สุขภาพของแรงงานข้ามชาติกับการเข้าถึงบริการสาธารณสุขของรัฐ

Abstract

Around 2 to 3 million transnational laborers, mostly from Myanmar, now work across every province in Thailand. By 2008 however, fewer than 600,000 laborers had been registered, or had health insurance, something which would allow them to use governmental health services at only a 30 Baht fee for each visit. This article shows that more than 1 million laborers have no health coverage and thus have limited access to governmental health services. These people are likely to treat themselves when getting ill, visiting hospital only when their illness becomes serious. By then, it is often too late to treat the illness and to prevent the transmission of disease to others. To ensure transnational laborers’ good health, health insurance for all laborers should be seriously considered, regardless of their registration status. This article suggests that appropriate health insurance schemes for all transnational laborers should be developed with the participation of laborers, employers, health practitioners and other concerned parties, in diverse forms and scales, and at various levels.