Hey guys, 

 

New here, and new to travel/insurance as well. I recently visited Thailand, and was involved in a motor-bike accident that resulted in a dislocated shoulder. Yes it was painful, but after the E.R. visit the pain died down quickly, and I figured everything would be fine. 

 

Well, months later the shoulder is flaring up, locked up, and my entire right arm is in pain 24/7. I'm no longer in Thailand, but back in the U.S. and scheduled a visit to a specialist. However, based on feedback from others I know who had similar pain after dislocations, it sounds as if surgery might be needed. 

 

Here's the question... A week after my visit with a specialist here in the U.S., I have a flight scheduled back to Thailand, and a few other countries. I'm scheduled to be out of the country for nearly 2 years. If the specialist tells me I need surgery, I'll have to get it done while I'm in Thailand. 

 

I don't have insurance currently, but just started shopping for health insurance for expats. Will an insurance policy cover my surgery if I need it? Or would this be considered pre-existing since it's linked to an accident I had months ago? Never had health insurance in my life, just always paid cash, and that's worked well for me. But now as I travel the world I see it'd be foolish to not protect myself, but not sure if I can get this procedure covered or not? 

 

Thank you in advance for any tips/advice/insight.  :) 

 

 

Definitely pre-existing, no way any insurance company is going to cover for the surgery.

 

Get it done in the US and postpone your trip, or cough up the cash and get it done overseas.

 

 

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Definitely pre-existing, no way any insurance company is going to cover for the surgery.

 

Get it done in the US and postpone your trip, or cough up the cash and get it done overseas.

 

 

The USA does not have socialized medicine last I knew - he will be paying a lot more there than overseas.  

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

The USA does not have socialized medicine last I knew - he will be paying a lot more there than overseas.  

Yeah, I was assuming he had some kind of coverage there (TrumpCare?). If he's paying it is pretty certainly going to be cheaper here.

I'm paying to get my MRI's done here in the U.S. for sure. Even though it's more expensive, just browsing the threads here on ThaiVisa I've heard it repeated again and again that the MRI machines (Most) in Thailand are not as advanced, and will produce lesser results. I definitely want high quality imagining so that this issue is treated properly right out of the gate. But once that's taken care of, I don't mind getting the surgery over-seas as I've heard there are many excellent surgeons in BK. 

 

From the quotes I've seen here locally in the states vs. the estimates I've seen of the same surgery in BK, it looks like I'd pay nearly triple the cost in the U.S. for the surgery. So I'm happy to get it done in BK. haha 

thanks for sharing