The committee drafting controversial amendments to the national health security law insisted Wednesday on pressing ahead with changes regardless of protests by health activist groups.
Speaking at a special forum on the proposed amendments to the law held Wednesday by the Public Health Ministry in Bangkok, Varakorn Samakoses, chairman of the committee drafting the amendments, said the forum was intended to gather more feedback on the proposed changes.
The formal public hearings held in all four regions had already been completed, he said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had exercised his special power allowed under Section 44 of the interim charter to allow the amendments to this specific law to unlock an impasse in the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Coverage (UC) scheme, said Sopon Mekthon, the public health permanent secretary.
The impasse arose after a previous inspection by the Office of the Auditor-General prohibited hospitals from spending the received per capital budget of about 3,100 baht on certain things such as electricity bills because they are not considered expenditures directly related to the care of patients as stated in the law, said Dr Sopon.
"If we won't amend the law, no one will be willing to continue working with us and we won't even have running water and electricity," he said.
National Health Security Office (NHSO) secretary-general Sakchai Kanjanawattana said that Section 44 intervention is needed to improve clarity in the interpretation of the law so that the UC can continue at least until the law undergoes a major amendment.
The planned amendments will never result in the UC being terminated, he said.
Poldej Pinprateep, secretary-general of the National Health Commission Office (NHCO), who chairs a panel supervising the public hearing on the proposed amendments to the law, said the panel is processing opinions received through both online submissions and from the past public hearings.
A total of 833 opinions have been received online while 2,098 more comments have been compiled from past public hearings, Mr Poldej said.
Sunthari Sengking, a member of the NHSO committee who had sought to air her position on the amendments, was denied permission to speak at the forum.
That prompted Ms Sunthari to vent her frustrations, saying the media should realise that no public opinions were actually welcomed at the forum.
Speaking after the event, Mr Varakorn said that the different opinions would be processed and rated as to what points the public are particularly concerned about.
He said opinions against the proposed amendment will be included in the minutes of the committee drafting the amendments and an additional panel will possibly be set up to handle them.
Mr Varakorn said he was not sure if these opinions will even be deliberated by the Council of State and the National Legislative Assembly when they handle the draft amendments to the law.
"It has been wrong from the start as the public weren't allowed to have a say in what parts of the law should be amended," said Suthee Rattanamongkol, a lecturer of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Srinakharinwirot University.
"The government had better stop worsening the situation by pressing ahead with it."
The more than 40 million Thais who will be affected by the proposed amendments should have been allowed to have their opinions heard, said Mr Suthee.
He said the past public hearings were not ideal forums for members of the public to express their opinions freely, citing the June 18 hearing as an example.
The hearing on Sunday was more like a "battlefield", with its tight security, said Mr Suthee.