Thai PM:There is no plan to merge 3 welfare programmes

BANGKOK, March 17 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Saturday that her government has no plan to merge three existing welfare programmes, but patients will be allowed to receive emergency treatment at any hospital joining the government–sponsored health programmes nationwide, starting from April 1, 2012. Yingluck reiterated during her weekly address that her government has no policy to merge Thailand's existing Civil Service Welfare (CSW), the Social Security Fund (SSF) and the National Health Security Office (NHSO), but, instead, patients needing any emergency treatment will be allowed to be admitted at any hospital nationwide from April 1 onwards. According to the prime minister, the three welfare programmes have been asked to jointly buy medicines from manufacturers so that they can be procured at cheaper prices; while the NHSO will be responsible for clearing medical bills for patients after receiving their treatments. Thai Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri, meanwhile, explained that people can be admitted at any hospital, including those in the upcountry, by showing only their identification cards and there is no need for them to pay for their medical bills. (TNA)