Thaksin Shinawatra, the controversial ex-prime minister renowned for his so called ‘populist policies’, introduced the universal health coverage scheme in 2001. The scheme was called the ‘30 baht policy’ where people receive a ‘gold card’, allowing them to access medical treatment in their registered district with a co-payment cost of 30 baht per illness.
According to the World Bank, 99.5 percent of Thailand’s population have access to public healthcare, which is provided under three schemes, one for government officials and their families, a social security system for employees in the formal private sector, and the universal health coverage.
When Thaksin’s government was overthrown by the coup in 2006, the next military-appointed government chose to retain the universal health care policy. However, they cancelled the co-payment and relied fully on tax revenue for funding health care.
Although most Thais have access to public health coverage schemes, there are two apparent problems; one is the imbalanced distribution of health personnel, who are scarce in rural areas, and inequality in the medical treatment provided to patients covered by different healthcare schemes.