There were 343 private hospitals operating in Thailand in 2015, up from 321 in 2011, according to the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Health Support. As a result of successive government investments in the health system since the 1970 “s, Thailand achieved full geographic coverage of the country’s district health system in the mid-1990” s. The government built at least one primary health centre in every sub-district of the country, and there were 9,762 municipal hospitals in 90% of the districts, which has almost doubled the number of municipal hospitals since 1990.
Thailand prides itself on being one of the leading destinations for Asia’s medical tourism with most of its private hospitals featuring first-class facilities and staff. Private hospitals provide high-quality care and attract high-income Thai citizens and attention from around the world, especially from Middle East and Europe. Public health facilities in Thailand provide the best medical care.
Until recently, all Thai citizens are entitled to healthcare services, including preventive, curative and palliative care, regardless of age. Healthcare is free and limited to local hospitals and facilities in Thailand for all citizens who have a universal health card. Thai citizens will be entitled to basic health services at all stages of life3, benefiting the economy. Thailand’s universal health care (UHC) policy includes basic services, prevention, cures and termination care for all ages.
In Thailand, public health is financed by taxes, also known as the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS). UCS is a public health ministry comprising 47.8 million people (7.2% of the population). It was merged with the Medical Welfare Voluntary Health Card Scheme to provide a security net for the remaining Thai population visiting primary care units and for family doctors serving as gatekeepers to specialised care. UCS improves access to health care and reduces the incidence of catastrophic health care spending – benefiting vulnerable populations more than any other program.
UCS covers the majority of the population with inpatient, outpatient and emergency care. In fact, most expats do not take out insurance for outpatient care because of the low cost of treatment. The programme covers three quarters of the country’s 47 million inhabitants and accounts for 17% of the country’s health expenditure.
As a short-term visitor or tourist to Thailand, private travel health insurance can save you the cost of medical treatment and ensure that you are treated in a private facility. Patients can avoid prohibitive healthcare costs by using contracted public and private primary care providers, who are the first port of call for primary care services and gatekeepers for necessary referrals.
Improving geographical and financial access to basic health services has contributed to a significant increase in effective coverage in Thailand. Launched in 2001, UCS has increased Thailand’s insurance rate from 25% in 2001 to more than 100% today, enabling at least 50 million citizens to access basic health services with great benefits at an affordable cost.
In recent history, Thailand has been committed to improving the health and life of the Thai people. Over the past four decades, the Thai government has invested heavily in a plan to strengthen its primary care system (PHC) and achieve universal health care. In 2002, Thailand made the transition from a combination of different health policies to an all-encompassing universal health coverage system ( UHC ) system.
The continued political commitment to the health of the population since the 1970s has led to significant investment in health infrastructure, especially primary health care, in district and provincial hospitals and in improving the general functioning of the health system. The quality of public health has increased since the introduction of universal health care in Thailand in 2001. Changes to the existing health system have led to increased use of health services and a reduction in the prevalence of unmet needs across the country.
Under the UHC, since 2002, all Thai citizens, including the poor rural population, have adequate access to county-level health services that provide primary and secondary services. The government is working to improve health care in rural Thailand. This mechanism is a health sector that covers three of the six provinces and provides comprehensive health care to Thais in non-urban areas. Thailand will be supported by its medical staff, with 40,000 doctors and more than 173,000 nursing professionals in 2019.
Thailand is one of the few low- and middle-income countries with a comprehensive public health system. Universal health care in Thailand provides improved access to all ages and populations, but the country faces challenges in funding the program. In Thailand, government-funded health care is funded by the Department of Health Services of the Ministry of Public Health.
It is not the world’s richest economy, but it has managed to introduce an affordable system that has had a dramatic impact on its population’s health. The introduction of the Thai system is proof that universal health care is possible in low- and middle-income countries under the right circumstances.
Despite prolonged bouts of political instability1 and a weak economy2, Thailand’s general health care (UHC) policy has made good progress since its introduction in 2002. The main factors contributing to improved utilisation in favour of the poor, a lower level of unmet health needs and lower frequency of social services are extensive geographical coverage, provision of health services, comprehensive service packages, free services points and increased capacity of the Ministry of Public Health facilities. Although the problems listed above are not the same, the universal health care system is a groundbreaking public health system that explains why Pacific Prime and Thailand performed so well in many global surveys and rankings.
Thai private healthcare system consists of a large number of fully equipped, state-of-the-art hospitals with English-speaking doctors and nurses. The Thai health care system is therefore viewed as a medical service, not a luxury, by both Thai citizens and poor people alike.
