Closing the Health Gaps for the Elderly : Promoting Health Equity and Social Inclusion in Thailand
Thailand has succeeded in expanding coverage of publicly-funded and publicly-managed health insurance schemes, following the introduction of universal health coverage policy in 2001. While Thailand’s achievement of universal health coverage (UC) is...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/05/24435347/thailand-qualitative-assessment-health-equity-among-elderly-people-thailand-utilization-financial-protection http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24083 |
| Summary: | Thailand has succeeded in expanding
coverage of publicly-funded and publicly-managed health
insurance schemes, following the introduction of universal
health coverage policy in 2001. While Thailand’s achievement
of universal health coverage (UC) is well noted, recent
researches and studies have indicated that there are still
gaps in health utilization and financial protection. A
recent study by Thailand’s health insurance system research
office (HISRO) shows that utilization of health services by
patients of three main health insurance schemes combined
increased markedly after age 45 for both outpatient care and
in-patient care but later dropped during an advanced age.
Utilization of out-patient care services decreases among
patients who are over 75 years of age while that of
in-patient care services decreases after 85 years of age.
The objective of the study is to identify the gaps of
accessing UC scheme’s care system by the elderly population,
focusing on utilization and financial protection aspects.
The team conducted small-scale area-based qualitative case
studies, focusing on elderly UC members who live in selected
urban and rural areas in four different geographical regions
of Thailand - Central, North, Northeastern, and South. The
analysis confirms that there are poor elderly people who
still need to pay for the costs of out-patient and
in-patient care services at publicly run health facilities. |
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