Hospitals told to repay fees charged for ‘gold card’ treatment
Hospitals that have charged gold card holders after providing treatment will have to repay their patients with interest, National Health Security Office (NHSO) deputy secretary-general Dr Yupadee Sirisinsuk said.
“Hospitals that have collected money from gold card holders will be forced to pay it back, plus 15% interest per year,” Yupadee said, urging gold card holders who have been charged extra fees to contact the NHSO hotline (1330), saying it can be used around the clock every day of the week.
Her comments follow joint research by the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) and the NHSO into more than 3,300 complaints filed to the NHSO over the past five years by patients charged by hospitals for treatment despite having gold cards that entitle them to free healthcare.
The TCC said that 3,329 complaints have been filed since 2018 and that when combined the total fees charged to gold card holders were 35.7 million baht.
“Many people do not know that gold card holders must not be charged for medical treatment in any case,” TCC secretary-general Saree Ongsomwang said on Friday.
“The council and NHSO have been working to return the money that some patients have already paid to the hospitals, but we will try to prevent such cases from happening,” she said.
Saree has submitted a letter notifying Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of the problem and urging the ministry to take action to prevent the wrongful charges.
According to the TCC’s investigation, gold card holders are often charged when hospitals provide extra treatment or services beyond treatment for the original illness the patient sought treatment for. Gold-card patients are also charged transfer fees when moved between hospitals.
A woman who went to one hospital to give birth was charged a 10,000 baht fee when she was shifted to another, better-equipped hospital. In another case, a disabled man who had been receiving physical therapy at a hospital for three years was charged 40,000 baht despite having a gold card. The hospital said the gold card did not cover physical therapy for disabled people.
Yupadee said hospitals must not charge gold card holders after providing treatment. If there are extra expenses not covered under the scheme, they must notify the patient beforehand to prevent any misunderstanding and complaints.
