Budget okayed for non-Thais' health

A Bt550-million budget for hospital treatment for more than 450,000 people awaiting Thai citizenship will be made available soon, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday.

Funding for hospital treatment for more than 450,000 people awaiting Thai citizenship would be ready soon, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday.

If approved by the end of the month, Bt550 million will be distributed to 172 hospitals in 10 provinces where 457,409 such people live or work. Currently, hospitals shoulder the cost of treating these people, which erodes service for Thai citizens.

Many "stateless" people live in Thailand awaiting verification for citizenship.

They were entitled to a type of low-cost treatment until 2002 when the Bt30 healthcare came into effect and negated rights to the low-cost scheme. The hospitals have managed by spending the subsidy per-head for Thai citizens to treat these people, and immigrant workers.

Baramee Chairat, an activist representing people without Thai nationality on a panel attached to the National Health Security Office, said a joint conclusion by a government panel agreed that the per-head subsidy for these people should be increased to equal that granted to all Thais: Bt2,400.

A separate fund to support hospital treatment for migrant workers or non-Thai residents should be established and granted a lower per-head subsidy to solve funding problems threatening to engulf such hospitals in the long run.

Tuenjai Deethes, a former senator for Phayao, said other groups entitled to immediate funding were around 70,000 students already allowed to study in government schools, and another 20,000 whose names were already in housing registration but had not yet been granted Thai citizenship.

Legal migrant workers or registered non-Thai employees already enjoy welfare with their Thai employers, while registered refugees living in shelters along the border are entitled to welfare and healthcare funded by international agencies.

She cautioned granting an equal per-head subsidy freely to people awaiting Thai citizenship. She said it could encourage illegal entry and human trafficking into Thailand to enjoy better state welfare - in addition to higher pay and chance of employment.

Tuenjai called on the government to urge Thai employers to register migrant workers or illegally-hired workers more openly.