Health Ministry Establishes Border Health Fund to Treat Foreign Patients, Clarifies Financial Accounts to Resolve Budget Issues
Thailand's health ministry is establishing a border health fund to treat foreign patients in remote Thai-Myanmar border areas while clearly separating expenses between Thai and foreign nationals to resolve budget issues.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health announced the establishment of a border health fund to treat foreign patients, with clear separation of expenses between Thai and foreign nationals, to resolve financial problems and screen foreign groups with ability to pay in order to collect service fees properly.
On May 11, 2025, at Umphang Hospital in Tak Province, Minister Pattana Prom-Pattana of the Ministry of Public Health chaired a meeting to monitor public health operations and healthcare services for foreign populations in the Thai-Myanmar border area in Tak Province via online system. Present were Dr. Somruk Chumsaman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Lersachai Lersawut, acting as Inspector-General of the Ministry of Public Health, Health Region 2, and management teams from both central and regional offices in Tak Province.
Minister Pattana stated that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Interior Minister expressed concern about hospital operations in the Thai-Myanmar border area in Tak Province and ordered the acceleration of systematic corrective measures for sustainability. The Ministry of Public Health has established operational guidelines emphasizing efficient disease control management along the border, appropriate human resource management according to workload and location, budget allocation support for eligible patients, increased operational flexibility for border hospitals, and seeking foreign funding support for those without medical rights.
Dr. Somruk reported that after field visits monitoring public health operations and healthcare services for foreign populations in the Thai-Myanmar border areas, including Mae Sot and Pob Phra Districts, and today in Umphang District, which is a remote area with winding mountain roads requiring 3.5 hours travel to Mae Sot Hospital, he found staff highly dedicated with excellent management of sanitation and disease control.
Initially, the inspector-general was assigned to closely monitor development in four areas: 1) Electrical and IT systems by supporting solar panel installation and developing information systems for full health insurance reimbursement efficiency; 2) Financial reform by clearly separating expenses between Thai and foreign nationals, including disease prevention promotion at subdistrict health promoting hospitals for transparency and confidence in Thai patient services; 3) Establishing a 50 million baht central assistance fund with the health region and establishing a border health fund to receive future international support; and 4) Cooperating with administrative and legal authorities to regulate cross-border treatment access and screening foreign nationals with ability to pay to collect appropriate service fees.
