The Board of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has approved an increased budget of 221.5 trillion baht for the National Health Security Fund for the 2024 fiscal year. 

<p>New orders issued by the Ministry of Public Health restricting the HIV prevention budget and requiring community-based clinics to be supervised by a government medical facility have drawn criticism from civil society due to concerns that the new regulations would limit their ability to provide HIV testing and preventative medication to at-risk groups.</p>

<p>A healthcare expert has voiced opposition to the proposal to separate the salaries of public health personnel from the total public healthcare budget, warning that it could result in serious inequality in health care. &nbsp;</p> <p>On 12 July 2017, Winai Swasdiworn, former Secretary-General of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), publically warned of the danger in separating the salaries of public health personnel from the total budget for national universal healthcare, aka the ‘Gold Card Scheme’.</p>

<p>Patients suffering from kidney failure have expressed opposition to a plan to introduce a co-payment system for their treatment in an attempt to reduce the public health budget.</p> <p>On 4 July 2017, representatives of the Kidney Failure Patients Association (KFPA), Healthy Forum, Thai NGO Coalition on AIDS, Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNPLH) and other organizations submitted a joint statement to Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, Minister for Public Health.</p>

<p dir="ltr">While taking credit internationally for the country’s healthcare scheme, the Thai junta has begun the process of amending the law which could put at risk the health of millions of Thais who rely on public health coverage.</p> <p></p>

<div> <div>The organisation responsible for Thailand’s universal health care system is facing budget cuts of 13 billion baht as the junta struggles to manage its finances.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 6 February 2017, the board of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2017/02/69971">met</a> to review issues in its projected budget for 2018. </div></div>

<p>A former member of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has warned that if the new proposal to restructure the national public health budget is implemented, it would be as if the nation’s healthcare scheme was scrapped.</p> <p>Nimit Tienudom, former commissioner of the NHSO, on Sunday, 3 January 2016, said that despite reassurances from the military government that the universal healthcare will remain intact, a new resolution by the Office of the Council of State on the national healthcare budget would severely degrade the public health system if it is implemented.</p>