mania

I always use https://www.imglobal.com/ Good prices & coverage plus you can opt out of trip reimburse which lowers the medical price a lot. I have never had to make a claim so cannot speak to that but IMG is well known

Thank you it was really sad to see my wife's mother suffering so badly in the end. I kept asking isn't there anything they can give her & they said no. That was 10 years ago...But last year when our BIL was in final stages as I said he was treated so much better with morphine injections at the local village hospital then allowed to go home.

Yes my BIL also got morphine in a village hospital in his final stages of liver cancer. He was the cancer victims I saw die with pain killers. It was not as bad for him as my MIL who did not have anything in those years

That is kind of a big one isn't it? I have seen folks die with cancer treated (pain killers etc) & untreated I would not wish the untreated pain on anyone So as long as things like morphine are purchasable then yes staying is likely option If not I can imagine why some joined the flying clubs

Good night! That back operation was a scary thought I bet! Your right it is a minefield out there. I will also admit that I am sure it often happens elsewhere in the world too. But yes at the end of the day it is good if we are conscious & have a choice as you & I both did. But that scenario of "what if" that I wondered about always haunts me a bit. Especially now that I am older (67) & would likely have to self insure in Thailand

That is good news but also what really scared me a few years ago I also went to a major hospital chain at Chiang Mai branch for a abdominal cramping I had been having. Had a ultrasound 5k baht & was told no problem but you do have kidney stones & need a CT scan with dye 13k baht Ok did agree to that 13k but like you or even worse when laying on table & getting IV put in for dye a nurse comes & asks me to sign something. I asked why & what was it about. She said doctor would also like some "other tests". I could see in the print it was another 23k I refused & actually wanted to bolt as you did but went ahead with CT as I was connected to machine already. Later doctor again confirmed same info as 5k ultrasound 3 too large to pass stones. Claimed I needed surgery asap & also possible a second procedure due to a narrowing of UPJ operation would be 150-200k baht Well I had a 2nd opinion from another well known CM Thai Kidney specialist & he seeing report agreed & I needed to do this. I still felt uneasy & returned to the USA where I was basically laughed at 🙄 They said yes you have stones & many folks do. If it ever causes problems we can review then a course of action but at that time there was no need to go further Eight + years later here I sit without problems Sorry for the long story but that upselling at major hospitals kind of was like a kick in the gut for me because after living many years in Thailand, speaking Thai well etc I felt I knew about Thailand. Yes I knew of corruption etc everywhere from police to monks & expected it but never in my wildest dreams did I expect such behavior at a major hospital regarding my health or pushing needless operations as all operations carry risk. It scared me to think "what if" I was admitted unconscious for something? "What if" my wife was told by some upselling doctor I needed this & that or the worse could happen? Of course my wife would willingly spend every last baht if she thought my life was at risk. But yes this really made me wonder & continues to do so today as we still have a home in Thailand & visit 3 months a year always wondering about moving back permanently

The need for the certificate is due to their laws so I would question that it is not their obligation In your situation I would have paid it & be done with it. After all it is at the end of the day less than $22 & will last you what 5 years till next license? I use to buy mine at the US Consulate just because how much I hated doing anything at Imm & it costs $50 back then don't know what it costs or if even available today etc I understand not wanting to contribute to corruption but that pandoras box has long been open & the only way to close it is to leave the country Have you set yourself up for future hassles? Who knows they fry so many fish daily it just depends on how the IO felt about it Good Luck going forward but I know you have been living in Thailand awhile now & know TIT corruption is wholly a part of that country & I see it stopping no time soon.

Excuse the Dem-mentia it is a contagious thing among some diehards even when their country is at the brink. They remain blinkered

Yes that has always been true & I did i fact have enough FET's to support what I was withdrawing but, again it seemed to prove what others told me that if transfer out of Thailand was kept under 50k USD nothing was not asked for except reason "to put on transfer" But that aside I always thought it a good idea to get them when transferring in a good amount by any means. After transferred in & within the next month I would go to Bangkok Bank & ask for a copy of that Trans /FET & they never questioned it or charged for the paper.

Well that was terribly painful to watch. Is it too much to ask the Dems to let this man retire with a shred of dignity?

I have also thought so for a long time. It does not even seem outrageous at all for a country the size of Thailand to not be willing to support all who retire there should a medical crisis occur & thus would eventually require medical coverage for anyone getting a long term visa extension But the problem is many are retirees & many with preexisting conditions so insurance may or may not even be available. I guess one thing they could do is put a full time freeze on your 800k & have you sign an agreement that in an emergency your 800k would be used by the hospital for emergency treatment should you be unable to leave Thailand for treatment in your home country. About grandfathering in this case of medical insurance I do not think so. They would be shooting themselves in the foot but..... If for instance they raise the visa funds requirement from 800k to 1 million etc then yes that I could see being grandfathered as it has in the past

But then how will the military industrial complex continue to bill $841 billion a year?

Actually I did years ago But in my case it made me a profit as I used it to reclaim interest banks were taking out of my savings when interest exceeded 30k a year They gave it all back which was nice of them 😉 But I will say it was not easy to initially get the TIN...First I was sent to wrong office where they worked on it for an hour before realizing I needed to go elsewhere 😅 Once there it took another 30minutes or so

We moved those amounts out a few years ago via Bangkok Bank back to USA no problems but we did it in a few transfers. Do not know how true it is but we were told by others that if we kept transfers under 50k USD no questions or proofs would be needed & that is what we did They asked for a reason on the trans sheet & I just said repatriation. Funnily enough it was the one time in years that my Thai wife had an albeit small problem & I did not. (because we were both doing separate transfers to speed it up) They asked her to prove her dual citizenship by showing her US Passport which of course she does not carry so had to go get it 😉 So yes we moved those amounts in a few transfers usually averaging 1.3 million baht at a time over a week or two. It would have been cheaper transfer wise to do a larger one I guess? But as told it went easily this way

I also never considered myself special & more deserving but....I will say over the years I have wondered why when a Thai man marries a Foreign bride she gets many benefits both visa & even citizenship if desired Yet if a Thai woman marries a Foreign man no such benefits.. I know... I know TIT but I still just wonder at times

That is really the most insane sentence in the story He saw him fall but couldn't see him so ran him over? 🙄

One thing I will also say is in that regard just look at Thai Coffee Cafe's. They have come so far so fast & IMO now surpass many coffee culture States in the US. The quality of the espresso & espresso based + the presentation is far better. If they were allowed to tinker with craft beer I believe the result would be similar. Same happened with Baking years ago Thailand had no real bakeries. Look now

I know this is about beer for our Thai homes but........ Just went to Portland Oregon which has a killer Craft beer scene My goodness they had a beer from Epic Brewery called Big Bad Baptist It was an incredibly delicious Stout ! There were others but that one really took the cake. Close 2nd would be Fort George Brewery MATRYOSHKA 2024

RIP but, trust me that is no Wave 125 😉

Actually it is a Constitutional Republic but that aside... Timing wise this comment is pretty funny considering what has been going on in the USA recently

All these "currencies" all will fail ...all fiat currencies have failed eventually. Problem is we no longer realize the difference between fiat currencies (IOU's) & money

Or Muammar Gaddafi Both he & Saddam said they would leave the petrol dollars & sell in Euros we know the rest

Steve Forbes thinks Joe will drop out completely

That is 60k Baht not USD right? If so that is $1633 USD....I need to horde much more 😉

Hear Hear !