, about 220 million were reimbursed by the NHSO.
He added that the income of these hospitals also came from the Social Security Fund, the fund for civil servant benefits, as well as out-of-pocket payments from the public.
According to him, only 13 hospitals registered with the scheme were found to be operating with negative reserves. “This does not indicate a systemic failure of the gold card scheme,” Mr Somsak said. “We are investigating other possible causes and will dispatch teams to these hospitals to assess and resolve their issues.”
NHSO secretary-general Dr Jadet Thammathataree said that, following the ministry”s directive, the NHSO plans to retain globally renowned auditing firms, namely PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG, to review its budget allocation system.
These independent audits will assess which benefits are essential and which may be trimmed, including ongoing programs like nutritional interventions for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), he said. A full report is expected within three months.
Dr Jadet also announced that a new committee will be established to assess cost structures and appropriate reimbursement rates across all public healthcare funds to prevent financial strain on public hospitals.
This committee will work in coordination with the Social Security Office and the Comptroller General”s Department under the Ministry of Finance, chaired by Finance Minister Phichai Chunhavachira.
Dr Wichai Chokewiwat, an NHSO Board member, reaffirmed that only a small fraction of hospitals [under the scheme] are financially distressed. “With 46 billion baht in net reserves, we are not just stable — we are thriving,” he said.
He also acknowledged the ongoing disparity in reimbursement rates, with the gold card scheme typically offering the lowest compensation compared to other public healthcare programmes.
He noted that the gold card serves the largest segment of the population and thus manages a significantly higher patient load.
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