Currently, civil servants and their family members are entitled to free treatments. However, they have to pay the medical bills first and receive reimbursement later.

"This should be convenient," he said, adding that it was made possible due to a new agreement reached by his office (NHSO), the Central Office for Healthcare Information and the Comptroller-General's Department.

Under the agreement, civil servants and their family members must reaffirm their right to health benefits so they can receive treatments without having to pay. And medical-service providers can demand payments directly from the Comptroller-General's Department.

Sanguan said about 1.3 million civil servants and their family members have already reaffirmed their rights and government agencies have verified information on about 300,000.

"For those who are yet to do so, they will continue with the old method of paying first and being reimbursed later," he explained.

According to him, the government had launched a similar scheme for pensioners last October. Since then, hospitals have already received Bt2.89 billion in reimbursement for medical services provided by them, and others will be paid shortly.

Rural Doctors' Society chairman Dr Pongthep Wongwatcharapaiboon yesterday commended the move. He said the reimbursement rule often made cash-strapped civil servants and their family members reluctant to seek treatments.

"They have problems because they can't afford to pay and wait to be reimbursed later," he said.

However, he said the government could now expect to shoulder more expenses by providing treatments for civil servants and their family members - it could cost about Bt20 billion a year.

"They may seek treatments more often and may ask for medicines they plan to keep for use at home," Pongthep said.