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Published on December 13, 2007

The board also approved additional medical benefits for fund members including bone marrow transplants, said Juthathawat Inthornsuksri, permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry and chairman of the board.

To avoid government-owned companies turning into state enterprises due to investment by the fund, the board decided to amend the Social Security Act of 1990 to make the fund a juristic person

under the supervision of the Social Security Office, the source said.

The move would allow the fund to acquire assets such as stocks of quality companies run by the government and real estate, which would belong to the fund, not the state.

The fund could also invest and seek returns from its holdings such as buying properties to lease out and receive rent as income, the source added.

Juthathawat said 113 patients had received bone marrow transplants worth Bt76.18 million in total.

The board also hiked the allowed rate for artificial organs and medical devices and added some necessary devices to the approved list, such as corneal prostheses and bone plates, he said.

Additional financial assistance would also be provided for cases treated by specialists.

These included Bt30,000 per stroke treatment with balloon embolisation and Bt50,000 per year for chemotherapy and radiation treatment instead of Bt30,000 per year.

 The Nation