Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - March 16, 2008
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
The commerce and foreign ministers, and representatives from the Social Security Office and National Health Security Office were invited, but only representatives from the SSO and public health minister showed up.
Patient Chariya Chariyanakul said she had lived with breast, bone and lung cancer for several years. But the cost of the medicine needed to treat her did not affect her much, because the healthcare scheme for civil servants covered all expenses.
She said most cancer patients chose not to voice problems regarding the cost of treatment because they believed that cancer required expensive treatment and those who cannot afford to pay had to die.
"Many cancer patients that I know give up on the high cost of treatment and go to temples to take traditional herbal medicine although they know it cannot help them recover," she told the forum.
"It is wrong to think that way because cancer can be cured.
"We can survive cancer if the government is truly interested in developing healthcare services."
She agreed with the state policy on compulsory licensing (CL).
"The CL policy is necessary as long as the government cannot come up with better measures to improve quality of life and healthcare services," she said.
Orawan Owararinm, another cancer patient, said the forum would encourage the public to be more interested in consumer protection.
She also supported the government policy on CL because it would save the national budget and increase access to essential medicines at affordable prices.
Suphan Srithamma, a public health ministry spokesman, said the healthcare budget should be increased so that state hospitals could afford to treat the 48 million people covered by the universal healthcare scheme.
Mr Jon, chairman of the forum, said the forum would help strengthen social mechanisms to monitor the government's work.
Saree Ongsomwang, the manager of the Foundation for Consumers, said about 12,000 people had signed a form calling for Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab to be removed from office. She believed the number of signatures would reach 20,000 by the end of the month.
Under the constitution, people with 20,000 signatures can ask the Senate to remove a cabinet member. The support of three-fifths of the senators is needed to get a minister removed.
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