An association representing state-run hospitals nationwide declared a boycott of a crucial meeting held on Monday by the National Health Security Office (NHSO). This move stemmed from the NHSO’s persistent disregard for the association’s viewpoints on the budget allocation plan for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. Dr. Anukul Thaitanundr, the director of Ratchaburi Hospital and president of the State-Run Hospitals Club, voiced this sentiment to the media on Wednesday, revealing that proposals made by the hospitals at previous gatherings had never been taken into account.
For instance, the hospitals’ repeated demands for fair financial compensation to cover recent losses were consistently ignored, despite these losses being a direct result of the NHSO’s abrupt modification of the reimbursement rate calculation for healthcare services provided under its universal healthcare scheme.
Worsening the situation, Dr. Anukul highlighted the association’s disagreement with the NHSO’s budget planning process for the scheme, which involves an enormous sum exceeding 100 billion baht each year. The opacity of the NHSO’s financial management has sparked widespread concern among state-run hospitals.
According to Dr. Anukul, a solution to enhance transparency in the NHSO’s annual budget planning would be to hold a collective meeting involving all stakeholders. Such a meeting would foster the free exchange of opinions, mutual learning, and a comprehensive understanding of the scheme’s financial standing. Unfortunately, the NHSO persists in holding separate meetings for different groups of hospitals involved in the scheme—including hospitals operating under the Ministry of Public Health, teaching hospitals, and other categories. This fragmented approach, he argued, prevents healthcare providers from gaining insight into how the NHSO determines reimbursement rates for each group.
The question arises whether this is a deliberate tactic to silence dissent or to prevent hospitals from forming a united front for advocating change. “It’s crucial that all these healthcare units convene in a single meeting to voice their opinions and learn from each other’s experiences and challenges,” Dr. Anukul stressed.
Alarmingly, an unnamed source disclosed that around 91 state-run hospitals within the universal healthcare scheme teeter on the brink of severe financial crisis due to significant losses following the NHSO’s sudden change in the reimbursement calculation, particularly affecting in-patient treatment.
Last week, Atthaporn Limpanyalert, the deputy secretary-general of the NHSO, defended the office’s decision, emphasizing that without lowering the healthcare cost reimbursement, the National Health Security Fund would be facing a deficit of approximately 10 billion baht. However, he assured that the reimbursement rate for in-patient care would revert to the standard rate in the upcoming 2025 fiscal year.
The state-run hospitals’ association’s protest is a clarion call for enhanced transparency and equitable financial treatment. Their collective voice underscores a critical need for a more inclusive dialogue that bridges the gaps and addresses the financial strains crippling the universal healthcare scheme.
This boycott seems like a desperate but necessary measure. How else can they get the NHSO to listen?
True, but is jeopardizing patient care the right way to demand attention?
What other options do they have? Apparently, their concerns have been ignored for years.
Boycott may seem harsh, but sometimes drastic actions are needed to bring about real change.
Agreed! Patients are the ultimate victims here. Both sides need to find a compromise.
But if hospitals go bankrupt, there won’t be any patient care at all!
If NHSO has to cut the reimbursement rates to avoid a deficit, is it really their fault?
The issue is not the rate cut itself, but the lack of transparency and communication.
Absolutely! There must be a way to manage funds without blind-sighting the hospitals.
Exacltly! Transparency is key, and NHSO has been anything but.
So many state-run hospitals in financial trouble while NHSO resists change? Something smells fishy.
What’s the point of a universal healthcare scheme if it underfunds hospitals and risks public health?
The NHSO needs to be held accountable. Unity in the healthcare sector could drive meaningful reforms.
I don’t get it. Why can’t they just have one big meeting like Dr. Anukul suggests?
Probably because NHSO wants to keep control and maintain divide and conquer strategy.
A singular collective discussion would indeed enhance transparency. I wonder what’s stopping them.
State-run hospitals should unite, but a boycott seems extreme. Can’t they negotiate?
No negotiation has worked so far. Their backs are against the wall.
This is symptomatic of a bigger issue with how public health funds are managed in this country.
Do we even know how NHSO spends all that money? They need to open the books.
It’s alarming how many hospitals are close to a financial crisis. NHSO’s budgeting process needs an overhaul.
Are these people just trying to fill their own pockets? Corruption maybe?
That’s a bit extreme. I think it’s more about mismanagement than corruption.
Mismanagement can be as harmful as corruption. The result is the same — a failing system.
I hope this doesn’t affect my hospital internship. Learning opportunities might get limited.
Patients’ lives are at stake. NHSO and the state-run hospitals need to sort this out ASAP!
The fragmented approach to meetings is likely a tactic to avoid big changes.
I think the hospitals should keep fighting. NHSO needs to be more transparent.
All stakeholders should have a voice. It’s public money after all.
Healthcare shouldn’t be about budget cuts. It should be about providing quality care.
How did it get this bad? Seems like a long history of neglect and poor management.
Just another example of bureaucratic inefficiency. And who suffers? The public, as always.
An inclusive approach can yield better results. It’s bewildering why NHSO is resisting.
Dr. Anukul has a valid point. Transparency could dismantle this financial crisis.
What are the repercussions if this boycott continues? A deteriorating health sector?
If the NHSO neglects the hospitals now, what will stop them from doing it again?