Lack of progress towards harmonization and evidence of practice variations
and inequities between schemes brought this issue onto the agenda of the
National Health Assembly in 2010. The Assembly’s proposed solution was to create
an advisory body standing above the three public health insurance schemes,
responsible for the development of policies to harmonize benefits and entitlements.
In response, Prime Minister Abhisit’s Government set up the National Health Care
Financing Development Office, managed by a board chaired by the Prime Minister.
It will exist for three years and its remit is to develop a long-term plan and roadmap
for the harmonization of the three public health insurance schemes. However,
at the time of writing it is unclear whether the present Pheu Thai-led coalition
Government will support an initiative associated with its political rival.
High levels of satisfaction among UCS members and providers
The next two chapters look at whether the UCS was governed well and at the
scheme’s impact in its first 10 years. One clear indication of success is the high
percentage of members and health-care providers who express satisfaction with
it (see Figure 7). Recognizing that this was a major determinant of the success or
failure of the UCS, satisfaction was regularly monitored by an independent polling