NHSO secretary-general Dr Sanguan Nittayarum-phong yesterday denied that he had "whispered in reply" to renowned economist Ammar Siamwalla about the scheme's lack of financing, as reported in a published interview between Ammar and Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat.

Sanguan said this information was no secret, as it had been stated many times at public discussions, academic meetings, budget committee meetings and in media articles that during the first phase of the plan's implementation the Budget Bureau had not provided the annual flat rate subsidy per head that the NHSO requested. The NHSO asked for Bt1,414 but got Bt1,202 in 2003, asked for Bt1,447 but got Bt1,308 in 2004, and asked for Bt1,510 but got Bt1,396 last year, he said.

The government initially said it wanted to see improvements in hospitals and the system's management before meeting the office's requests, Sanguan said. However, after the NHSO explained that the hospitals would suffer financially, the government this year allocated the Bt1,659.20 subsidy requested by the office.

"Pinij even proposed a subsidy of Bt1,800 for the scheme," he said, adding that he believed everyone had worked hard on the health security plan and that all sides had the best of intentions in ensuring that the scheme went smoothly.

However, Sanguan said, focusing solely on the scheme's lack of funding would lead nowhere and could become a political issue if discussions did not include reforms, especially in the area of budget management. Without such reform, he said, no amount of money would be sufficient to manage the health plan as it is.

He cited the example of Ban Phaew Hospital in Samut Sakhon, which received the same limited subsidy as other hospitals but had managed to expand its health services and even reach out to take over another private hospital in Bangkok to better its patient-transfer and emergency-transport systems.