Health Services Under the National Health Security Act 2002

Abstract

Before the year 2002, the people in Thailand had no health insurance except for the civil servants who get low salary but had healthcare free of charge as fringe benefit from the government. Otherwise other Thai people who work in private sector or self-employed have to pay for their healthcare. Meanwhile the government set up public hospitals to provide standard healthcare services with low cost for the public. So public hospital is a part of social welfare for Thai population. For the poor people with income below the poverty line or cannot pay for their healthcare, there were social workers to take care for their hospital fee. In the year 1990, the government had enacted the Social Security Act 1990. This law required all the employee to pay 5% of their monthly salary to the social security fund while their employers have to contribute the same amount of money and the government have to pay 2.75% of the employee’s salary to the social security fund. This fund will provide 7 categories of welfare including healthcare, sick leave, maternity leave, childcare, payment during job lost, and retirement.