THAILAND: Health care subsidy for seniors to hit Bt6,000

. BANGKOK, Thailand / The Nation / National News / July 29, 2009 The National Health Security Office (NHSO) is planning to raise the annual flat-rate subsidy for elderly people's healthcare next year - possibly to as high as Bt6,000. Currently, the rate is fixed at Bt2,200 per head. "The amount should be several times higher," Dr Ammar Siamwalla of the Thailand Development Research Institute said at a seminar yesterday. He heads a panel tasked with improving NHSO's fiscal system. If the panel's proposal gets the green light, the subsidy for an elderly person might be as high as Bt6,000 a year, he said. NHSO operates a universal healthcare scheme, which offers free medical treatment to children, the elderly and people not covered by a social-security programme or a healthcare-for-civil servant programme. "NHSO uses tax money in running the scheme," Ammar said. It has long given the Bt2,200 annual subsidy for covered persons, regardless of age, to medical-healthcare providers. However, many providers are accused of trying to attract only young people who are generally healthier. "So, their treatment cost is several times lower than for the elderly," Ammar said. "We think we should give a higher subsidy for elderly people, encouraging medical-service providers to care more about them." He said NHSO would also look into whether it should raise the subsidy for people with diabetes or blood-pressure problems. Ammar said the NHSO board had approved a pivotal decentralisation plan - with NHSO branches in Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima given the power to manage their own budgets. "Decentralisation is a good idea because local officials know more about local needs and local problems," Ammar said. NHSO should focus on teaching people to take good care of their health. "Prevention is always better than treatment. Some people are becoming less conscious about the need to take care of their health because they believe they can always seek free medical treatment," he said. Ammar opposes any idea the Public Health Ministry should offer primary healthcare services. "I think in the next few years, hospitals should adjust their roles. They should treat patients referred to them by primary-healthcare units only," he said. [rc] © 2006 Nation Multimedia Group