Thailand

By early 2002, Thailand achieved universal coverage (UC) in access to health care by introducing a tax-funded health insurance scheme, the UC scheme. This led to a radical shift in the main source of financing for health care away from individual out-of-pocket payments, drastically reducing the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure.

In parallel with these extensions of insurance coverage, successive governments have undertaken large scale investments in public health service infrastructure at district and sub-district levels with explicit pro-poor and pro-rural policies. The aim is to achieve geographical coverage of health services in all locations.

RESYST research in Thailand

Financing

• Researchers will critically assess the performance of health care purchasers in Thailand as part of the RESYST multi-country study on purchasing.

Health workforce

• Descriptive audits of training institutions in Thailand will examine the emerging role of private nursing schools, and how these compare with public training institutions.
  Research summary