Findings
Profiles of government health subsidies
National aggregate
The amount of government health subsidy, net of direct
household payment, to UCS beneficiaries was 30.15 bil-
lion Baht in 2003 at 2009 price (Table 1) or US$ 1 billion
(exchange rate, 30 Baht per dollar); it increased to 46.5
billion Baht in 2009, a 36.2% real term increase. It is
noted that subsidy for the OP was lower than IP services.
Subsidies by level of care, the majority of the UCS
budget subsidized OP services
at district hospitals, fol-
lowed by provincial hospitals, especially in recent years.
The subsidy to health centers did not show a noticeable
increase due to a lower unit cost and a slower increasing
trend of utilization. Provincial hospitals had a major
share of the IP subsidy and the trend is increasing due