Have you ever received inpatient medical treatment in a hospital in Thailand ?

[Once Bitten]

 I keep reading about the cost of medical treatment in Thailand and how even in a Thai government hospital the final invoice can be high . There seems to be a general consensus that if you are resident in Thailand then obtaining private medical health insurance is advised instead of self funded health insurance or returning back to your original country to seek medical treatment.  Personally I have held private continuous  health insurance in Thailand for over 16 years and I have never ever had to make a claim for inpatient medical attention.  I have on some occasions had a minor medical problem which only required seeing a doctor and receiving medication as an outpatient which I paid for my self.
 
 

It would be interesting to hear from other forum members who have received inpatient medical treatment in either Thai government hospitals or private hospitals and was the medical treatment paid for by private health insurance or yourself .
 

It would also be interesting to get an overall picture and learn the type of medical problem involved and end cost of the medical treatment ,  along with any thoughts on the quality and service you received at the hospital involved.

 

Another thought , did any one receive inpatient medical treatment in a Thai hospital and  personally pay the cost  themselves , then after that experience go and get private medical insurance.  

 

And finally , did any one return back to their home country for inpatient medical treatment , and how did it work out for you. 

 

 

Any thoughts on the above , most welcome 

 

[sinbin]

I had both my ankles fused (Ankle Arthrodesis)  by an extremely good Orthopedic surgeon at Fort Suranaree Military Hospital in Korat. He now lectures, as well as still practices, at the Suranaree University of Technology, Korat. I couldn't have even got back to the UK so having the OP's done here was sort of compulsory. I was charged the same as a Thai (about 150,000 Baht incl steel implants) and I had to pay for the implants upfront which were bought privately and delivered direct to the hospital.

Overall the treatment I received was as good, if not better, had I flew home. Plus going home would have caused me to have to wait in a queue as it was obviously not life threatening.

Edited September 18, 2017 by sinbin

[lopburi3]

Have some inpatient experience at both government and private hospitals.  Government experience was not especially pleasant and had to be followed with private as they did not have ICU room available for post op day surgery scheduled (informed on OR table) and wait (again) would have been 3-4 months with cancer.

 

These are all since age 70 - none before.  Have both in and out patient foreign insurance which pays here and have had many (10 or more) day procedures (skin cancer/CT type exams) in the 25,000 to 60,000 baht range which did not require overnight stays.  In my case insurance partly funded by previous employment but still pay about 17,000 per month for couple, and is also good in USA - would highly advise having the much lower priced insurance available for use outside USA for anyone living here as our older years are very likely to involve medical issues.

 

Inpatient after exam/placement of two stents (one day) at about 370,000 baht.

 

Inpatient for thyroid removal (few days) at about 100,000 baht.

 

Inpatient for several days at government hospital at about 10,000 (would have been a bit over 80,000 if operation actually performed).

 

Inpatient for radical cystectomy with ileal conduit for about 10 days at about 1,100,000 baht.

 

 

[Sheryl]

Day surgeries/procedures 3 times, paid for directly by insurance with no difficulty.

 

 

[Denim]

Had inpatient treatment at Thai hospital which saved my life. Was in hospital for 5 nights. Bill came to 130,000 baht which I paid myself.

If the first hospital I tried had got their diagnosis right I could have been cured quickly and cheaply. Unfortunately they didn't so my condition got worse until I changed hospitals in the nick of time.

[xylophone]

Had inpatient treatment for a few days in a private hospital and it was probably there that I contracted antibiotic resistant E-coli which made me very sick a few days after leaving.

 

Had to return for more tests and then daily for an intravenous antibiotic for 2 weeks.

 

The nursing staff were great as were a couple of the doctors, but have to say that the inside of the operating theatre was "patched up" in places on the ceiling and vents and didn't fill me with confidence.

 

Will try the other hospital next time if there is one!!

[Once Bitten]

 On a personal note when I first became resident in Thailand the friend that  I came with , who is the same age as my self ( Now 67 ) , we both went to the local Bupa office and inquired about private health insurance ,  I can't remember the monthly premium details , but I remember thinking that's not to bad. I signed up with Bupa my friend did not , saying that he was going to take a chance and if any thing health wise went wrong , he would return back home for treatment . Fast forward to now , my friend is still living in Thailand , he has never had to return back home to seek medical attention and has like my self only needed medical outpatient treatment . Its now a standing joke that my friend makes when health insurance is brought up in conversations, His comment is always that I should have not taken out private medical insurance and that I wasted all that money and I should have done what he did . 

  
After around 16 years of paying for continuous private health insurance in Thailand , could I be the winner   , or has any one here been paying for private health insurance in Thailand for longer than me 

[impulse]

49 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

Fast forward to now , my friend is still living in Thailand , he has never had to return back home to seek medical attention and has like my self only needed medical outpatient treatment . Its now a standing joke that my friend makes when health insurance is brought up in conversations, His comment is always that I should have not taken out private medical insurance and that I wasted all that money and I should have done what he did . 

 

OTOH, my average (fully) insured payout on the 6 years I've been in Thailand has been around $1,300 per month.  Most of that in 5 days in 2015.  And I could easily end up doing it all over again any day...

 

That's after having zero medical expenses in the previous 6 years living between China and the USA.  Thank goodness, because the same surgery in the USA would have been around $500,000.

 

The nature of insurance is that the risk is spread over a lot of people.  Most of them end up a little behind.  But it saves the bacon of those who do end up needing expensive care.

 

BTW, had the diagnostic skills been better, I probably would have gotten stents 3 years earlier instead of a 4x bypass after passing annual stress tests and quarterly EKG's for 3 years in a row.  It was only at my insistence that they went beyond the stress tests and found 100% and 95% blockage just 3 hours after they tried to send me home again with a clean bill of health.

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by impulse

[Denim]

48 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

 On a personal note when I first became resident in Thailand the friend that  I came with , who is the same age as my self ( Now 67 ) , we both went to the local Bupa office and inquired about private health insurance ,  I can't remember the monthly premium details , but I remember thinking that's not to bad. I signed up with Bupa my friend did not , saying that he was going to take a chance and if any thing health wise went wrong , he would return back home for treatment . Fast forward to now , my friend is still living in Thailand , he has never had to return back home to seek medical attention and has like my self only needed medical outpatient treatment . Its now a standing joke that my friend makes when health insurance is brought up in conversations, His comment is always that I should have not taken out private medical insurance and that I wasted all that money and I should have done what he did . 

  
After around 16 years of paying for continuous private health insurance in Thailand , could I be the winner   , or has any one here been paying for private health insurance in Thailand for longer than me 

 

You might want to point out to your friend that if he has lived here full time for 16 years he no longer qualifies for free NHS treatment and will have to pay the same as anyone else from outside the EU. Pretty expensive. This is the law. However, if you have managed to keep a foot in the door back in the UK and the NHS is unaware of your expat status then you might get in under the radar. So far I have. 

 

Mums the word. Treat the NHS like mushrooms as the saying goes.

[amvet]

Heart blockage.  Thai private hospital ICU 5days.  250,000 baht.  USA paid later.  No problems and still see the Thai doctor every 3 months.  Thai government hospital major surgery in hospital one week.  10 years ago so cost not up to date.  Got infection from dirty bed and took 6 months treatment at private hospital to cure.  Stroke in Thai government hospital there for a week.  Work paid so I don't know how much.  It was cheap.  A couple stays in Pattaya Memorial don't remember how much as was a while back - I survived.

Edited September 18, 2017 by amvet

[richard_smith237]

Son: Upper UTI (at 4 months old) 10 day stay in hospital while taking IV antibiotics = Bill was approx 170,00 baht: All covered by Insurance. 

 

Wife: A couple of years ago admitted to Hospital 4 times in one year !! (UTI, Gastroenteritis, Dizzy spells (hormone deficiency) - Total yearly cumulative cost of stays I think was about 200,000 baht. All covered by Insurance. 

 

Birth: Covered by Pregnancy: 300,000 baht at Bumrungrad. 

 

Myself: DVT + PE - Medivac to Singapore (from Indonesia), 10 day hospital stay in Singapore. Hospital stay in Singapore approx SG$50,000 (1.25 Million baht) All covered by Insurance. Cost of Medivac unknown (organized an paid for by insurance).

 

All of this occurred in my 30's !!!... there is potentially a lot more to go wrong - I've had medical insurance for about 20 years over here. 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

I  had a broken leg requiring ortho surgery (8 screws and a plate) and 3 nights with private room in hosp., 22000baht at a military hosp. paid out of pocket...extra for outpatient visits, xrays, meds etc...

 

a good job, now walking normally as before the accident...the surgical wound in the area where they had a drain took about 7 months to heal completely...

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Once Bitten said:

 On a personal note when I first became resident in Thailand the friend that  I came with , who is the same age as my self ( Now 67 ) , we both went to the local Bupa office and inquired about private health insurance ,  I can't remember the monthly premium details , but I remember thinking that's not to bad. I signed up with Bupa my friend did not , saying that he was going to take a chance and if any thing health wise went wrong , he would return back home for treatment . Fast forward to now , my friend is still living in Thailand , he has never had to return back home to seek medical attention and has like my self only needed medical outpatient treatment . Its now a standing joke that my friend makes when health insurance is brought up in conversations, His comment is always that I should have not taken out private medical insurance and that I wasted all that money and I should have done what he did . 

  
After around 16 years of paying for continuous private health insurance in Thailand , could I be the winner   , or has any one here been paying for private health insurance in Thailand for longer than me 

 

Your friend is unaware of when he may face the potentially dire consequences of chancing his luck.

 

He does not know when he may be hit by a car, a bus, a bike when crossing the street, or when he may suffer a stroke, heart attack, DVT, sepsis etc etc etc etc... and on and on... ultimately he has no idea what may happen or how sever it may be... equally so, no one has any idea if anything will happen at all... 

 

BUT... one this is for sure, as we age the chances of something significant and costly occurring increase exponentially... I think it would be best to ensure adequate coverage and ultimately that means ensuring you have full cover before something becomes an excludable or you are too old to obtain cover. 

[Sheryl]

Oh and completely forgot...2 fairly long hospitalizations eons ago,  that was when I was employed here and work paid for it.

 

My extended adopted Cambodian family have, between them, been patients in pretty much every hospital in Bangkok.

 

If you want a good example of why to have insurance see this thread:

 

Understand that health insurance is a form of risk-sharing and risk transfer. You pay an insurance company to take on the financial risks associated with medical expenses for you.  The insurance company does this for a large pool of people with premiums pegged so that they will cover their own costs and make a profit out if the total pool of insured people (the risk sharing element), even though they will take a loss on a minority of those people. 

 

Suggest you knock on wood when saying you've paid in and not had a pay out, insurance wise...you never know what may loom ahead.

 

People who have paid insurance premiums and never had a claim (or paid more in premiums than they have received in coverage) aren't on the losing end of anything. They are fortunate. The idea behind getting insurance is to hope you never have to use it, but you have the security of knowing it is there if you do.

[Once Bitten]

Thanks every one for your comments , its interesting to hear your experiences 

 

 This unknowing the future as we get older where medical issues are concerned seems to be an area where many retired expats who I have chatted to ,  is an area where some seemed totally unconcerned ,  Ive sat and talked with a number of  expat retired men on the the subject of health insurance in Thailand  .Many of these older expats had a similar view , which generally was they  are now in their golden years , they have worked hard all their lives and saved a tidy sum , and that sum of money will now provide them with a financial safety net , should possible future health concerns arise .

 

 
 The other reoccurring view these retired expats I have met and chatted to,  kept bringing up was this , I have worked hard all my life and finally in Thailand I have the money and freedom to enjoy my golden years ,  why should I  worry about some thing that may never happen , why spend my time fretting about what I eat and drink , my waist line is on the large side, so what ,  daily exercise is some thing only young bucks do , eat drink and be merry,  spend you hard earned money on things and other nocturnal pleasures '' today '' and stop worrying about what may never happen tomorrow,  as its quite possible that you will peacefully pass away in your sleep after deciding just enjoy your remaining golden years the way you really wish to , instead of becoming a fully paid up member of the grumpy expat worriers club and all that comes along with its membership  .   Now I don't personally subscribe to these types of ideas  , but just some times the thought , what if their right , does flash through my mind, what if , what if. 

 

How many people who have private health insurance and on getting the news that their next years health insurance renewal premium cost has skyrocketed beyond belief , start to reconsider their options . May be some , may be not .

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

The other side of the coin of all these expats who rationalize not getting insurance can be found on "gofund me" appeals, in many a sad tale in the local papers and within this forum, and in the case histories of groups like Lanna Care. It is not rare that an expat ends up in urgent need of medical care they cannot afford, or in a hospital unable to pay their bill (and the bill mounting daily as the hospital refuses to discharge them until the bill is paid) - or dead and a grieving widow can't get the body released for lack of funds to pay the bill.

 

I have personally been involved in more horror tales than I can count.  I've seen remote relatives tracked down and asked to sacrifice their own financial security to bail out the expat who had severed all contact with them. People say they won't do that, or that they'll "just die" and forego treatment but when the time actually comes, it is not that easy.

 

As to "may never happen", that is simply unrealistic. It almost always happens if you live long enough. It is extremely rare for someone to live to a ripe old age never needing any major medical care. Where these people get the idea that needing expensive medical care at some point in your life is a rare occurrence, I can't imagine, but they are certainly not very observant. Life-threatening conditions aside, there are joint replacements (alternative: live in excrutiating pain), cataract surgery (alternative: go blind) etc.