The Thai government convened a meeting last week to discuss guidelines for developing health insurance policies to cover treatment at public hospitals under the Department of Medical Services, according to a statement by the OIC.
The meeting was attended by Thailand's insurance regulator, the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC), the Department of Medical Services, the Thai Life Insurance Association and the Thai General Insurance Association.
The meeting discussed key issues, and also reached preliminary conclusions on improving access to medical services for the public and policyholders:
- Readiness to accommodate policyholders, including approaches to develop the service system, such as providing channels to increase convenience, reducing wait times and creating incentives for policyholders to use public hospitals more often. This will enable policyholders to receive medical services that meet standards appropriate to their medical needs at reasonable rates.
- Linking the patient referral system between hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health and hospitals under the Department of Medical Services to ensure continuous and effective specialised treatment, as well as direct billing between affiliated hospitals and insurance companies, eliminating the need for policyholders to pay upfront.
- The development of tailored health insurance policies for treatment at public hospitals, taking into account the cost structure of medical care in public hospitals, which are generally lower than private hospitals. This includes approaches to adjusting coverage models to increase health insurance accessibility for policyholders.
At the meeting, OIC Deputy Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Inspection Adisorn Pipatvorapong also stated the regulator’s priority, which is increasing options for public access to medical treatment.
“The OIC is confident that this collaboration between the government and the insurance industry will be a key mechanism in developing a more sustainable voluntary health insurance system in Thailand,” said Mr Adisorn.
“This aligns with the upgrading of the insurance system as a national risk management infrastructure and will help increase opportunities for the public to access quality medical services in the long term.”