The government has pitched the idea of imposing a ceiling on profit margin for medical services at private hospitals as part of efforts to prevent overcharging.
Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Internal Trade Department under the Commerce Ministry, said the department plans to step up oversight of profit margin for some medical services charged by private hospitals after the department in partnership with industry experts studies the possibility of imposing a ceiling on the profit margin for medicines.
In a preliminary stage, the department has classified the prices of medicines into 12 groups, starting from 0-0.20 baht per pill to 10,000 baht per pill.
According to Mr Whichai, the studies will propose a ceiling for medicine prices in each group, whereby hospitals will not be allowed to sell at prices a certain percentage rate higher than production cost.
He said the measure would help prevent price-gouging by private hospitals, which were previously found to enjoy a profit margin of as much as 1,000-10,000% for certain items.
"The department is committed to continued monitoring of overcharging by private hospitals to help rein in the cost of living for Thais," Mr Whichai said. "Studies on the ceiling of the profit margins for both medicines and medical services should be completed as soon as possible."
In a related development, the Internal Trade Department is scheduled to post the prices of 304 medical services on the department's website today so that consumers can view them before deciding to receive the services.
The service prices include room charges, food, medical checkups and blood tests. The prices will be made available at www.dit.go.th and via QR code.
According to Mr Whichai, the department expects overwhelming interest from patients and the public to browse information on the costs of 304 items of medical services and compare prices charged by different private hospitals, in the same way that the department has shown the comparative prices and costs of medicines.