Bangkok: The Comptroller General’s Department has provided clarity on the medical treatment rights of civil servants, addressing recent questions about whether they are required to co-pay for treatments.
According to Thai News Agency, the department clarified that civil servants are not required to co-pay each time they receive medical treatment. Instead, the department has adjusted the drug use rate to align with conditions, indications, and ceilings set by the department. This adjustment is based on actual drug use data and procurement prices to improve efficiency in drug budget management, akin to the existing terms for room fees, prosthetic organ fees, and diagnostic test fees.
Concerns were raised about whether civil servants would be limited to claiming only medicines on the National List of Essential Medicines, excluding original medications. The department assured that eligible persons could still claim costs for medicines outside this list when necessary for medical reasons, including generic and original medicines, following set principles, conditions, and rates.
The rationale for adjusting drug reimbursement rates is based on the availability of generic and biosimilar drugs in the market, which offer comparable quality, efficacy, and safety to original drugs at lower prices. This approach aims to utilize the budget cost-effectively without compromising care quality.
The department emphasized that these adjustments do not reduce patient rights, maintaining that the system is sustainable and cost-effective, ensuring continued access to effective and standard drugs. For high-priced drugs, there will be controls to ensure appropriate usage, requiring doctor certification of critical indications.
Concerns about patients not receiving appropriate medication were addressed by the department, which noted that all reimbursement and drug selection systems are grounded in evidence-based medicine and treatment guidelines from professional associations, ensuring safe and effective medication for patients.
The department noted that similar adjustments have been made in other countries, including the European Union, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, where the use of biosimilar and generic drugs supports a sustainable health system while allowing for original drugs when necessary, as determined by doctors.