Sheryl

It is possible to get an age chart showing premiums for all age groups. Just gave to ask for it. Of course what you see in a chart now will have increased some due to inflation (for all age groups) by the time you reach the later ages but the magnitude if increase between age brackets will be about the same.

Calculating age premiums based on expected claims for each age in the customer base is exactly what all insurers do. It does, however, lead to a big increase between 60 - 64/ 65-69, 70-74/75-79 etc because claims (both frequency and cost) go up significantly as people are older. There is no getting around this. The very big mistake people seem to make is to look at their need for health care (and hence utilization of insurance) until now and assume it predicts what will be the case going forward, despite the fact that they are aging.

Thank you for this. So it seems OP and others actually had Cigna Thailand, not Cigna Global. Many do indeed get confused on this point. One correction to the above, however: Pre-authorization is needed for hospitalization for the itnernational policy. This is pretty standard in all policies -- and a Thai hospital would in any case insist ion a Guarantee of Payment from the insurer before they'd admit you anyway (either that or a depositc payment by you up front -- not recommended). @Swiss1960 you should call Cigna in the UK, explain you had a policy with Cigna Thailand which is closing down and ask if it is possible to somehow roll over to an international plan. Phone number +44 (0)1475 788182

OP's issue is that he will be out of country at the time he would need to do this.

If you return on a non-O visa then correct. But if you return visa exempt or on a tourist visa then an extra step is involved to first convert to an O visa.

The risk is small but I would not call it negligible. General anesthesia (which will be required) is never to be taken lightly with a small child. Maesot will surely have a larger/better ICU than Umphang if Umphang even has one at all. If they do not have a separate pediatric ICU then they will either combine adults and children together or refer critically ill children to the regional hospital. It is true that you cannot choose where you are sent through the public channel but you can sometimes influence it by asking the right questions/expressing concerns. Ask specifically about the availability of pediatric ICU care in case of complications (and do not accept a "mai pen rai" sort of reply -- keep pushing). I would not even consider doing this at a community hospital like Umphang. As a general rule, anytime you are given a choice like this, choose the highest level facility. .

1. You are confusing neonatal diabetes with genetically caused diabetes. Many genetic problems do not cause disease immediately; "genetic" is not synonymous with "neonatal". Type 1 diabetes is genetic in cause but does not usually first manifest until later in childhood or adolescence. 2. Type 2 diabetes as previously mentioned can be due to acquired factors or genetics or a mixture of both. It is entirely possible for thin physically active people to develop type 2 diabetes and far from rare. It also becomes more common with age.

That there is no improvement with omepraxole casts some doubt as to whether problem is GERD at all. May be something else, or you may have a hiatal hernia. You need to se a good GI specialist. And as others mentioned: - do not lie down for 2-3 hours after eating - elevate the head of your bed - eat small amounts at a time (avoid overfilling stomach). Multiple small meals are better than 3 large ones. And: - avoid or minimize caffeine (coffee, te and chocolate) - if you smoke, stop. Should also invedtigate whether any other medication you are taking might be responsible. Some medications have this side effect.

All hospitals have some bad or mediocre doctors and virtually all large hospitals have some good ones. Choose the doctor, not the hospital. There is no hospital you can choose that ensures good care. You can and will have very different experiencese-- and receive different treatment -- at the same hospital for the same condition depending on which doctor you see. Never let the hospital clerical staff -- or even the nurses -- select a doctor for you. More often than not you will be sent to whomever is least busy, and that is not a good sign. Sometimes you will even be sent to the wrong specialist type altogether. There is no getting around the need to do some research and pre-select the doctor. Often the same doctor will have hours at more than one hospital.

Your spinal stenosis would definitely be considered a pre-existing condition and likely lead to exclusion of all spinal problems. Spinal Stenosis is a chronic condition. It dos not go away (though some treatments may reduce or eliminate associated pain) and tends to worsen with age. It helps to understand the insurer's concern. Premiums are calculated assuming the insured is at no more than average risk for any type of claim. Any underlying or past condition that puts you at more than average risk of a particular problem undermines that calculation. People often mistakenly assume that because a problem was cured, or is not now requiring treatment, it does not matter for insurance purposes. Sometimes this is true (e.g. a broken bone years ago due to an accident that has fully healed) but in many cases if does alter the odds of future problems. For example, having had a kidney stone once that was removed or passed, still significantly increases the risk of future stones. If an insurer deems that a prior or pre-existing problem affects your risk of a claim in future they may: - still insure you but with a specific exclusion - offer to insure you at a higher than average premium - give you a choice of either the above two things - decline to insure you. This tends to occur when the pre-existing problem is one that increases risk for multiple diseases/potentially affects multiple body organs. Insurers do differ in how they treat/view the same medical history. Thai insurers tend to be the most restrictive/least nuanced, in part because their reviews seem to be done by non-medically trained people. The better international insurers have medical panels who review applications, often asking for additional detailed records of pre-existing or prior illnesses before making a decision.

Diabetes is Type 1 diabetes is completely genetic. Type 2 diabetes is influenced by both genetics and lifestyle factors (exercise, diet) and obesity. The odds of developing Type2 are much greater if one is overweight and sedentary. But it is perfectly possible for someone trim and fit with a healthy diet to develop it if there is a strong genetic predisposition, and such cases are not rare.

To be completely safe in the (rare) event of complication you should have this done at a hospital with a pediatric ICU. The smaller hospital will not. I'm not sure Mae Sot will either but you can ask. If not, the regional hospital in Nakon Sawang will.

He quite probably used an allergly card as the easiest way for you to ensure you did not receive the same drug combination in future -- they don't have cards for "non allergic adverse reactions". Either that (most likely) or you had more reaction than just the vomiting, perhaps before you awoke. Vomiting itself is not an allergic reaction just a fairly common side effect. Actual allergic reactions to these drugs are extremely rare.

He did not have GA. He had IV sedation for both procedures. Use of the term General Anesthesia is misnomer here. But a common one.

I was reffering to selfie attemots while actually sitting atop a balcony railing, which is clearly reckless. It does also sometimes happen that a person leans much too far back against a fairly low (relative to their height) balcony rail. Or puts too much weight against a railing not strong or secured enough to hold it. While these things could happen sober they are far more likely inebriated. And then there are the balcony "falls" that are not falls at all. Druggdd person who thinks they can fly. Ill-advised attempt to dive into a pool below. Suicide attempt etc.

They will also raise by age bracket. You can get a chart now showing current rates by age group which will give you an idea of what magnitude of increase to expect and at what age. The increases are most marked after age 65. For the simple reason that need for medical csre and thus size and frequency of claims substantially increases at that poinh and keeps doing so. It makes zero sense IMO to opt out of a policy because of these higher rates in old age since you are at that point quite likely to have a large claim in the forseeable future...and anyone who can't afford insurance premiums certainly can't afford to self pay that. If unable to afford continued insurance it may be time to consider a move back home. All of which should have been thought through/planned years in advance, since there is nothing unknown or unpredictable about age related changes in premium. Previous or current state of health and prior use of policy (or lack thereof) is not a good predictor of future need for health care once you are elderly.

Would definitely be considered reckless and excluded on that ground. In most cases insurer will not know the precise way the fall occurred though. This sort of reckless behavior often occurs in conjunction with intoxication. Likely the insurer in question either had a "balcony exclusion" or went by the blood dlbohol level.

Obviously, give this full history to any future anethetists and surgeons. Vomiting after anesthesia is not an "allergy". It is a common side effect and can usually be controlled by giving an anti-emetic drug. It would likely be the morphine in the second procedure that made you vomit (and the fentanyl in the first) , propofol usually does not (in fact has anti-nausea properties). Some people are extremely prone to nausea and vomiting from opiods. I am one...even a tiny dose of codeine in cough syrup has me vomiting severely. I avoid opiates as much as possible and when I require anesthesia (or post op pain meds) I tell both surgeon and anethetist in advance and request that they give anti-emetic drugs prophylactically. One dose in OR before I wake up then at regular intervals thereafter. Does the trick. If you do not normally get nauseous from opoids (e.g. if you take them in other situations without nausea) then the culprit may be Naloxone which is routinely given in the OR/procedure room or recovery room to reverse the effect of opiods when these have been used for short term IV sedation. Naloxone too often causes nausea. Either way answer is the same: - avoid opiods/synthetic opoids as muchs as possible. For IV sedation, easily done if doctor is informed of the need. -when opoids are unavoidable (for example post op pain after surgery), administer anti-emetic drug routinely with each opoid dose. Do now wiait for nausea to occur first. The hot feeling you got in your chest the second time was from the morphine and a common reaction.

A common method is to sit on top of the railing and attempt to take a selfie.

Yes 800 for retirement, 400 is for marriage.

Not too many balconies in Thailand fit that description and certainly not those at hotels in back-packer type price range. Even so, people don't tend to accidentally fall off even Thai balconies unless drunk/drugged or acting rashly.

Varies with policy but blood level that equates to legal intoxication is commonly used. His alcohol blood level would likely be in his medical records. Balcony falls are the type of thing that immediately raise insurer's suspicion of either intoxication or suicide attempt both of which would exclude coverage in pretty much any policy.

Reduces, but certainly does not eliminate. And many of us would have as much or even higher medical expense if back in oud home countries.

Vivacor is made by Astra Zeneca. The local brands of rosuvastin are not made by "unknown" companies but by well known local pharm companies. These are of course smaller than the big internationals bug they are well known iN SE Asua and regulated.

Crestor has NOT been taken off the market. It is still on the market as are many other brands of the same drug. A large number of drugs interact with coumadin (warfarin). That is never a reason to take something off market. Rather a reason to caution people on coummadin to be wary of interactions. Not only with other drugs but also with some foods.