25% increase for foreigners at government hospital

[jumbo]

I guess that if you have insurance it will be the same price as well as the insurance company has agreed to the terms before they card gets accepted at the hospital

 

[Maestro]

On 09/05/2018 at 3:48 AM, pearciderman said:

 

Maybe you should have underlined the word "unjust", the hospital feels that the extra fee for non-Thais is justified, end of story.

 

That's a good point, a very good point. "Unjust discrimination" means that a court would have to rule in every individual case brought before it whether or not the unequal treatment was unjust. I have seen a ruling in another country (Switzerland) where the highest court argued that an unequal treatment is not discriminatory if all persons in the same situation are treated unequally in the same manner, ie if the unequal treatment is not arbitrary.

 

 

[mommysboy]

Whenever I've used a public hospital, I've paid the same as Thais, so I would guess it is a straight 25% surcharge.  It will still be a lot cheaper than most private hospitals.

[Gippy]

The sign I snapped a shot of on Wednesday says foreign and not overseas as the OP saw. Perhaps updated to remove some confusion? My visit cost me 113 baht this time :-(

 

[Johnniey]

On 5/7/2018 at 2:03 PM, Jingthing said:

They should spend a little of the foreigner extra funds on posting an actually COHERENT sign!

Why should they even write it in English?

 

[Johnniey]

I know a Yank who was touring the UK and got free treatment after a heart attack. I, a UK citizen, am refused free treatment as I am a non-resident! 

[cyberfarang]

On 5/9/2018 at 11:57 AM, balo said:

Someone should check if they with overseas patients means tourists on tourist visas and not expats living here fulltime. Maybe the visa stamp in the passport will help or maybe they will charge extra for all of us with the wrong skin color.

I`ve visited my local government hospital in Chiang Mai many times over the past 15 years, both as an outpatient and an inpatient. On each occasion I have not been asked to show my passport. Therefore I assume they evaluate who is a foreigner either by appearances or by language or accents.

 

I am very pale skinned with a large Farlang nose, which means I`ll probably be charged 50% over the Thai standard fees.

 

 

[cyberfarang]

This is because the Thai attitudes are, that Farlangs can live in Thailand cheaper then in their own countries, so they should pay more for services here.

 

The Thais do not differentiate between tourists and expats and not taking into account that expats are bringing their money from abroad and spending it in Thailand. I, for example spend way more in my local area, then the locals. As far as the Thais are concerned it`s a one sided argument. This is why those on retirement extensions receive no concessions whatsoever. We are considered as no more than glorified tourists, that for me, makes me feel insignificant and not valued in Thailand. The country is not really a place that those who decide to invest and retire here can ever call home. They can move the goal posts at any time and for retirees, can never feel their feet are on stable ground.

[manarak]

On 5/7/2018 at 11:15 PM, JLCrab said:

I would presume from their POV whether you are 'overseas' or not is determined by your passport.

not so sure about that - I am registered as a local patient with Chonburi hospital through my work permit.

[jumbo]

11 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

This is because the Thai attitudes are, that Farlangs can live in Thailand cheaper then in their own countries, so they should pay more for services here.

 

The Thais do not differentiate between tourists and expats and not taking into account that expats are bringing their money from abroad and spending it in Thailand. I, for example spend way more in my local area, then the locals. As far as the Thais are concerned it`s a one sided argument. This is why those on retirement extensions receive no concessions whatsoever. We are considered as no more than glorified tourists, that for me, makes me feel insignificant and not valued in Thailand. The country is not really a place that those who decide to invest and retire here can ever call home. They can move the goal posts at any time and for retirees, can never feel their feet are on stable ground.

I think the actual reason is that farang stiff the hospitals.... having no insurance and needing urgent medical support...

[nausea]

 

On 5/8/2018 at 12:54 PM, Sheryl said:

It applies to that one hospital. Each hospital sets its own policies in this regard.

Yeah, saw this sign in Siriraj recently and wondered if it was across the board or specific to that hospital, so thanks for that. Siriraj has a lot of facilities your local public hospital lacks so I suppose they feel it's fair. You are, after all, getting the treatment benefits of a private hospital at a fraction of the cost. Very rarely see a Farang there though. It's not the sort of place you can walk into without Thai language skills or someone to help you, and be prepared for long waiting times.

[huainnews]

  I was in Hua Hin hospital last week and being no. 45 in the queue decided to use the 'fast lane', moved up in the queue and saw the doctor within ten minutes.

You pay for this privilege on a separate receipt, 250 Baht, an increase of 50 Baht which is 25% but

you still have to pay a charge of 300 Baht because you're a falang! ( listed as nursing services )

[manarak]

2 minutes ago, huainnews said:

  I was in Hua Hin hospital last week and being no. 45 in the queue decided to use the 'fast lane', moved up in the queue and saw the doctor within ten minutes.

You pay for this privilege on a separate receipt, 250 Baht, an increase of 50 Baht which is 25% but

you still have to pay a charge of 300 Baht because you're a falang! ( listed as nursing services )

hmm... are you sure it's not because you aren't covered by Thai social security?

I registered at the Thai government hospital with my work permit, never had a surcharge.

[huainnews]

 You have a work permit so no doubt are paying tax and maybe other deductions that go towards treatment at government hospitals.

I'm just a common or garden retirement visa so pay extra, which I'm willing to accept.

[hereforgood]

On 5/9/2018 at 1:27 PM, Sheryl said:

If you have an SS card and are registered under SS at that hospital (very rare in the case of Siriraj) or referred to it by the hospital you are registered at under SS, then this does not affect you.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I am thank you very much

[DavisH]

On 5/7/2018 at 11:36 PM, Slip said:

so private all the way, yes?  I'm interested about the report about it being to do with tax-payers from DragonQuest then.

I understand it is a government hospital but does have private clinics within it. I've been to the regular sections a couple of times. No idea on the costs as I have coverage as my wife is a civil servant. The doctors there are very good though. There can be a long queue of several months for some doctors. My dental appointments at the Mahidol dental hospital are about 3 months apart. Very busy. 

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, DavisH said:

.... My dental appointments at the Mahidol dental hospital are about 3 months apart. Very busy. 

there's a new dental hospital, also Mahidol, at Salaya and less busy. Part of the Golden Jubilee complex.

[Mister T]

I went to my local government hospital yesterday, paid my usual 50 baht doctor fee.

[A1Str8]

More foreigners have been hitting the gov hospitals, because they are cheaper. As a response, gov hospitals slapped an additional 25 percent on the price. How inviting and forward thinking.

[stevomaui]

My GF is a Thai doctor working at a government hospital so she knows some of the inside financial aspects of running a hospital . All government hospitals are in a state of short funding and are having to cut corners and do without many items needed . So to treat overseas patients at a rate that would normally be charged to a Thai national would be cutting into an already overtaxed medical system . Come on boys , quite whinning , or are you not aware that the national minimum wage here in the land of smiles is 300 baht per day !! Pay your fair share 

[oxysong]

7 hours ago, stevomaui said:

My GF is a Thai doctor working at a government hospital so she knows some of the inside financial aspects of running a hospital . All government hospitals are in a state of short funding and are having to cut corners and do without many items needed . So to treat overseas patients at a rate that would normally be charged to a Thai national would be cutting into an already overtaxed medical system . Come on boys , quite whinning , or are you not aware that the national minimum wage here in the land of smiles is 300 baht per day !! Pay your fair share 

Yes, cart before the horse,3 billion baht on 3 submarines that cannot possibly submerge for the whole sea area surrounding Thailand,if they could they would sink on first dive anyway

[Trollmann]

.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Trollmann
posted in wrong forum

[PingRoundTheWorld]

Assuming the hospital is subsidized by taxpayers, then it would make sense to charge tourists extra as they don't pay taxes. Now if they charged foreigners who DO pay taxes extra - that would be racist - but at least by the wording "from overseas" it doesn't sound like this is the case. Either way I'm sure it costs peanuts compared to private hospitals...