Commerce Ministry to Expand Medication Price Reduction for Health Insurance and Outpatients

The Commerce Ministry is advancing the 'Healthy Body, Light Wallet' Phase 2 project to reduce living expenses for medical treatments in private hospitals. The project will expand medication price reductions to individuals with personal health insurance and oversee the cost structure of medical supplies for private hospital outpatients. The first phase allowed patients to purchase medications from pharmacies at lower prices using private hospital prescriptions, helping to reduce public expenses by nearly 2,000 million baht. On February 2nd, the department met with health service support departments, the Food and Drug Administration, private hospital associations, and insurance associations to consider potential group insurance expansions. The ministry is exploring concepts such as excluding medication prices from insurance premiums and allowing patients to purchase medications separately for minor illnesses. Private hospitals will be required to report outpatient supply costs, and the ministry aims to closely monitor and ensure fair pricing. Currently, 345 private hospitals and 4,100 pharmacies have joined the initiative, with a goal of reducing annual medication expenses by 33,500 million baht for citizens.