Ekaphop emphasized the People's Party's position supporting amendments to the Gold Card law to reform the system for greater efficiency and sustainability by increasing the representation of the public and service personnel on the NHSO board.
On 26 July 2026, Mr. Ekaphop Sitthiwannathana, party-list MP of the People's Party, stated the party's stance and policy on the universal health coverage system, or “Gold Card,” following questions raised by the Rural Doctors Society about the party's position. Ekaphop said the People's Party supports amending the National Health Security Act B.E. 2545 (2002) or the Gold Card law to address weaknesses and make the system more sustainable and efficient, in terms of budget, service quality, and the morale of healthcare workers.
The key points of the proposed seven amendments are as follows:
1. Restructure the board, or the National Health Security Board, by increasing the proportion of public rights holders and service personnel such as doctors and nurses, while reducing government representatives. This aims to resolve issues of board members serving long consecutive terms, which limits fresh perspectives in decision-making.
2. Promote democracy by having some board members elected directly to enhance accountability in decision-making.
3. Support the use of high-quality academic data to inform decisions on benefit packages and adjust the NHSO’s payment rates to hospitals to reflect actual current costs.
4. Advocate for a unified standard benefit package across the three funds: the National Health Security Fund, Social Security Fund, and civil servant medical welfare, to end the 'Robin Hood' phenomenon where hospitals use funds from other schemes to compensate the Gold Card fund.
5. Increase budget and support personnel by allocating sufficient funds to purchase the core benefit package for patients and staff, and provide fair compensation to retain workers long-term, thus reducing brain drain and resignations from the system.
6. Seek additional funding sources from those able to pay for supplementary benefit packages, such as encouraging employers to co-pay as part of employee welfare, and allowing those with private health insurance to use it for these costs. For those without employers or private insurance, like informal workers and farmers, the state would co-pay, so the public is not burdened entirely, with criteria determined by the board’s decisions.
7. Upgrade primary healthcare services by investing in community and workplace primary care to enhance health promotion, primary treatment, and accurate referrals.
Mr. Ekaphop further clarified that most of these approaches were policy proposals from the People's Party's last election campaign, except for point 2, which he and a group of MPs have additionally proposed to complement the other measures. Regarding the process of amending the National Health Security Act, the party will consider various proposals, including government drafts, before deciding how to proceed. The party confirms it will not support any legislation that reduces public benefits or increases the burden of accessing healthcare. It will focus on increasing the representation of the public and service providers on the NHSO board while reducing government officials' proportion, as previously mentioned.