Sudarat from Thai Sang Thai party announced plans to revive the 30 Baht Universal Healthcare Scheme before it collapses. She emphasized uniting social security with the 30 Baht scheme to expand rights for insured members, confident improvements can be achieved successfully.
On 3 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Khun Ying Sudarat Keyuraphan, prime ministerial candidate of the Thai Sang Thai party, number 48, held a press conference revealing the budget and public health crisis Thailand faces. She described it as a "time bomb" due to the rising budget burden of the 30 Baht Universal Healthcare Scheme exceeding 270 billion baht. However, this has led to hospitals accumulating losses of tens of billions of baht and medical personnel being overworked beyond limits, while the Thai population suffers increasing illness.
Khun Ying Sudarat highlighted the management of per capita budgets currently at 4,173 baht, with only a small fraction reaching hospitals because funds are withheld centrally. In particular, the 681 baht per capita health promotion budget barely reaches hospitals and is used according to political interests. This contradicts the decentralization principles she previously established, which allocated 80-90% of budgets directly to hospitals to grant them autonomy in local healthcare. This transformed the system from "Sick Care" to truly "Health Care."
Regarding medical personnel issues, Khun Ying Sudarat pointed out severe inequality in doctor distribution. In Bangkok, the ratio is one doctor per 462 people, whereas in provinces like Bueng Kan it is as high as one per 5,000. This forces rural doctors to work over 80-100 hours weekly, causing many resignations. Thai Sang Thai proposes a "Revive 30 Baht" plan by restructuring compensation to offer higher pay in remote areas to attract and retain staff. They also plan to adopt modern technology, such as appointment booking apps to reduce waiting times and AI or telemedicine for 24-hour patient consultations, easing doctors’ workloads and improving access and efficiency of care.
For social security reform, a large fund valued at nearly 3 trillion baht, Thai Sang Thai has a clear policy to separate the social security fund from the Ministry of Labor’s oversight to prevent political exploitation. They propose restructuring the board by halving government representatives and increasing representatives from insured persons and employers, ensuring true owners of the funds have full decision-making power. Furthermore, they suggest collaboration between the social security fund and the 30 Baht fund in certain treatments where social security benefits are weaker, such as dental care or hospital choice, to improve insured members' quality of life.
Khun Ying Sudarat confirmed that Thai Sang Thai is ready to systematically resolve health issues. Coordinating benefits among different medical funds will create synergy, maximizing budget efficiency and reducing government duplication. Citizens will receive equal, quality services without long waits, while medical personnel will have better morale through fair budget allocation and workload relief via technology. This approach is key to building a sustainable and stable public health welfare system for all Thais in the future.