Former public health minister Sudarat Keyuraphan has questioned how the draft constitution can improve the 30-baht universal healthcare scheme as claimed by its writers. "Does this mean the poor will receive the kind of treatments provided under the 'charity card' before the 30-baht programme?" The 30-baht programme for 48 million people costs 2,700 baht per person, or 101 billion baht in all. "The 1997 charter says: 'A person has an equal right to standard public health care' while the 2007 constitution says: 'A person has an equal right to suitable and standard public health care'. However, rumours about the fate of the universal health care scheme are not without ground.

Source: Bangkok Post July 16, 2016 11:15 UTC