smo

I'm planing for a visit Phanom Rung and have a question here for all area experts: is it better to use Buriram as base or Na Rong is more practical? From what I could see online, the latter is more or less a junction of highway and main street, pretty barren looking, though closer to the temple. I want to do the trip at a leisurely pace, to soak in the atmosphere so to speak so I'm intested in checking out the town after a day at the temple... So basically my question is is Buriram worth spending sometime hanging around in? I also plan to see the Meung Tham nearby. Any advice and tip would be much appreciated? Thanks in advance.

On 10/11/2019 at 5:44 PM, Crossy said:

Looks like a result.

 

But those hands ...

 

Just hold your breath, I have my eyes on these beauties....(on ebay.)

I finally took some action and this is what transpired: I called BKB call center, they looked into my (fixed) account and said that nothing looked unusual, that I should stop by my branch to make sure all kosher. I did, the farang desk at the bank took a look at my fixed account bank book and said that since the last activity occurred two years ago (when I took most the money out), the system sent out a notice just for this effect. Nothing will happened, stressing that any maintenance charge only applies to saving accounts, not fixed ones.

Here's latest reply from SS Manila

RE Part A:
You are already enrolled in Part A that takes effect this month of October 2019. It is the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services that prints and sends the Medicare card. I have inputted a request for a card to be mailed to your address in Thailand.

RE Part B:
Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) for Part B is 3 months prior the month and year you turned 65 and 3 months after. In the [old] form, just write your social security number.

Ok, this is what transpired: last night I stopped by a 20baht store and got one plastic clock with a quartz movement. This morning I went to a watch repair store stuck away in the back of the mall (first looked for a clock store that I had seen before but it has disappeared.) The man helped pull out the recalcitrant hour hand (which requires a pair of cutter which I don't have), and when I asked him if he could put in a quartz movement for me, he nodded. He also said (I was guessing, however correctly) that he would have to use the cheapo looking hands (read ugly) that come with the new movement. How much? 650 baht. How so? he uses made in yeepoon movements only because these last forever, unlike those made in China. I declined.

Then I went home and did the transplant myself from the 20baht clock (see pic - I'm going to order some thing that look a bit more stylish than them crude hands that are on display right now, but at least the clock running quartz-precise.) Thanks again for all the tips and suggestions. Otherwise I would have made the trip to Fortune Mall and not sure if I got anywhere more accomplished!

ps - one new thing I learned: clock repair shops are usually tucked away in the back/ground floor of the mall, you usually see them on the way out to the back parking lot. I don't drive, thus they escaped my notice until now.

Wow, I couldn't believe my eyes, I was watching (US news on) youtube and a local commercial cut in: OMG, a GAY WEDDING!!! (it's a Krungsri Bank spot - kudos to you Krungsri, I'll be your loyal patron forever.) Two handsome Thai males decked out in white tuxedos exchange vows and wedding rings while families and friends look on with teary eyes and approving nods...I've been away from the US for a long while now and just wondering if TV commercials there nowadays feature any non-celebrity GLBTQ (sorry if I miss out any other alphabet) person at all, let alone a wedding of that sort. I remember when I went back to California for a visit a few years ago, ladyboys began making public appearance, but sparingly and with eyes on high alert.
 
Caveat emptor: Sometime ago I posted a thread here concerning my thai bf, focusing on the relationship between two persons (leaving out the "gay" part) and was most pleased that 1) it wasn't moved to the "Gay People" subforum and 2) many comments were positive (read compassionate). However, not surprisingly, still a number warned that I was threading on hostile terrain - "you've got nerve, this being a 'straight' forum" and what not...Let's see if this thread, focusing on how societies' (Thai vs US in this instance) views regarding gay marriage differ, fares any better...

16 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Might want to consider just cannibalizing a 99 baht wall clock from one of those ubiquitous electronics shops on just about every soi in the city rather than waste time searching the city for “parts”.

Thanks, whowooda thought! Virtually "hiding in plain sight!"

A really lo-tech question. I have a vintage (pre-quartz) battery-operated clock that badly needs a heart transplant, ie a new movement. Can anyone tell me where I can get a totally mundane quartz movement for everyday wall clock? A friend tells me to go to Yaowarat but I am thinking there ought to be some kind of art and craft store in disguise somewhere around town  ("...if you can't find whatever you want in BKK, you can't find it anywhere") maybe at Fortune Town... Last resort would be lazada. Any suggestion? Thanks,

Oh Helen, always a good sport...

... and a good wife!

4 hours ago, DEKEM said:

I told her that I should be automatically enrolled into the medicare program when I reached age 65 since I had been on ss since age 62. 

Your situation mirrors mine, and thanks for the account. I assume the "they" in your tale are SS and not Medicare? It's rather disheartening to get misinformation from within the institution as well. What has the USA come to (maybe the answer is unravelling at the moment for the whole world to see?) Anyway, politics aside, like SheryL has mentioned if you don't want the rep you talk/write to, get another one. I usually just say out loud, "I'm not communicating well with you, so let's not waste our time and energy, could you connect me to someone else?" to their face.

Okay I will wait to the ripe age of 65 in a couple of weeks then call Medicare and ask for my card. Again thanks to everybody for chiming in, much appreciated. Oh, it's worth noting that when I went back to the US in 2016 for a lengthy home visit I got MediCal (California edition of Medicaid, healthcare coverage for the poor?):free doctor checkup, an expediently done colondoscopy, and free prescription (plus a free for life "Obamaphone"). Only had to pay out of pocket for dental care. Btw, it was an extended visit, 4 months (I was there to make sure that my SS-at-62 kicked into gear, also to "cover" the 2016 election.) My colondoscopy came through on the last week of my trip, it would not have happened had my stay been any shorter.

3 hours ago, taxout said:

Yes, as I said Medicare has stopped mailing stuff out overseas, I pay Part B premiums directly, but they don't send me the CMS-500 quarterly statement. It doesn't even show up online!

 

Hmm, could it be that they have stopped sending out the welcome packet as well?

11 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

Got an additional 700 baht by walking down stairs and and taking escalator or two while waiting for the bus to Pattaya. 

That's part of the fun in living in Thailand. It only takes a few steps further down the soy or the ground floor to find a better deal. But oh boy, the noise, the heat, the long escalator and the anxiety of having to make an urgent 7-11 stop all conspire to make one momentarily inert...."Never settle for first look" has become my mantra.

3 hours ago, CMBob said:

I am unaware that the banks even offer a fixed term account for amounts as low as 2,500 baht...but perhaps they do

It's annoying to hear someone making comment based on wrong assumption deriving from them not reading the entire OP. The fixed account was opened with a much large amount than what remains now. I was about to close it after taking the whole sum out of it when the manager convinced me why not keeping it open by leaving in a little something and it won't cost me anything - thus the 2plusK laying in there year after year where it rolled over on a YEARLY TERM basis (the notice in question put a check in the "inactive for more than 1 year" box.)

2 minutes ago, taxout said:

Note that at times -- late at night and especially on weekends -- their computer link with the SS computers may be under maintenance, so help may be limited.

Great point, thanks  - I usually fall into this trap (last time calling my credit union I was told to call back during office hours as the department I needed to talk to will be available then.)

21 hours ago, allane said:

Until your update this weekend, have you been doing regular updates ?

Prior to this weekend, i did an update on 08/17. The notice is dated 31/08 as you can see at the bottom of the pic. The notice checked the "inactive for more than one year" box at the top of the pic. I'm going to do another update today to see if any maintenance fee appeared at the end of September (ie Monday this week.)

Thank you everyone for your advice, much appreciated. Will contact Medicare next (and report back here dutifully of course.) If it's available 24/7 then I would choose live phone (if put on wait during live chat I tend to get frustrated quick -if put on wait during live phone I tend to get frustrated quick second -:=)

Also technically I won't be 65 for another couple of weeks. But at least I can ask them about the welcome packet...(or does it come from SSA?)

This is the first time I got this notice from Bangkok Bank, notifying me that my fixed account has been inactive for more than one year. It's been languishing for years simply because I didn't want to close it since I took the main chunk out of it (- as it has become hard nowadays to open accounts with BKB), and let it keep renewing itself year after year. I updated my bankbook over the weekend and no (maintenance) fees has been charged to it. Has anyone received similar notices regarding their fixed accounts?

On 9/26/2019 at 2:05 AM, taxout said:

They sent you the old form. Social Security numbers are no longer used for Medicare: you get a new completely different sort of number once you've enrolled.

 

Here's the new form:

 

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/Downloads/CMS40B-E.pdf

 

I should also have mentioned that without Part B, travel back to the States even for a short period can involve a lot of financial risk, especially as you get older and more prone to problems,

 

Obviously Part B is not a good deal if you live outside the US, but sometimes you just have to recognize the Government has rigged the rules to give you not much choice.

Thanks for the link to the new form (been distracted by coup d'etat in the "homeland" since last week.) Yes I agree that the US gov has "rigged" the system to set up more loops for us to jump through but that's par for the course isn't it when it comes to providing medical care for its citizens? I also started to doubt the competence of the Manila SS rep that I'm dealing with. Considering his answer when I asked about my missing welcome packet and my current enrollment "status" regarding to parts A and B:

"The automatic enrollment in Medicare, especially for Part B, only occurs if your mailing address in the record is in the USA. But if it is a foreign address, it is not automatic....Part A (Hospitalization) does NOT involve any monthly premium since you already paid for it while you were working in the USA. Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), however, is the one that involves a monthly premium."

Seemed like he just voiced the general info and did not directly address my individual case: 1) Have I been enrolled in at least part A? 2) where the heck is my missing welcome packet (or how to go about getting it?) It takes 2 weeks each time to get their office to respond and I hate it when they dole out info in this piece-meal fashion. I wonder if it's better to address my inquiry to SS main office in the US, or would they route me right back to SSA Manila?

On 9/24/2019 at 12:47 PM, taxout said:

You can't properly fill out the form because you don't have a Medicare number. I'm surprised she sent it to you without the number. (And if you haven't been assigned a Medicare number yet you certainly don't have Part A yet.)

 

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. I think this is the number you referred to - see red circle in pic attached. The SS rep (it's a he) not only did not say anything about this number, he also did not reply to my inquiry regarding the welcome packet that was my first and foremost concern. In short he did not say anything about the packet, neither  about part A enrollment as far as I'm concerned. The only thing he said re part A is that it's free. Considering it takes them 2 full weeks to get back to an inquiry, it seemed like they did not really take their time to give a full and appropriate response.

Also I'm reconsidering whether to enroll to part B as I'm "coming of age." But I think I will enroll ultimately just to have peace of mind. Again thanks for the caution, appreciated that.

Class or caste system is part of Thai culture. Owner/boss/guests don't look at their servants. Servants look away or eyes down cast. At first I was perplexed when  security guards at my building avoided eye contact. When crossing path I said sawadeekrap to them they were somewhat stunned in the manner of "what do you want? or what's the problem, sir?". It took me a long long while to understand this behavior, being american where you say hello to presidents and doormen alike. With the maids it's easier with small talks to make them realize I mean no harm, just a friendly bloke. These smile or say hi.

Also there's this interesting occurence. There's a coffee stand near my building. The owner speaks English, having had multiple farang boyfriends past and present. At the beginning I was friendly to her just because we could converse, however I was somewhat surprised by her decidedly un-friendly attitude to me sometime ("could you tell me what this (bank) notice say?" or such small endeavors). Then I finally realized that she doesn't want to be a friend in the sense of you regarding your neighbor as a friend. No love loss there, we live and learn. However with most of the vendors down the soi, they get used to me over time and start normal (read friendly) conversation. These would stop and talk to me if we run to each other in the street or big C, same with my house-cleaning maid.

Back for a visit to sunny Southern California a few years back. Little Saigon to be exact, Orange county south of LA, home to the largest Vietnamese contingent outside VN. When I smiled to the cashiers, waiters or the likes they often stared back or just cast their eyes down. Hardly a hello, let alone a how are you. However I got more friendly greetings in the same context from the Mexicans who also live there in large numbers. So it depends on the culture I guess.

22 hours ago, riclag said:

Also once they receive that CMS 40B they will act on that whether or not you decide to accept  plan B.

I'm not sending back this form CMS 40B because it concerns part B only:

"APPLICATION FOR ENROLLMENT IN MEDICARE PART B (MEDICAL INSURANCE)
WHO CAN USE THIS APPLICATION?
People with Medicare who have Part A but not Part B"

and I don't see the point of spending money on something that's not applicable outside the US. Besides at this point there's no record (ie the missing welcome packet) that confirms I have part A. Therefore the only thing I did next was to send another inquiry regarding the medicare card that I should have gotten. Let's see what Manila has to say in their next reply (another 2 week wait.)

Listening - or to be more precise, being able to discern the difference in sound (among similar sounding words) - is half of the task. For example, one (of the "easier") example : "(feeling) tired" vs. "butter." The other half is pronouncing - ie able to replicate the sound/difference in sound (among similar sounding words) that you heard. If you could do both then you're getting on. I have listened or tried to, to many farangs on youtube living in the provinces with thai wives, who proclaimed themselves to be able to speak thai. No, they don't, not when they speak to other folks outside of their in-laws circle. Looking back to the many thai courses offered along the Sukkhumvit corridor that I have gone to, they are really money mills for the teachers - who can't possibly teach the language to the number of students in each class, unless they go one on one, then they're getting somewhere.

I've been learning, however very slowly, nah, minutely (unless I get more motivated than usual) within the thai community that I live among. If you're lucky you can find one that possesses pronunciation that is palatable to your ears, and also the patience and time to sit with you. My teachers are a middle-aged couple selling chicken rice in the university canteen across the street. I would plop down at one of the tables in front of their stand in the afternoon when they are cleaning up or just wanting to chill out. Then I would open my books and start "reading," then they would join in and so forth. The husband's pronunciation is priceless, I can hear every syllable he utters (think of Whitney Houston, I could hear every LETTER when she sang.) Still there are words/sound that I would never in my life be able to produce correctly, for example (in Thai) "plain/bland (soup)" and "taro", unless I have my voice box totally redone.

This is the reply I got from SS Manila:

"The automatic enrollment in Medicare, especially for Part B, only occurs if your mailing address in the record is in the USA. But if it is a foreign address, it is not automatic. Therefore, please print the attached form CMS40B and fill it out. Upon completion, please scan it in pdf format and email it back to me.

Please note, however, that medical expenses incurred outside of the USA are NOT covered by Medicare (except if you are enrolled in Tricare – a health insurance for US military personnel). Therefore, you can only avail Medicare if you are physically in the USA. Otherwise, if you will not be back to the USA, you will just be paying for nothing. So I hope it is clear to you.

 Part A (Hospitalization) does NOT involve any monthly premium since you already paid for it while you were working in the USA. Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), however, is the one that involves a monthly premium."

From the first sentence in the reply, to be on the safe side, I deduce that I'm not signed up for part A automatically either, but then the SS rep did not give me a form to sign up for part A, as he did for part B? I wish he spelled this out but he didn't...Also there this business of the red, white and blue card mentioned on Medicare website:

"When you’re enrolled in Medicare, you’ll get your red, white, and blue Medicare card in the mail. If you're automatically enrolled, you'll get your red, white, and blue Medicare card in the mail 3 months before your 65th birthday or your 25th month of getting disability benefits. Your Medicare card shows that you have Medicare health insurance. It shows whether you have Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Medical Insurance) or both, and it shows the date your coverage starts."

As I haven't received the welcome packet, I haven't got the Medicare card either (the SS rep did not say anything about the packet even though I had asked about it.) Has anyone got it while still living in Thailand (or anywhere abroad, ie not in the US) ?

There was a landscape/architectural painter during the Italian Renaissance period - think Bruneschelli and the Duomo in Florence- (or possibly later) who specialized in drawings/sketchings of building plans that were too extravagant to realize but nevertheless attracted audiences due to their fantastical shapes/visions (terraces,bridges,towers,moats, etc.) He's semi-famous to the point that there are books written about him. I was at one point in the process of checking some of those books on eBay circa 15, 20 years ago. The only thing Google comes up now is Piranesi, but that's not him - my guy's name begins with "F" or "Fr" (but nof Fragonard, he's French). Google couldn't help me with that. Any Thaivisa member here can? Thanks

11 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

13 hours ago, cmarshall said:

We expats are entitled to buy into any of the Medicare or Medicare Advantage programs within 2 months of repatriating without penalty

Can you share where you found that information?  It directly contradicts what I have been told by Medicare.  Can it be that you are talking about the ability to sign up outside of the normal enrollment period?

 

I did find this from Medicare but it means you have to have been living overseas at the time you you turned 65.  But if your were 65 prior to moving overseas it does not apply.

 

"If you turned 65 while living overseas and you didn’t sign up for Medicare when you were first eligible, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that starts when you return to the U.S. and lasts three months. You generally don’t need to pay a late-enrollment penalty if you enroll during this three-month period."

Does this option to "buy into any of the Medicare or Medicare Advantage programs within 2 months of repatriating without penalty" include or exclude part B? I know at least that is the case with part D where the Initial Enrollment Period starts 3 months prior and after the date of repatriation for expats - but part B keeps its IEP tied to one's 65th birthday regardless of residence location, and the penalty for late registration goes up by 10%  year after year. Pray tell whether this is correct info or not? Of course lacking the welcome packet I'm paddling in the sea of general information here...

On 9/7/2019 at 12:55 PM, cmarshall said:

Non-residents of the US are not eligible for Part D or any other Medicare features beyond Parts A and B.

I find this the most accurate according to my Google inquiry at least regarding part D. The part that initially got me worried was the "lifetime" penalty for late sign-up concerning part D. Then Google told me that non-residents ie expats are not eligible for it. But once the expat returns and starts residing in the US again ie re-becoming US resident then part D will be applicable. The signup window for IEP (initial enrollment period) then begins: opens 3 months prior and closes 3 months after the new beginning date of residence. Meaning as I understand it you can sign up for it 3 months prior to going back home if you need to fill your prescription pronto the moment after landing.

I'm not worrying about part B right now because seemingly both parts A and B are automatic in my case. But still I want that welcome packet from Social Security. I have emailed FBU Manila and their response time is 10 business days so still waiting. I remember there were threads that went into further details about the whole business of Medicare - but maybe the discussion was embedded in threads of different topics and consequently a search on Thaivisa has brought scant info so far...If anyone knows and can give a link to those threads that would be much appreciated, thanks.