Senate health panel warns of state health service financial crisis

More than 400 state-run hospitals, particularly community-based hospitals, which are the frontline public health providers, are facing a serious shortage of funding. This may disrupt health services if the problem is not addressed quickly, according to Dr. Veerapun Suvannamai, deputy head of the Senate Public Health Committee.

In his Facebook post today, the doctor said that the funding for 903 hospitals under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Health stood at 18.9 billion baht in May, down from the last quarter by about 3.7 billion baht.

“This is not a normal warning sign, but a red-light which is flashing in front of all of us,” said Dr. Veerapun, adding “Simply said, this is the money in the pocket which keeps the hospitals open to treat patients.”

What is more shocking, he said, is that about 400 hospitals are operating in the red and the other 485 hospitals each has only five million baht left, which is not sufficient to cover the cost of medicines for one month.

He warned that, if the financial crisis is left unresolved, the first thing to happen to hospitals which have accrued overdue debt to pharmaceutical companies is that the supply of medicines will be suspended.

“This means that chronic patients who suffer from diabetes, hypertension or heart diseases will not receive essential medication, or will receive cheaper medicines, and damaged medical equipment may not be repaired due to the shortage of funds,” he said.

Ultimately, he claimed, the quality of healthcare will drop and patients will suffer.

He pointed out that the financial crisis stems from the amount received by hospitals from the universal health security system not reflecting the true costs, which are rising every year.