Due to Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Minister of Public Health, deciding that the NHSO has no authority to oversee rights other than the Gold Card group, it has resulted in health promotion and disease prevention services covering only 47 million Thai people with Gold Card rights. Meanwhile, over 20 million people with health rights outside the Gold Card are affected, having previously received health promotion and disease prevention services from the NHSO budget for over 20 years. This budget, which cannot be disbursed, amounts to a total of 9,291 million baht.
The Coalition to Reclaim Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Rights consists of organizations, groups, and networks working in various fields, totaling 130 entities, on behalf of those affected by the loss of health rights. They see that if Thai citizens cannot access health promotion services and the mechanisms for disease control and prevention are not comprehensive and equitable, Thailand may enter a cycle of severe health problems in the near future. Therefore, they call on individuals, groups, and agencies to take the following actions:
1. Request Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, as the Chairman of the National Health Security Board, to urgently sign the announcement of the National Health Security Board to restore rights and address the current impacts immediately before the upcoming dissolution of parliament.
2. Request the Ministry of Public Health to cooperate with the National Health Security Office and related agencies to expedite the drafting of a royal decree to restore health promotion and disease prevention rights to everyone in the country, to be completed during the term of the current cabinet.
3. Request the Ministry of Public Health and the National Health Security Office to have clear measures to compensate for expenses related to health promotion and disease prevention that public and private health service units have already advanced, totaling several million baht in the 2023 fiscal year, and a solution for the 2024 fiscal year if actions in items 1 and 2 cannot be completed before the dissolution of parliament.
4. Request all political parties to have clear policies to ensure that all Thai citizens receive comprehensive and equitable health rights covering health promotion, disease prevention, medical treatment, and health rehabilitation.
This includes government officials, government employees, government agency employees, state enterprise employees, employees of independent organizations, public organization employees, Bangkok and Pattaya City employees, as well as the private sector under the social security system, sections 33 and 39, such as private company employees, factories, shops, restaurants, department stores, and others.
Reclaim health promotion and disease prevention rights to cover all Thai people (1)
List of the Coalition to Reclaim Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Rights
