Abstract
The Ministry of Public Health issued the Health Insurance Card Scheme (HICS) for migrants who
were not covered by any health insurance schemes; however, the benefit package under the HICS has
not been significantly revised for the last 10 years. This study aimed to review and develop a proposal
to revise the benefit package of the HICS for migrants. The study was conducted by reviewing documents,
including clinical practice guidelines and cost-effectiveness studies of health interventions of the first 20
important health problems among migrants in Thailand, 10 communicable and 10 non-communicable
diseases. The benefit packages of the HICS and the universal health scheme were also compared. A
focus group discussion was arranged with 13 representatives from relevant agencies and healthcare
providers, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 33 key informants comprising decision-makers/
government officers, healthcare providers, non-governmental organizations and 15 migrants. The study
showed that the HICS covered diagnosis and treatment of almost all (90%) of the prioritized health
problems. About 80% of the non-listed or unclear health services in the current benefit package were
related to health promotion and disease prevention activities. Those unclear benefits led to disparities
in services availability and user charge for access to service. The analysis of qualitative data suggested
that health interventions that should be included in the benefit package and provided in all hospitals
consisted of the maternal and child health diary (in translated version), the screening and treatment for
common mental disorders, and breast self-examination advice.
