FORMER PUBLIC health minister Dr Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday called on civil servants to oppose the government’s plan to transfer their medical-care scheme to privately run health-insurance providers, warning that their welfare would be affected and state-run hospitals could collapse financially.

“The best way to resist this plan is for civil servants to come forward and express their opposition,” Mongkol said at a press conference.

He made the suggestion when asked whether he would write a letter of protest against the plan.

Mongkol was speaking in his capacity as a representative of the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme New Operation (CSMBS) Network, which held a press conference in the compound of Chulalongkorn University.

The network is unhappy that the Finance Ministry is preparing to transfer the CSMBS to insurance firms, possibly including its budget of about Bt70 billion.

Finance Ministry permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse had said recently that the Cabinet would be asked to approve the plan to let healthcare-insurance providers manage the CSMBS.

In order to reduce the financial burden from healthcare for civil servants, the government plans to transfer an unspecified budget to insurance firms to manage. However, it remains unclear |how the scheme would work in practice.

The Finance Ministry earlier stated that the scheme would be similar to the government’s purchase of health insurance for civil servants and their families. But the ministry later said private firms would replace the Comptroller-General’s Department to manage the budget.

“Private firms will charge a management fee of no less than 10 per cent of the total budget,” Mongkol said. “Such an amount of money has always been shared among state hospitals. But if the government lets the private sector take over the scheme, this portion of money will go to private firms instead.”

He said many state hospitals would collapse financially if the government went ahead with the scheme.

The government has said it needs a new approach to provide medical benefits to civil servants and their family members because CSMBS expenses had risen significantly.

6 million affected

Records show that the medical-service scheme for civil servants and family members covered 6 million beneficiaries. But in fiscal year 2016 that ended on September 30, the scheme exhausted its budget of Bt71 billion.

CSMBS, one of Thailand’s major healthcare schemes, has expended the largest per-capita budget and covered the least number of beneficiaries.

At yesterday’s press conference, a former deputy permanent secretary for Public Health, Dr Siriwat Tiptaradol, said that if the Comptroller-General’s Department of the Finance Ministry detected irregularities in the disbursement of expensive medicines to CSMBS beneficiaries, it should investigate and introduce preventive measures.

“It should not recommend that the government transfer the management of the CSMBS to insurance companies,” he said.

Mongkol said civil servants and their family members would find it harder to proceed with claims if insurance companies were in charge.

On its Facebook page, the Rural Doctors Society of Thailand also warned the government against contracting insurance firms to manage the CSMBS.

“There are many other ways to control the budget of the CSMBS. Why does the government choose to hire insurance firms?” the statement asked. Several of the page’s followers also expressed opposition to the government’s move.

“We don’t believe that insurance firms will agree to provide the same level of coverage with the same budget that the government shells out,” one post said.

A woman who described herself as a government teacher also wrote that she disagreed with the plan to let the private sector take over the CSMBS.

Unlike the previous constitutions of 1997 and 2007, the new charter has no clear provisions for requirements and penalties concerning various different matters. Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan has explained that the constitution contains the essential principles while the organic laws will cover the details.

All eyes are now on the ongoing drafting of the 10 organic laws being undertaken by Meechai and his team.

According to the post-coup interim charter, once the new constitution is promulgated the CDC has another 240 days to complete the organic laws. Meechai and his team are drafting four laws to cover the next general election – legislation on political parties, the Election Commission, the election of MPs, and the appointment of senators. The drafters are focusing on the first two laws so as to lay a foundation for the other two.

However, politicians oppose what they deem “inappropriate” moves by the drafters, including the idea to “reset” the membership of political parties. And the drafters are yet to decide what scope of duties and power should be handed to the Election Commission. The CDC is expected to disclose details of the two laws later this week.

Another important organic law required under the new constitution involves plans and measures for national reform. Meechai has underlined the importance of this legislation, nicknamed “the law on national strategies”.

“If [future] governments do not comply with the strategies, it means they will be intentionally violating the constitution,” the chief drafter said. He added that those failing to comply would risk serious punishment.

This is significant since the post-coup government has unveiled a 20-year strategy for national development and is now seeking means to ensure its successors stick to those plans. In reality, the work of setting strategies for national development legitimately belongs to elected governments with a popular mandate, and not to those that seized power through a coup. Also, to be effective, such plans must respond to the present national and global situation and thus cannot be forged years in advance.

It is reasonable for the current administration to desire that reform efforts be maintained once it steps down. But it should be aware that 20 years is a huge stretch of time, and there is more harm than good in setting inflexible plans for a distant future.

Forging a monolithic 20-year master plan for national development is simply not sensible. It will be too rigid to accommodate inevitable changes and will prove useless in the long run. Instead of spurring Thailand’s progress, it will act as an obstacle on our road to prosperity.

We deserve something different from the organic law on national strategy. We just hope that the drafters are sensitive to the nation’s needs and find the right way to meet them.

He said he had instructed officials to enforce the law against wrongdoers without prejudice.

BBC Thai recently published a report about the monarchy and the ascension of King Rama X. The report was extensively shared on social media, and one student activist was arrested for sharing the report on Facebook.

The student was charged with violating the lese majeste law and the Computer Crime Act, although his lawyer said he had been released on a Bt400,000 bail guarantee.

Yellow marigolds representing Monday, the King’s birthday, were used to decorate Government House’s front gate.

The National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) yesterday acknowledged the Royal command on the announcement of the King’s official title and the National Legislative Assembly’s announcement that it invited then-Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to take the Throne.

At the beginning of the meeting session, NRSA president Captain Tinnapan Nakata led all participants to stand up and shout “Long Live the King” three times in honour of the new ruler.

CDC chief Meechai Ruchupan said drafters will submit the final draft of the bill to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which is entitled by the Constitution to make amendments and decide on the final version of the law.

Meechai said that although the initial version of the draft does not include party dissolution as a penalty, a party can still lose its status if it goes against conditions set in the law, such as bankruptcy.

If parties are found guilty of any of the crimes stipulated in the charter, they would be punished accordingly, he added.

As for boosting participation within the party, Meechai explained that the organic law specified that party members must have a hand in choosing the party’s board members.

To establish a new party, founding members should contribute at least Bt2,000 each to ensure the party has sufficient funds for operation, he added.

This contribution is intended to keep financiers away from political parties, though some politicians have pointed out that not every party member will have Bt2,000 to pay as fees.

Meechai said each party was obliged to find members who can afford the fee, adding that it would not be right to have poorly-funded parties because their job is to run the country if elected.

The chief drafter denied allegations that the CDC was prolonging the process of writing organic laws, saying the drafters had eight months to complete the job before passing them on to the NLA, which will have 60 days for final deliberation.

Meechai also added that the CDC welcomed all public opinions.

As per the charter, which was accepted in a public referendum in August, the CDC has to come up with 10 organic laws – four concerning the Election Commission, political parties, MPs and the Senate, and six related to independent agencies.

The first four are the CDC’s top priority as they are necessary for an election to be held next year as scheduled.

CDC spokesman Udom Rathamarit, meanwhile, said he will present the latest draft of the parties law at a conference today, and that he will answer questions and accept all public opinions.

The official version of the draft will be ready next week when all stakeholders, including politicians, will be invited, he said, adding that he will also be on hand to provide explanations.

In a related development, Meechai, who is also a member of a committee responsible of drafting the national reform bill under the Council of State, said the bill was nearly ready. The bill will play an important role in the 20-year national strategy plan and should be handed over to the NLA by next month, he explained.

However, he said, public opinion on all aspects should be taken into account, so completing everything may take a year. He also added that any policies proposed by politicians must follow the national strategy.