ROI ET – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin presided over the “30-baht Treatment Anywhere” scheme kick-off event on Sunday, January 7, in Lan Saket Nakhon, Roi Et Province, with Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai Party leader, as Vice Chairman of the National Health System Development Board, and other ministers, civil servants, village health volunteers, and more than 10,000 people in the area in attendance.
This initiative is the Ministry of Public Health’s main policy focus, and it began at the same time in the first four provinces: “Roi Et, Phrae, Phetchaburi, and Narathiwat.” It promotes the linking of health data from service units at all levels and connections.
“People can use a single ID card to obtain health services that are more accessible and faster. It also improves medical personnel’s access to information, transforming it into a smart hospital that uses digital technology to give health services to the public remotely,” said the PM.
This project is a continuation of the 30-baht scheme, also known as the Universal Coverage Scheme, which launched in 2002 during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration. It is built on the basic development work of public-health government workers, particularly Doctor Sanguan Nitayarumphong, which began in the 1980s.
The initiative, which demanded a copayment of 30 baht per visit, became widely known by that name. The National Health Security Office (NHSO) allocates funds on a mixed per-capita basis and directly from the national budget for the majority of the population.
Thailand became one of the first few middle-income countries to establish universal healthcare, and the system was widely praised abroad, contributing significantly to Thaksin’s political popularity.
