The major aims of the universal health care coverage (UC) program initiated in Thailand in 2002 are not only to increase the access of people to essential health services, but also to reduce the financial risk they face due to out-of-pocket payments for health care. This study employed secondary...

Background: Thailand achieved universal health coverage (UHC) in 2002 by introducing a tax-financed health insurance scheme, the UHC scheme, to approximately 47 million of Thais. With the comprehensive benefit package and clear objectives in ensuring equitable access to essential health care,...

We examine economic vulnerability to illness when, as for informal sector workers in Thailand, there is universal coverage for health care but earnings losses are uninsured. Even with comprehensive health care entitlement, severe illness that strikes an initially healthy worker is found to raise...