The rising cost of medicine and hospital visits has prompted the Ministry of Public Health to propose a public health-care budget of 193 billion baht, up 13% from its present level.
Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, the public health minister, said the budget has not increased in two years, causing it to fall out of synch with the costs faced by taxpayers.
With the ministry's budget constrained by its current cap, the price of medicine and the cost of visits to hospitals or clinics has spiked while the number of patients is also on the rise, he said.
He said the ministry needs to increase the per-capita budget for its universal health care package to 3,635 baht per head, up 437 baht last year.
It is also aiming for an additional budget of 437 baht per capita to help public hospitals cope with more expensive medical treatment.
This breaks down as an additional 133 baht for out-patient services, 233.5 baht for general patients, 9.75 baht for emergency treatment, 51.4 baht for health-promoting campaigns, 2.99 baht for physical rehabilitation services, 3.47 baht for traditional medicine services, and 3 baht to raise the overall standard of service.
"We expect to receive at least 171.37 billion baht," Dr Piyasakol said.
The ministry will submit its proposal to the budget bureau next month.
It also needs more money to cope with the rise in hospital visits, which are soon expected to reach six million cases a year.
Dr Piyasakol said the ministry is having to fork out more on medicine due to rising costs.
He spoke of health-promoting campaigns to reduce the number of admissions at large hospitals by, for example, encouraging the general public to exercise more, but said such efforts have been stymied by the paltry budget available.
The health minister said a 13% bigger budget would also enable the ministry to offer better treatment to HIV/Aids patients and those suffering from kidney disease.
It expects to treat 327,470 HIV/Aids patients this year, up 10.3% from 2017, and 53,100 people with kidney disease, or 0.2%.
The ministry wants to boost the amount it was given for the 2018 fiscal year to maintain public health standards (given to 48.57 million people under the universal healthcare coverage scheme)," said Dr Piyasakol during a technical hearing as part of the government's budget preparations for the 2019 fiscal year.
The government has complained previously about the cost of the universal health scheme, sparking claims, later denied, that it would introduce user charges.