timoti

8 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

There is no such thing as "best" hospitals only best doctors.

 

You need to choose the best doctor for your specific issue.

 

Clinics in Thailand are located inside hospitals, all hospitals have outpatient clinics.  This actually makes a great deal of sense, and is very cost effective, as the outpatient services have direct access to the hospital lab, imaging, pharmacy etc.

 

With the notable exception of Chinag Mai, stand alone clinics are rare here and often dodgy.

 

There is, however, a British GP with a clinic in Bangkok (medconsultasia) and this is an excellent source for simple things.   https://www.medconsultasia.com/#

The clinics I visited in pattaya were standalone, maybe that's why they were pretty bad. There were so many of them.

Btw which hospitals in Thailand would you recommend to get serious procedures done? Basically any kind of surgery or even simpler stuff like sebaceous cyst which I know April won't cover without OP, right?

Reason I ask is, I had a hard time to even find a clinic to remove stitches from a small area. All of them said they can laser it, but there is nothing to laser. It's just to remove stitches and they said they can't do it.

I find it absurd to have to go to a hospital for such a simple thing. This was in Pattaya.

And in other experiences visiting Pattaya Hospital and Pattaya International Hospital, I found them pretty bad. That's why I am wondering which hospitals are the best in Pattaya and also Bangkok.

Wow thanks for correcting me. I thought it was 60 days for OPD for IP benefits. It's good that it's the same. I will reassess Premium.

As for the prices I only saw the excel sheet and I can see the price for Comfort for age 83 (max price) is ~6700 vs ~8300 of Premium. That's why I thought it wasn't so crazy jump.

Essential for age 83 is 5800. All of this is zone 1. I frequently visit Singapore that's why I had to include that, which means zone 1.

And when I did a long internal assessment I thought Comfort is better bet because one night in hospital in Singapore can easily cost $300-600 and that's normal 1 bed private, not outrageously luxury room. So in that case I wouldn't want to be dinged for that cost.

On 6/19/2022 at 9:11 PM, Sheryl said:

 

This seems to refer to April Thailand only, I suggest you get April Global issued out of France. A lot of reasons why never the best idea to get a Thai-issued policy.

 

Yes, contact AA. Tell them specifically you want April Global issued out of France not April Thailand.

 

As to type of policy most of us go for the Essential Plan (without OPD add on). You can read the options in this attachment April Benefits as of 2021.pdf

 

Malaria prophylaxis is usually not necessary in India unless you are going to be overnighting in remote jungle. Where exactly in India are you going?

 

 

That benefits PDF is interesting but it's changed I think. AA sent me 2022 one I can upload if you guys want but right off the bat, I can see their Premium plan is not unlimited but $3M and Premium plan's outpatient consulations benefits without OP is 60 days, not 30 days.

Otherwise looks similar.

Also since you mentioned you have Essential, did you incur any more charges for your surgeries after you are discharged? I was nervous about the 30 days coverage because some surgeries can take months to recover and could require weekly visits to the doctor.

That's why the premium plan looks quiet attractive to me to be safe.

Also I looked into Cigna before even their $20-30K IP plan doesn't have the above mentioned benefits unless you add OP. That's quite bad IMO.

17 hours ago, Sheryl said:

medical certificate.pdf 13.7 MB · 4 downloads

 

I see. Can't tell you anything about Singapore but it seems odd they can't provide more than that. Certainly anyone with insurance would need it and some employers might also. Here is an example of a Medical certificate provided by a Thai hospital that was accepted by April (identifying info blocked out) in case that helps.

 

 

Thanks a lot that helps. I showed it to them. Basically here MC just doesn't include those so I ask them to add that it's a follow up to my surgery.

Also from what I can tell somehow my work insurance doesnt require it, I assume maybe they fill another form for this so that they know.

So in this case they told me it's different due to intl insurances vs local.

Actually that's the thing, it's in Singapore. Here they use the medical certificate term for the same thing as you mentioned but it just says something like:

This person is not fit for work for 3 days that's it. It doesn't say that he come here to do an outpatient procedure that's follow up for an in patient case, etc.

I can see if they could maybe add that info. Not sure if they will do it.

Thanks a lot, this is becoming a pain point for me, because I assume this is common like you said in Thailand, but in some countries or maybe the hospital I visited, they told me they never did this. They don't even have a template for this.

I did get one like you said for the surgery that details these, but nothing after.

For the follow up visits, all I get is the bill that details what was done, i.e. consultation, doctor fees, procedures, and meds, but no mention of that it's connected to first inpatient thing.

So I am trying to get them to print something for that kind of connection.

Thanks a lot @Sheryl. Yes it's April Global I bought from AA based on your recommendation. In the IP op I also asked for GOP but didn't want to wait. But I had a work insurance that came first to pay most of it, so that's why.

So now I submitted the rest to April but AA told me I have to mail in actual bills.

Also she said every bill no matter what has to include a medical report. Do you know anything about this? Because it muddies the waters a bit. Because the hospital is saying medical report or medical certificate, etc which AA is using interchangebly.

So now I am trying to get the hospital to issue that for each follow up visit to accompany each bill. It proves a bit difficult. They said full MR would cost $300 to issue as it details everything but I said that's not what they want. It would be silly to ask for that each time I visit for follow up.

Btw I ended up getting the April Global plan, and seeing how they are with the claims now.

Anyone can share their experiences? @Sheryl

Because I wanted to claim an inpatient op, and they told me I have to mail the physical bills if it's over certain amount. That seems awfully inefficient.

Also I noticed even their top 2 plans for IP only allow 30 to 60 days of pre/post op coverage. 30 days is very little and 60 is just meh. I see some insurances that offer 6 months, but of course then I see them cutting corners in other things so there is that.

It's just that anything before, but mostly after an op can take a lot of time and money too. So that's something to factor.

For example the localized April plans i.e. April Singapore offer 180 days for this, albeit 2x the premium and other issues.

On pacific prime website it shows that even the top most expensive Cigna plan doesn't offer this kind of pre/post op coverage. That was shocking to me.

I also saw Tokio Marine insurance there, not sure if that's any good. No benefits document that I could find.

2 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Do you think a guy/girl at TP is searching for your hotel on Agoda?  I mean really!! 

It's all automated if you knew something about computers. The application form checks this automatically using the booking number. Welcome to interwebs.

1 hour ago, Kopitiam said:

Just make sure the hotel you are booking is a SHA Plus hotel and provides transfer from airport to hotel.

Yes I checked this. I didnt know the hotel had to confirm since Thailand pass is able to retrieve the booking using Agoda. Otherwise it seems redundant to me that hotel has to check all the docs and the same docs are also checked on Thailand pass.

I submitted that already, but I thought they also want to know where you will stay next?

Actually that SHA+ one was rejected immediately on a weekend because Thailand pass said the SHA+ hotel didnt approve it, because only later they emailed me asking for the same documents, passport, vaccination docs, insurance docs, etc, then they said ok, so now I am waiting for the new review after i modified the application to re-initialize it.

Hi,

For Thailand pass, my landlord only sent me a bill that shows that I paid for X nights. Will this be enough to prove I have a place of stay? It doesn't show the address or the name of condo or phone number of anyone. Should I request additional documents?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

Just to be safe, for example if you travel to Thailand on April 1, can you book a return ticket on May 1? Or 30 just to be safe? I checked my passport but it seems all over.

Thanks in advance.

13 minutes ago, kelboy said:

How many injections have you had?

2. Is that enough? Or need a booster dose also? I had one but they didnt give me paper coz of printer issues.

Hi,

For test and go and thai pass, what kind of vaccination documents do I need to show? I was given local certificate print-out in English from where I got my vaccination. Would that suffice?

Thanks in advance.

1 hour ago, zugzug123 said:

cheapest insurance is from worldtrips btw. 

I bought insurance already so that's done.

Ok it seems like I will be able to stay in Thailand for April. So I checked this website for requirements:

https://oslo.thaiembassy.org/en/page/updated-measures-on-traveling-to-thailand?menu=6172dd8b6416c15bce04a672

But it's a bit confusing.

1. If I choose test and go, can I directly fly to Pattaya airport?

2. What's the difference between SHA and AQ hotels?

3. If I am not wrong, I will just stay there 1 night, and then if negative, go to my real hotel/condo, right? Then on day 5, go back to the SHA/AQ place to do another test?

4. Before flying just make sure to already have Thailand pass, health insurance document printed, PCR test done at where I am flying from, proof of where I will stay, and return ticket that's within 30 days? Or do I not need health insurance printed, but rather send it digitally when applying for Thailand pass?

This is it, right?

On 1/25/2022 at 6:35 PM, Sheryl said:

 

Yes, it is the global plan, the application goes to April France.

 

This is the insurance I have and I have been happy with it. I have the Essential Plan with a USD $500 deductible (excess) per year.

Thanks you are right this one is much cheaper, I am pretty surprised. But if you add OP, with age the premiums become astronomical. Without OP, it's very good indeed.

Hi,

So I contacted AA brokers and they referenced this page:

https://www.aainsure.net/april-international/

Is this the April Global plan? I will read through some of the documents meanwhile.

Hi,

Due to pandemic do I have to do anything special? If I am not wrong I have to have a covid test done before showing up? Are self testing kits ok?

Do I need a return ticket? What about health insurance? Is using the credit card travel insurance enough? How to prove this?

Thanks in advance.

4 hours ago, internationalism said:

but https://www.expatinsuranceservices.com/

is just brokers.

as wrlife.

from which insurer they got their policies?

 

actually, pacific cross gives no claim bonuses - first renewal if no claim is 5% lower, later 10% and 15% lower.

 

clearly there is something wrong with insurance industry - my last year April premium was 56k, this year they wanted 76k. Probably it would be even higher, if I would extend and they will see I have claimed accidental tooth repair for 30k (that same repair would be less than half price at street clinic, not samitivej hospital)

This is for April global? What age? Does it include inpatient only or plus outpatient?

Seems big jump.

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

Kinda international I guess, when you eventually see the documents it should be clear what country and regs

If I am not wrong, the localized plans you cant take them with you. So if you move to Japan, I dont think you can keep MyHealth Thailand. It's only intl for shorter travels out of TH I think.

But the actual intl version i.e. April Global should be portable easily and premiums adjusted next time for the new country of residence.

That's what I know.

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

Yes Anita messaged me, is that even her real name, anyway better to approach a broker

Could be fake, also before they did assure me that the SG version is THE international version. Because I specifically asked what happens when I move, etc.

So not sure what happens when you move with the brokers, because they also only care about the residents?