Move to make health insurance mandatory for long-stay visas

[Pattaya46]

37 minutes ago, HHTel said:

A recent report from insurance companies (Can't put my finger on it now) was that up to 60% of expats here are not insurable.

Ridiculous. The majority of expats is not only insurable, but also insured 

[Joe Mcseismic]

I started insurance at 57 years old. No out-patient and I pay the first 100k. Just under 80k a year. There is a 10% no claims bonus. am now paying around 60k a year. Only have one precondition which is obviously not covered, but, doubt that will cause me trouble as it's well under control. No cut-off age.

[jesimps]

2 hours ago, Rahibew said:

Those having Medicare it will not affect,,this is for people who doesn’t have any insurance at all and is a burden to Thailand’s generosity..

I self insure with sufficient to cover any expense. I've only ever paid privately for minor treatment on a couple of occasions in my twelve year stay. Stuff Thailand's generosity, I've never been offered anything from them. Your post is ridiculous and applies, I would say, only to the feckless. Most of the people affected by this will be the older, more responsible types, who're at the moment trying to gather together the 800,000 so that they can remain here with their families, after being here perfectly legally for many years using the income method. Maybe you should have inserted a smilie after mentioning "Thailand's generosity".

[giddyup]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Ridiculous. The majority of expats is not only insurable, but also insured 

How do you know that?

[marqus12]

Or all these difficulties are just an element of the fight between

'old money' and 'new money'
Farangs are mainly customers for 'new money' so the other side

wants to starve competitors !

[digger70]

4 hours ago, Lizard2010 said:

That sounds like a Personal Accident Policy

Without me looking

I will look it up

But Over 65 for most

It will not help them

It is an accident insurance Not a Health insurance I got one when I got my Debit card and used it once. Over 65 it is called an Senior insurance ,that is the one I got ,they will cover till one is 100 yrs, they have 2 or 3 levels of cover and premium.    

[simon43]

I started insurance at 57 years old. No out-patient and I pay the first 100k. Just under 80k a year. There is a 10% no claims bonus. am now paying around 60k a year. Only have one precondition which is obviously not covered, but, doubt that will cause me trouble as it's well under control. No cut-off age.

 

I am 60 in a few months.  I have a $1 million USD annual cover 'expat' medical insurance policy with a British company (so under UK insurance rules). 60,000 baht excess. I have no preconditions and I pay just under 30,000 baht a year for the premium.

[zydeco]

8 minutes ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

I started insurance at 57 years old. No out-patient and I pay the first 100k. Just under 80k a year. There is a 10% no claims bonus. am now paying around 60k a year. Only have one precondition which is obviously not covered, but, doubt that will cause me trouble as it's well under control. No cut-off age.

To quote your prior post: "No one cares, least of all the Thais and their government and certainly not any TV posters."

[giddyup]

21 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

It depends on what you think is "sky high".  Read my examples on page 10.  They just won't cover those conditions.

I see you list the premiums for two companies, but not a list of exclusions, and as I mentioned before, who in their 70's is in perfect health? 100K a year would be OK, but that ceases at 80 as well.

[Pattaya46]

 

7 minutes ago, giddyup said:

12 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Ridiculous. The majority of expats is not only insurable, but also insured 

How do you know that?

 

Extrapolation using statistics on people of my country living in Thailand.

Most of them are working in Thailand and they (nearly?) all have an Health Insurance associated at their Work Contract.

Among others, many married or retires have insurance too. I have .

[Negita43]

"although any with sense will have some form of insurance anyway. "

A message from someone with no sense.

I tried to get cover a couple of years ago - no prexisting and healthy for a 70+ year old. Premiums were a ridiculous 30,000 baht a month! PLUS large excess.

So I have no insurance but I do have 1 million (Baht that is) in the bank to cover.

By now I would have paid in excess of 1 million Baht in premiums for nothing! Maybe not so senseless.

[Joe Mcseismic]

9 minutes ago, zydeco said:

To quote your prior post: "No one cares, least of all the Thais and their government and certainly not any TV posters."

Have I threatened to leave?

Are you trying to say the above mentioned don't care about my post? Because that really would apply to every post on this forum.

Edited December 24, 2018 by Joe Mcseismic

[zydeco]

1 minute ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Have I threatened to leave?

We can only hope so.

[bkk6060]

21 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I haven't seen any coverage for 50,000 baht a year....and by age 65 you are looking at about 300K baht a year with some many exclusions you have almost no cover. 

 

 

Total nonsense BS.

 

I am in my mid 60's and have a very good Aetna plan for about 72,000 b a year.  It actually covers me anyplace in the world except the US.

 

You must have a lot of medical issues and be close to dying if they quoted you 300,000 b.

Otherwise, total nonsense..

[jesimps]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Do you have pre-existing conditions? Here's a list - bladder cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, benign prostatic hyperplasia, gastric reflux, hypertension. Yes , I have checked, and your comment is singularly unhelpful.

He didn't mention the astronomical premium either, but that's irrelevant to rich goody-goody types.

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

 

 

Extrapolation using statistics on people of my country living in Thailand.

Most of them are working in Thailand and they (nearly?) all have an Health Insurance associated at their Work Contract.

Among others, many married or retires have insurance too. I have .

You are talking rubbish. You have no insight or data to back up anything you say. Because you personally have health insurance doesn't mean anything as far as what others may or may not have.

[Zack61]

16 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The amended criterion is aimed at ensuring health protection for long-stay visa holders – mostly elderly foreigners – and also benefit the public and private hospitals in the country, he added.

Open for exploitation me thinks. 

[dpspike]

16 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Once it comes into effect, foreigners having the visa will be required to have Thai insurance policies

Would seem to exclude health insurance from your home country. Health insurance through a Thai company is pretty affordable, but this just seems like more of the slow squeeze on Westerners. 

[marqus12]

10 minutes ago, Negita43 said:

"although any with sense will have some form of insurance anyway. "

A message from someone with no sense.

I tried to get cover a couple of years ago - no prexisting and healthy for a 70+ year old. Premiums were a ridiculous 30,000 baht a month! PLUS large excess.

So I have no insurance but I do have 1 million (Baht that is) in the bank to cover.

By now I would have paid in excess of 1 million Baht in premiums for nothing! Maybe not so senseless.

insurance is a scam that's why it's only good to be a shareholder

in an insurance company...not a customer

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, dpspike said:

Would seem to exclude health insurance from your home country. Health insurance through a Thai company is pretty affordable, but this just seems like more of the slow squeeze on Westerners. 

"Pretty affordable" if you are young and free of any health conditions. How "affordable" is it at 80?

[Fex Bluse]

13 hours ago, Torrens54 said:

Perhaps they’ll re-introduce the Previous Ferang Health Insurance policy which the previously elected Government introduced ?

 

This excellent Policy was however Ditched, by the current Junta, leaving many who dropped their ovrrseas policies to , in Good Faith purchase the THAI GOVERNMENT Policy, OUT IN THE COLD !

My health and happiness strategy in Thailand has included 2 keys points, among others, which are:

 

1. The best health insurance policy is trying to maintain healthy lifestyle. Limit drinking and eating delicious but largely unhealthy Thai food. Move alot. Plenty of 50 yearold farang falling apart and 70+ yearold ones (usually Nordic guys) healthy as a 35 yearold. 

 

2. ALWAYS maintain critical personal infrastructure OUTSIDE of Thailand. Basically anything that is too important to delegate to the Thais, is kept in stable, reasonable countries run by adults. These critical items are things like 

 

   2a. Money, investments 

 

   2b. Health coverage, in the event its             needed

 

I think of it like this. You wouldn't bring your birth certificate and bank account info to a rendezvous with a prostitute. You would bring only enough cash and maybe condoms. Thailand is like that. It's a place to have fun but not a place to delegate important tasks. 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Fex Bluse

[Pattaya46]

6 minutes ago, giddyup said:

You are talking rubbish. You have no insight or data to back up anything you say.  //

Rubbish?? Which part?

My country publishes yearly statistics on its citizens living abroad.

For Thailand, less than 1/3 are retirees, more than 1/2 are working.

Do you know many people on Work Permit who don't have an Health Insurance?

 

Saying that "60% of expats here are not insurable" would suggest that majority of expats are (old) retirees when in reality retirees make less than 1/3 of expats... (at least for my country)

[simon43]

You wouldn't bring your birth certificate and bank account info to a rendezvous with a prostitute. You would bring only enough cash and maybe condoms.

 

... and the gimp suit.  Don't forget the gimp suit... ????

[ocddave]

Does this rule affect those of us covered under our wifes policy?

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, eggers said:

Just because have Health Insurance, many retirees have pre-existing illnesses that are NOT covered..

If need treatment, it's expensive for those conditions.

As already mentioned, what happens with persons who cannot get insurance, for whatever reason!!

 

Once again, yet another "half baked" idea by Immigration Administration; despite all the Hype "Big Joke" (Maj. Gen.Surachet) is just that!!   

It is a reasonable request that foreigners should not be a financial-liability to Thais / Thailand.  As I said in the original thread (now closed), revised and extended ...

 

A "stabilize and send-home" policy - avoiding any long-term care for illness - and required of every foreigner based on the permission-of-stay length being issued, would be the most affordable and practical solution. 

 

This protects Thailand from the cost of care for the young traveler who gets hurt on a moto, as well as the older person with a long-term health problem. 

 

Long term expats could obtain discounts, or bypass the entire thing, by setting aside a deductible or full-amount in a locked "health savings acct," refundable at the airport on the air-side of the immigration booths.

 

Of course, anyone who is able, could also purchase a more extensive plan which provides long-term care, or pay out of pocket, so could stay here to receive that care.  But the only purpose in what I propose, is to take the issue of "foreigners' unpaid medical bills" off the table / stick to beat us with - not to solve everyone's total health-care needs.

 

Some have suggested a buy-in to the Thai Health system at current rates (currently ~750 baht/mo max).  But this would be a huge subsidy handout to foreigners, vs a fair actuarial calculation of the cost of providing full-scale health-care to older retirees - even if care was limited to state-hospitals. 

 

I do suggest that a "stabilize and send home" policy should be limited to state-hospitals, but paid by the insurance to the hospital at the "foreigner rate" - the same cost one would pay as-is today, paying cash.  This rate subsidizes Thai care, rather than the reverse - so we offer yet another benefit to the country by being here. 

[Sparkles]

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, they surely do.

In Pattaya they rent an apt. On Soi buakhow and walk to 7-11 three times a day for Leo and cigarettes.

Definitely huge contributors to the Thai economy.

Very helpful.I know many long term 70+ residents that dont live that lifestyle and are putting their kids through Uni or International Schools you might like to check the cost of that .Not everyone lives in Pattaya

[fimo]

I really doubt that new law will be voted: the insurance problem is for the tourists, not for the residents and nobody want more paperwork when you'll apply for a new visa or extension

[Joe Mcseismic]

37 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

I am 60 in a few months.  I have a $1 million USD annual cover 'expat' medical insurance policy with a British company (so under UK insurance rules). 60,000 baht excess. I have no preconditions and I pay just under 30,000 baht a year for the premium.

Good one. My coverage is for 50 million Baht per annum, no total ceiling.

Seems that there's those that think ahead and those that don't........

 

Come on you guys, I need more "Sad" points. 

[Joe Mcseismic]

27 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Total nonsense BS.

 

I am in my mid 60's and have a very good Aetna plan for about 72,000 b a year.  It actually covers me anyplace in the world except the US.

 

You must have a lot of medical issues and be close to dying if they quoted you 300,000 b.

Otherwise, total nonsense..

Absolutely agree. Especially the "nonsense" bit.

[Thaidream]

1 minute ago, fimo said:

really doubt that new law will be voted: the insurance problem is for the tourists, not for the residents and nobody want more paperwork when you'll apply for a new visa or extension

Agreed-  Tourists need to be assessed a fee for health insurance coverage each time they book and pay for a trip to Thailand.  There is also a fee already in the ticket cost for security.  A fee of 300-500 Baht per person adds up to a hefty amount and forms a pool of money used exclusively for healthcare issues.

 

Long Term residents need to also be part of the pool but  the cost would be somewhat higher per month/year.  There are 75,000 Americans in Thailand long term and I would guess close to 1 million of all nationalities- Again - a huge pool of money coming in yearly. this should be more than enough to provide adequate coverage for everyone. This would be for catastrophic care. Outpatient would be up to the individual/