Sheryl

Thanks for the update and glad all went well.

Thanks for this and please update when package arrives.

With an internationally issued policy from a reputable company there are not "more and more exclusions". Only any exclusions apllied when you first got the policy. They cannot add new ones later. Nor are there frequent claims denials. Denials ard very rare and usually stem from dishonesty at time of application. Premiums do go up as you age, of course. So does likelihood of needing to use the insurance. Issues relating to US health care sydtem are quite specific to it and not generalizable. Most problems are for peoplf undrf mdnaged care type policies. Not a factor in international pat insurance. By all means remain uninsured if you like. But this aggressive campaign to persuade others to forgo insurance is harmful and misleading.

Scroll down to section on Tax Exemptions, Deductions and Allowances

The visa has only just started to be issued and there has not been enough time for anyone to have tried to live here on it continuosly for several years....which is where the problems will start. Indeed MFA does not speak for Immigration, they are completely different government agencies. People who currently hold retirement visas/extensions would be ill advised IMO to switch over to this.

Much less favorable regulatory environment which allows practices not legal in the West, like raising rates based on claims history, introducing new exclusions at time if renewal etc. Much less professional intake and claims procedures. Little or no medical scrutiny when you apply, wait until you make a claim then go through all your medical records (including at other hospitals, going years back) to find reason disallow the claim. Reasons can sometimes be absurd. Generally poor track record in paying claims. Some are worse than others in this regard and problems are especially likely with claims in first 5 years of a policy. Generally low levels of coverage, sometimes ludicrously so. Only a few guarantee lifetime renewal. Those that do, have extremely high premiums after about age 70, higher than international insurers. Factoring in the additional increases based on claim history/change in health status and basically they will price you out in old age, just when you need the policy the most and can't get another. It is no problem at all to use international insurance in Thailand assuming you select an insurer who has direct payment arrangements with Thai hospitals (most do). Private hospitals here deal with international insurers all the time.

AIA Thailand -- which is the only AIA policy a Thai broker can sell -- is a Thai insurer. If wanting genuine health cover, no advantage to a Thai insurer and many disadvantages. But if wanting only to be insured on paper (eg for O-A visa extension purposes) there are Thai insurance products that do that while international ones do not.

I would definitely not assume this. It is unspecified how long an interval is needed after leaving the country and returning but good bet IOs will often flag, question and even refuse entry to people whose entry history indicates long term (more than a year) residence in Thailand. Same as they now do for visa exempt entries. Of course possible some visa run companies will partner with a "flexible" remote border outpost, again like with visa except entries. But this will not be risk free. I expect that with time and experience some restrictions will be added on number of entries per year. As happened with visa exempt entries. It is clear that the visa is not intended for people settling here permanently and there will surely be push back when it becomes apparent people are trying to use it that way. Should work for retirees who also spend significant time back home or travelling to other countries though.

See OP. He is on Doxazosin for prostate problem but as this somewhat increases risk of complications during catatact surgery he is thinking of a switch.

Don't confuse Tha insurers with international insurers who provide expat plans that will cover you in Thailand. Very few Thai insurers will newly enrol someone 72 or older and premiums are very high. Several international insurers will. provided no significant pre - existing conditions. Work with an internationally (Western based) broker who specializes in expat policies. Ask specifically about Cigna Globsl (Clise Care and Silver plans). The broker I use is https://www.aoc-insurancebroker.com/ There are no doubt others.

There are 4 drugs approved for this purpose: Terazosin Tamsulosin Doxazozosin And the Alfuzosin you currently take. All are long acting alpha-1 blockers so action and side effects are generally similar. Surely you have been on alfuzosin for a while? How long have you been on it and how long ago did the runny nose become bothersome? There might be another cause. It is flu & cold season or you might have an allergy...especially if antihistamines seem to help.

Mask wearing remains common in hospitals (required in some) and has increased now due to cold/flu season. It is always a good idea in hospitals to both mask and use hand sanitizer.

Seeing doctor is best if inner ear infection suspected. If only outer ear (more likely given history of wax removal) could try antibiotic ear drops from a pharmacy. Ask your wife to look at your ear. If she sees redness and maybe swelling there is an outer ear inflammation (and possibly infection) so could try drops from pharmacist.

In Thailand there is a special deduction for pension income in addition to the standard deduction and over age 65 deduction. Might well turn out to owe no, or very little, Thai tax for 2024. If worldwide taxation is introduced then of course you'd owe more but any Thai taxes paid become a tax credit for US taxes ,and vice versa. More likely to be a paperwork hassle than an actual cost to you.

The section you quote makes it clear that private pensions are taxable in Thailand, SS and government pensions are not. It would be simpler if you had your SS either directly deposited in a Thai bank, or in a separate US bank account. Failing that, could logically claim that whatever your monthly SS is, is part of your monthly transfers and the rest is private pension, and thus declare only the latter as assessable income.

By law it requires a prescription, though there are pharmacies which ignore this. The process of transitioning is nto so simple, and you should in any event do it under urologist supervision.

There must be some reason nto given here for the frequent CBCs. Usually they are done in patients with anemia or some other blood abnormality (both of which could cause fatigue). Nothing related to a stroke. Do you have the results of the last one handy? If so please post, blocking out your name.

If this continues see an ENT. You may have an ear infection. What were you seeing the doctor for initially that led to them looking in your ear?

"4. Posting/pinning of news articles: The forum is for members to seek advice on health/beauty related matters. it is not the place for general dissemination of news, research findings etc. Members are not to post news articles/research findings unless in the context of a discussion specific to an ASEAN NOW member's health/beauty related problem." https://aseannow.com/topic/224498-health-forum-rules/#comment-5640297 Observational studies prove absolutely nothing about causation and it is very misleading to post these sorts of things. Thread closed.

Can you be more specific as to the problem with "upper back muscles/shoulder region"? There are both excellent spine and shoulder specialists - western trained, completely fluent in English -- in Bangkok but they are different people so I need to know which to suggest. Please describe the problem in detail and also any treatment thus far received.

I can see the problem. Most large pharmacies should have eye guard such as pictured.

Over 70 percent of the world's population (and well over 80% in most developed countries) have been vaccinated and, obviously, most are still alive. Not the case for millions of unvaccinated people who died of COVID. Obviously, not all unvaccinated people died of COVID, and nto all COVID deaths were unvaccinated. But the unvaccinated make up a disproportionate share of COVID deaths. This includes at least one member of this board who was convinced not to be vaccinated, despite being in high risk groups, by things he read online including here. He died a horrific death after 6 months in ICU on a ventilator, and believe me, he deeply regretted not being vaccinated to put it mildly. Which is why I have zero tolerance for anti-vax misinformation. People think they are just having fun or expressing an opinion; actually they have literal blood on their hands as a result of persuading others to forgo vaccination no matter how high their risk status. Thread closed.

Posts with anti-vax conspiracy nonsense and replies to same have been removed.

Usually an eye guard rather than glasses, something like this: Which can be taped in place. And yes, you do need to avoid sports and other strenuous activity for a few weeks.

Fatigue is not a neurological symptom and probably not related to your stroke...or at least, not directly related. A neurologist is unlikely to be interested/able to help. Might you be depressed? As besides anemia, which you apparently do not have if your blood counts are OK, that is a common cause of fatigue. Another is medication side effect, and stains such as atorvastatin can cause this, how long have you been on it? To be clear, what you have done every three months is a complete blood count? Why is it being monitored? Nothing in the history you gave would account fore that. Could you be confusing this with a lipid panel?