NHSO Announces 214 Billion Baht Budget for Universal Healthcare FY2027

The National Health Security Office announced that the budget for the universal health care scheme for fiscal year 2070 is more than 214 billion baht, which works out to an average of over 4,600 baht per person for the approximately 47 million beneficiaries. Dr. Jadet Thamathatcharee, secretary-general of the NHSO, said that even though the total fund is about 289 billion baht, after deducting the government’s allocation for salaries of state‑run service units, the amount available from the fund is around 214 billion baht. He explained that parts of the budget, such as health promotion and disease prevention, cover the whole country and are not limited to gold card holders.

Dr. Jadet said the NHSO will manage the budget to stay within the allocated amount without seeking extra funding at the start of the year, and will adjust how it works with the Ministry of Public Health to make cooperation closer. This aims to improve budget management and help service units deliver continuous care by focusing on high‑value, necessary services, reducing unnecessary or excessive services, and allocating resources fairly according to patient needs.

For budget distribution, priority will be given to primary care, health promotion, and disease prevention, alongside treatment. The approach will shift from waiting for people to get sick and then seek care to proactive work through family doctor teams that know local communities and provide home visits. The budget allocation system will be revised to support these services.

Service evaluation will emphasise health outcomes (value‑based) rather than merely counting service users. For example, HIV‑positive patients must receive medication and achieve disease control, while diabetic and hypertensive patients should receive continuous care, including dietary advice, exercise, and home visits, to improve treatment results. Budget decisions will weigh cost‑effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy, and equity.

Regarding inpatient budget management, Dr. Jadet noted that after fiscal year 2069 there was debate about the sufficiency of inpatient funds, but when the year‑end accounts were closed the overall situation was not a major problem because of existing allocations and adjustments. For fiscal year 2070, the NHSO will work closely with the Ministry of Public Health to ensure no hospital faces level‑6 financial distress, using a One Province One Hospital model where provincial hospitals support each other and share resources, and continuously monitoring the liquidity of service units.

The NHSO will also consider necessary hospital expenses, especially staff compensation that reflects local conditions, to make sure facilities have enough money to provide services and pay staff continuously. It plans to develop joint data use between the NHSO, the Ministry of Public Health, and service providers to reduce duplication in reporting, and will prepare to disclose service utilisation and cost information for public scrutiny in fiscal year 2070.

On new benefits, Dr. Jadet said they must have clear budget backing before implementation so that service providers are confident of reimbursement. New benefits do not have to be more costly than existing ones; examples include self‑test HIV kits and urine screening for kidney disease, which increase convenience, reduce travel, and may lower costs.