wtboatr

I got some information on obtaining a bio-similar of Humira (Adalimumab) in Thailand. Hyrimoz, Hulio, & Exemptia, 40 mg/0.8 ml prefilled syrige is about 8600 baht when purchased from private hospitals and about 4500 baht when purchased from government hospitals. Seeing that the cost is about half when procured from a government hospital, do you think I can have a prescription ordered from a rheumatologist at private hospital then pick it up the medication at a pharmacy at a government hospital? I need two doses per month so the cost from a private hospital would be about $450 per month. The cost to obtain the medication from a pharmacy at a government hospital would be about $250 per month. Both prices are far cheaper than the USA. It would be nice to save the $200 per month if possible.

That's good news. Humira (Adalimumab) is an amazing biologic for rheumatoid arthritis as well as other diseases. My insurance pays well over $6,000 per month for this drug as long as I live in the US. However, my Blue Cross insurance plan provides no coverage outside the USA. Any idea how much Hulio & Hyrimoz cost in Thailand? A Google search yields no results. If I'm able to obtain this bio-similar at a reasonable cost, it may be an option that will save me a lot of suffering and truly prolong my life.

I did a quick search for Cosentyx prices in the USA. The cost is over $6,000 USD per month! It's amazing how much cheaper the same drug is in Thailand. This is good news. I'll ask my rheumatologist about prescribing this biologic during my next appointment in December. Thank you!

Thank to everyone for commenting on my post regarding living with rheumatoid arthritis in Thailand. For the past several years I've been taking the biologic drug Humira. It's works great! However, this drug is not available in Thailand, and even if it were, it would be too expensive for me to purchase. This drug costs over $6,000 USD in the states. If it were not for health insurance, I would not have had the pleasure of injecting myself every 2 weeks to control my RA. I'm planning on moving full time to Thailand in 17 months so I must find a way to stop the pain and destruction to my body without the use of expensive biologics. 4 months ago, I stopped taking all my RA medications. It looks like things were going to be ok, but as the drugs slowly left my body, all my joint pain and disabilities slowly returned. I'm talking about finger, hand, shoulder, hips, knees, foot, and toes all in chronic or acute pain. It's a terrible place to be. I've been trying to fight this disease by following a low carb diet and exercise. My diet is that of keto. I'm practically a ketovore now, as I've been attempting to eliminate anything that can cause inflammation and painful flareups. I was hopeful that diet could solve the problem, but I'm starting to lose faith that diet alone can manage the pain and damage to my body. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos of people reducing RA by following a carnivore diet. Everybody is different though and what works for one person may not work for another. I've started to take a DMARD drug called Leflunomide. It's relatively cheap, about $150 USD. Form what I've read, it's available in Thailand. At this time, I actually don't know if it will work. It'll take a few months to find out. I can't take methotrexate as it makes me nauseous. Even worse for me is Hydroxychloroquine. That drug makes me so ill that I can't get out of bed. Methotrexate and Hydroxychloroquine work well for many people with RA, but not for me as I can't deal with the nauseous side effects. My goal is to take a cheap DMARD drug in the US, that's also available in Thailand so when I move there permanently, I can continue with the same drug and not be miserable in my new home country while I experiment with new medications. Some of these medications can take months to take effect. For instance, it took me 4 months on methotrexate for the drug to take effect and my join pain to subside. Thank you for the rheumatologist recommendations. I'll get in touch with at least one of them on my next trip so I can discuss my situation and available medications in Thailand. If anyone can share the costs to see a rheumatologist, the cost of lab test, and the cost of their medications, I would be grateful. In the meantime, I'll keep the carbs down as low as possible, consume zero sugar, take my vitamins, especially vitamin D, eat high quality fats and proteins, and exercise daily. I know this definitely helps. If Leflunomide works for me, I'll be satisfied with the quality of my health. I'll experiment in a few of years to see if I can live without it and protect my liver from the damage caused by DMARD's. Once again, thank you for all your responses.

Can anyone recommend a rheumatologist in Bangkok? I'm sure I'm not the only one here that suffers from this painful, join-wrecking condition. I'm aware that Bumrumgrad and Samitivej Hospitals have rheumatologists on staff. However, it seems overkill for me to go to a hospital for my chronic condition. I'm hoping for a recommendation to a small clinic that specialized in rheumatology. I assume the costs to visit the clinic for regular evaluations and prescriptions would be lower as well. Also, if anyone is willing to share what rheumatoid arthritis medication they are prescribed, it would be benefit me to know what my available options are in Thailand. Thank you,

Oil prices are cyclical. I believe it's a bad decision for governments to subsidize oil prices. It's a long lasting burden on the tax payers while only providing temporary price reductions. It's better for oil prices to be high temporarily. High oil prices incentive a change of behavior to alternative methods of energy use and transport. In my case, I'm toying with the idea of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and an electric bicycle as means of transport to reduce my reliance on expensive petrol. In 2.5 weeks the US Fed is expected to raise the Fed Funds Rate 0.75%. Unless the Thai Central Bank or government takes action (what kind of action, I have no idea), I expect to see the Baht weaken further. It would not surprise me to see the Baht trading between 39 and 40 in the next few weeks.

If you are able to use other bank's ATM's, that's a big plus. When I need cash, it seems like I can never find an SCB ATM. When I don't need cash they are everywhere. I have an Krungsri ATM/Debit Card that allows me to use other bank's ATM's for free. I really like that feature. I think I pay an extra 200 Baht per year for this feature (400 Baht total per year.) It's definitely worth having, but it's another card that I have to carry in my wallet. I prefer to use SCB as my main bank account and pay for all my PrompPay purchases. I like the SCB Mobile App the best. Hmm. I wonder if SCB also has an ATM Card that allows me to use other bank's ATM's for free. I'd definitely pay a little extra for it for the convenience of not having to carry around the Krungsri card in my wallet.

True. But what action can the Thai government take to strengthen the Baht? The central bank could spend their foreign currency reserves and buy Baht on the open market, but that would deplete their foreign currency reserves. The central bank could raise interest rates and reduce the amount of Baht in circulation. But that would have an impact on the booming economy (at least the construction economy in Bangkok) and reduce GDP. Or the central bank can do nothing and watch the THB/USD rate fall to 40:1 in the next few months and accept paying more for imported goods and reduce their imports too. In the long run, Thai exports become cheaper, and with the increase in exports, the Thai Baht strengthens once again. I would think the last option is the best for Thailand.

Question: If I convert my monthly pension from USD to THB and send it to my Thai bank account each and every month, am I liable to pay taxes to Thailand?

For Chase 2FA, I use - Email - Google voice phone number - Magic Jack phone number - Chase mobile app For Wells Fargo, all of the above, plus a RSA hardware device that rotates OTP codes every 60 seconds. The cost for this keychain device is $25 USD and is the ultimate 2FA device as it is issued by Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo claims they will not send 2FA codes to international IP addresses but I have not found that to be the case as of yet. If and when that actually happens, I am prepared. My only worry with this keychain hardware device is what will happen when the battery dies. Can I install a new battery and still be in sync with the OTP server? This is something I’d like an answer to but finding a knowledgeable tech at WF is not easy.

THB/USD rose from 36 to 38 on the last 0.75% Fed rate hike. Do you think the Nov 2022 0.75% rate hike will weaken the THB/USD to 40?

You can’t leave AUS on a British passport if you are an AUS citizen. (unless you entered and were stamped in on your British passport). My understanding is that you must enter AUS on your AUS passport if you are a citizen of AUS.

Is the requirement to qualify for the LTR visa: $80k per year in income and $1 million USD investment; or $80k per year in income or $1 million USD investment. If the requirement is the former, yes I qualify. If it’s the latter, I do not.

There’s a sign on the fence showing their new location. I think it’s on Soi 81. It’s about a mile away from the On Nut BTS station. I can’t see anyone going there unless they live nearby. It’s too far away. It would be nice if the vacant land was used like W-district in Phra Khanong, even if it’s just temporary. On Nut needs more places to drink and hang out with friends.

7-11 does not take PromptPay or Thai bank debit cards with the Visa or Mastercard logo. I tested mine from 4 different banks and they all failed. I asked several 7-11 employees and they all said credit cards only are accepted, but not debit cards. However, I did discover that my Wise Mastercard debit card does indeed work at 7-11. I use it regularly at 7-11 for small purchases like a 7 baht bottle of water, unless I have a need for small change.

I was wondering if anyone out there has any comments regarding UOB Bank. Are there any advantages with UOB verses the Thai banks?

At 79 years of age he needs somebody to take good care of him. I would love to have a young, healthy wife (nurse) when I’m his age. More power to the OP. Heck, if he’s as rich as I think, he should have 2 wives! It’s not easy taking care of an old man.

I am also looking for an option to use PromptPay or TrueMoney without cluttering up my bank statement with 20B purchases. Unfortunately, I’m not able to obtain the TrueMoney Wallet as the app won’t take a photo of my passport. Therefore, I opened up a savings account with SCB that I use for all my small food cart purchases using PromptPay. If I were to update my bank book I’m sure I’ll the machine will run out of ink. (Most likely I’ll run out of pages first.)

Receiving a pension does not necessarily equate to one being "retired" and no longer working. A pension benefit is just a financial benefit, usually accrued from a lifetime of savings in a private, company, or government pension plan. In the USA, one can receive a pension and continue to work legally. This may not be the case in other countries with socialized retirement schemes. I have a friend in the USA who collects 3 pensions and is still working at 70 years of age. He collects social security, a union pension, and a company pension. The LTR presenter definitely stated during the Zoom Conference that one who obtains an LTR Visa under the wealthy retiree path is entitled to a work permit in Thailand. This is of utmost importance to me as the work permit and the paying of taxes provides a path to PR and Citizenship. Also, the presenter did not restrict the work permit to "digital work permits". She simply said work permit. My assumption is that the work permit is valid for all business endeavors with the exception of protected industries such as "umbrella making" and any profession that does not impact the Thai labor market. I could be wrong on my assumptions as our information on this program is limited.

Based on the zoom conference call this morning, Wealthy Pensioners can apply for a work permit. This is great news! I plan to have a business and pay myself a salary. This is something that's not possible under the Elite Visa.

I was wondering if Bangkok Bank offers joint bank accounts for husband and wife? I'll be in Thailand in a couple months and plan to open an account at Bangkok Bank. My thought is that my Thai wife should be on the account so that when I pass away she can continue to draw from my pension benefit. Also, can I have two accounts at Bangkok Bank? One Joint account and one for me and only me. I assume the answer is yes, but TiT and I don't want to find out the hard way.

It would be nice to see the specific details on the LTR visa program. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow. ????

Other than the LTR visa publication found on the Thailand Board of Investment website, is anyone aware of any other document that provides more detail on the LTR visa program? The document (see attached) is just a summary of the LTR visa program. There must be a more detailed document out there that the summary refers to. https://www.boi.go.th/un/guides LTR-1.pdf

Does the "Wealthy Pensioner" option at least replace the 90 day immigration reporting with a 1 year immigration reporting requirement? In order to qualify for a path to PR & Citizenship, my only option left among the LTR visa options is the "Wealthy Global Citizen" option. That option requires $1 Million in assets plus a $500K investment in Thailand (bonds, business, or property). That's $1.5 Million I would have to have available in order to qualify for an LTR visa. My desire is to start a business rather than work for at least 3 years for someone else. I find the thought of managing my own business much more enjoyable than taking orders from a superior and working set hours. Do you think investing $500K in condos and renting them out will qualify me for the LTR visa and a path to citizenship? My business would then be that of a "real estate investor and property manager". I would pay taxes on my rental income for 3 years then apply for PR or Citizenship. Yes, I know that investing in condos in a terrible business idea. I hate the thought of it myself. However, if I must purchase $500K in something (bonds, businesses, or real estate) in order to obtain a path to citizenship via the LTR visa, purchasing condos is the best of these terrible options. Once I'm granted PR or Citizenship, I can sell the condos and hopefully break even on my investment. Your advice is sincerely appreciated.