Major barriers to achieving UHC in ASEAN countries
All the countries in ASEAN are facing several common barriers to achieving UHC, namely 1) financial constraints; 2) supply side constraints; and 3) the ongoing epidemiological transition at different stages, characterized by increasing burdens of NCDs, persisting infectious diseases, and reemerging potentially pandemic infectious diseases.
A barrier to achieving UHC will be to ensure that public sector service quality improves, and service capacity expands (especially in urban areas), to keep up with increased demand. Similar concerns have been voiced out about the emergence of a dual healthcare system in Thailand, where increased demand from the wealthy urban Thai population and to a lesser extent medical tourists for private health services may drive public health workers to the private sector