Universal Health Coverage for Undocumented Migrant Workers in Thailand: Challenges in Policy Implementation

Abstract

Background: According to the Thai migration report in 2019, almost 5 million non-Thai are residing in Thailand. A majority are low-skilled migrant workers (LSMW) from neighbouring countries including Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (CLM). Although the progress in Universal Health Coverage (UCH) Thailand made during the last decade, only half of the LSMW were covered by public health insurance in 2018. A significant number remain deprived from any entitlement to any health insurance due to various barriers. In this paper we review the gaps and challenges in health policies related to migrant workers. Methods: Literature review from PubMed, Biomed Central, and Google Scholar and discussion using WHO Universal Health Coverage cube as a framework Results: Gaps in migrant health policy implementation persist due to the restrictive nature of migrant policies. The processes of providing social protection in health (SPH) to UMW are more of legalizing than protecting of human rights. The discourse that migrants are a burden to the health system still prevails. The accessibility to basic health services remained limited. Additionally, little was achieved regarding the promotion of equal rights and working opportunities. Conclusion: To reduce gaps in health policy implementation, the migrant-friendly service is proposed to provide ease of access to care among migrant workers.