Govt targets civil service health bills

       The government plans to overhaul the medical benefits scheme for civil servants in a bid to curb huge medical bills run up by civil servants and their families.
       Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu revealed the plan to the Bangkok Post yesterday.Many civil servants and their families have been criticised for seeking reimbursement for unnecessary medical expenses.
       Mr Korbsak said some civil servants had even sought refunds for nonmedical service bills, like spa treatment.
       To slash their medical bills, civil servants would be required to contribute to a proposed medical savings account which would pay up to 20%of their expenses.
       Mr Korbsak said he had told the Budget Bureau to look for ways to cut the mounting medical bills.
       Medical expenses run up by civil servants have grown by at least 15 billion baht a year.
       He said the national medical welfare budget for civil servants had skyrocketed from 30 billion baht a year to 80 billion a year over the past four years.
       Civil servants are entitled to free medical care provided by the govern-ment. Their medical expenses are also reimbursed by the ComptrollerGeneral's Department under the Finance Ministry.
       Mr Korbsak has proposed that the medical welfare scheme change from a "free-for-all" system providing coverage for civil servants and their families to one whereby civil servants would have to make contributions to pay 10% to 20% of their bills.
       The contributions would be drawn from the medical welfare budget for civil servants and would be set aside as a net savings account for civil servants.
       From 10% to Korbsak: Claims 20% of the budget,must be reduced or between 8 billion and 16 billion baht would be earmarked as funds to go towards net saving accounts made available to all civil servants.
       The money would accumulate each year if it was not spent.
       Mr Korbsak expected the measure to help cut unnecessary medical claims or reimbursements by civil servants.
       "There are 2 million civil servants.With their family members, that comes to about 4 million to 5 million and they run up medical bills of almost 100 billion baht," Mr Korbsak said.
       "This is comparable to the 100 billion baht budget for the universal healthcare scheme for more than 40 million people nationwide."
       He said many civil servants had sought reimbursement for non-medical bills such as spa services.
       Many also seek refunds for bills for medical cosmetic products instead of medications to treat health problems.
       "A skin care clinic recently reported that 400 of its 500 customers who came in for a skin rejuvenation injection worth 10,000 baht were civil servants," Mr Korbsak said.
       He said the national list of essential medicines for medical reimbursements was also in need of a major overhaul to adjust to the economic downturn.
       Asource at the ComptrollerGeneral's Department said the department had come up with a tentative solution to cutting civil servants' medical bills.
       Under the proposal, medical expenses for a civil servant would be divided into three funds.
       They are a net savings account which would account for 20% of the total medical expenses of a civil servant, a general healthcare fund (50%), and a fund for treatment of illnesses with high treatment expenses (50%), the source said.
       "In the event the funds are not spent,they would be paid as a special pension when a civil servant retires."