Health Ministry Reviews Billion-Baht Budget Reserve Fund
The Health Ministry is reviewing how the National Health Security Office distributes its 60 billion baht budget, with plans to create a reserve fund from procurement savings to support hospitals and manage medicine price spikes during emerg
Health Minister Pattana Prompan announced on August 4 that he will review the National Health Security Office's (NHSO) budget allocation, which has been under scrutiny for how its 60 billion baht budget is distributed among service providers. During an NHSO board meeting, officials ordered an audit of gold card budget distribution, including a discretionary fund held for board consideration of unforeseen needs.
Pattana explained that discretionary funds arise when procurement negotiations result in savings below budget estimates. Over the past four to five months, he has proposed to the NHSO board that discretionary funds be accumulated to create a safety buffer for emergencies or crises that spike medicine prices, and potentially to support financially struggling hospitals.
"We want to gather these savings and let the full committee decide how to allocate them to service areas or use them as a financial safety net if emergencies arise or instability causes medicine prices to rise," Pattana said. "I've already proposed the policy, but implementation hasn't begun yet, though one board member suggested we start in the next fiscal year."
When asked if the reserve would specifically help hospitals facing cash shortages, Pattana confirmed it could be allocated that way depending on board priorities. He estimated the current discretionary fund at approximately several billion baht.
