The unfinished agenda
Thailand took a pragmatic approach to implementing the UCS, doing what was
possible and putting on the back burner some of the more difficult aspects of the
original policy design. For example, the NHSO was established as a new public
purchasing agency, but the existing CSMBS and SSS were left relatively untouched.
The financing of health-care services changed, but this had limited impact on
re-orienting the existing inequitable allocation of the health workforce. Moreover,
the role of the MOPH in the provision of services changed less than was intended.
It is important to press ahead with these unfinished items on the reform agenda.