SSO kidney cover denied

       The Social Security Office is denying medical treatment to social security members suffering kidney diseases who share the same surname as their employer, activists say.
       Subin Noksakul, president of the Thai Kidney Club, yesterday said it was unacceptable that the SSO would reject claims based on the relationship between employees and employers.
       Social security members had been accused of collaborating with employers to defraud the SSO, he said.
       "What the SSO should do is to examine the employees' status to find out if they get paid and pay taxes," he said.
       Mr Subin also called on the SSO to speed up its decision on the right to medical treatment of SSF members who contracted kidney disease before they joined the social security scheme. The SSO was reluctant to extend medical coverage to people who developed kidney diseases before they became social security members.
       He said it was not right to deny these people treatment because they had paid into the Social Security Fund.
       "The SSO must not forget that people with kidney problems are capable of working," he said.
       Thanaporn Methawikool, head of the SSO's medical standardisation unit, said yesterday it had been agreed that social security members' right to kidney treatment would have to be examined.
       She said she would ask SSO officers to speed up their deliberation so those eligible could receive quick treatment for their illnesses.