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Outcomes of the Health Insurance Card Scheme on Migrants’ Use of Health Services in Ranong Province, Thailand

In 2002, Thailand achieved Universal Health Coverage for all citizens; however, it remains the case that undocumented migrants are not fully covered. The Health Insurance Card Scheme (HICS) of the Ministry of Public Health is the key policy aiming to cover undocumented migrants. This study examined...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Phaiyarom, Mathudara, Pudpong, Nareerut, Suphanchaimat, Rapeepong, Kunpeuk, Watinee, Julchoo, Sataporn, Sinam, Pigunkaew
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7345284/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32575651
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124431
Descripción
Sumario:In 2002, Thailand achieved Universal Health Coverage for all citizens; however, it remains the case that undocumented migrants are not fully covered. The Health Insurance Card Scheme (HICS) of the Ministry of Public Health is the key policy aiming to cover undocumented migrants. This study examined the impact of this policy on the utilisation rate of public health facilities among HICS beneficiaries including undocumented migrants. Facility-based individual records between 2011 and 2015 were purposively retrieved from one provincial hospital, one district hospital, and two health centres in one of the most densely migrant-populated provinces in Thailand. Poisson regression was conducted on inpatient (IP) utilisation, while negative binomial regression was conducted on outpatient (OP) utilisation. Of 74,722 admissions, 19.0% were insured by HICS. About 14.0% of the outpatient records were for HICS beneficiaries. Overall, the HICS utilisation rate in migrants was lower than in Thai patients. Being insured with the HICS significantly increased OP utilisation by 1.7%, and IP utilisation by 11.1% (relative to uninsured). Disease status was the most important factor that positively influenced the utilisation rate. Further studies that explore the differences in health service utilisation among HICS beneficiaries with diverse economic backgrounds are recommended