Thailand achieved full population coverage of financial protection for health care in 2002 with successful implementation of the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS). The three public health insurance schemes covered 98.5% of the population by 2015. Applying the WHO’s Political Economy of Health Financing Reform framework to UHC reform in Thailand highlights some important lessons for other countries looking to implement similar reforms:
- Early choices can be consequential for future options, but are not fully deterministic
- Evidence is important to make change
- Certain key policy objectives may have to be abandoned
- Budget transparency is critical