Move to make health insurance mandatory for long-stay visas

[jesimps]

1 hour ago, moogradod said:

Do they mean a Thai Elite Visa for 5 years ? I was granted one and will hopefully get the sticker in the passport on arrival at Suvarnabhumi. "Extensions" are then done by leaving the country and reentering once a year. I cannot imagine where this new insurance requirement (once it will be a requirement - and who knows when) does fit in then.

Sorry, I was just relaying the message I got from my wife, which she received from.... oh never mind. Good luck with the Elite Visa, wish I could afford one. Still hope the new insurance rules apply to your visa and not mine ????

[moogradod]

10 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Sorry, I was just relaying the message I got from my wife, which she received from.... oh never mind. Good luck with the Elite Visa, wish I could afford one. Still hope the new insurance rules apply to your visa and not mine ????

It is still only a proposal - or not ? If it would apply to the Elite Visa, then it would be asked during the approval process I think. And this would then add again a considerable amount to be paid. I am not sure how and if this would affect the attractiveness of this visa. I favour self-insurance. And no hassles with insurance companies not willing to pay in case they should. And I wish that whatever materializes as a real requirement sometime in the future does not affect ANYBODY too much. 

[Neocon]

48 minutes ago, Danthai said:

Check again USMC. If you have Medicare Part A, you must also have Medicare Part B to remain eligible for TRICARE, including prescription drug coverage. You don't need to sign up for Part B if you're: ... Enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select, TRICARE Retired Reserve, TRICARE Young Adult, or the The US Family Health Plan.Dec 19, 2017. 

Check again Danthai. TRICARE Select eligibility doesn't require Medicare Part B enrollment. Generally speaking, TRICARE For Life eligibility requires Medicare Part B enrollment when a military retiree becomes eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A.

[chicowoodduck]

Wow, just more hoop jumping in the works....although this one makes a bit of sense....at least for the moment.....rock on...????

[swissie]

12 hours ago, The Theory said:

what will be next surprise ? 

Maybe want to read post "What's next, possibly?

= Sub Forum "Farang Pub", currently on page 2.

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1074257-whats-next-possibly/

 

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, onera1961 said:

Embassies will not have any problem going through foreign languages because they may employ local translator. But there is no guarantee that in the near future, immigration in Thailand will also start asking for insurance. 

I was referring to immigrations, assuming the ruling applies to the majority of long stayers who are not visiting embassies getting visas but renewing their extensions of stay.

 

As far as embassies are concerned, I doubt many have the staff capable or willing to go through pages of terms and conditions for different polices from different companies.  Most people who purchase insurance have a limited understanding of what is or is not covered, whether payment is made to hospital or reimbursed to the patient, what limits on charges are imposed and I doubt many embassies will keep translators on to wade through insurance coverages and make any sense of it.

[happy chappie]

Just take out the cheapest 12 months travel insurance possible don't tell the company about any health problems and show you have insurance but it's not worth the paper it's written on.who are immo to know.12 months basic insurance was £40.99 not even 2,000b

[Anythingleft?]

I was referring to immigrations, assuming the ruling applies to the majority of long stayers who are not visiting embassies getting visas but renewing their extensions of stay.
 
As far as embassies are concerned, I doubt many have the staff capable or willing to go through pages of terms and conditions for different polices from different companies.  Most people who purchase insurance have a limited understanding of what is or is not covered, whether payment is made to hospital or reimbursed to the patient, what limits on charges are imposed and I doubt many embassies will keep translators on to wade through insurance coverages and make any sense of it.

A very good reason for the "you must have insurance #1 from company ######" to be applied to any visa application.....

No confusion or complications can be admitted, quite a scary thought though.....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[Lingba]

Great..and now another piece of paper you will have to bring when renewing your visa along with several copies

[NCC1701A]

14 hours ago, The Theory said:

what will be next surprise ? 

trains to death camps.

[Pattaya46]

5 hours ago, moogradod said:

5 hours ago, jesimps said:

This afternoon, the wife of a German mate of mine phoned a close friend of hers who's an immigration officer in Pattaya and was told "Not to worry, this is only for 5 year visas (?) it won't apply to one year (retirement) extensions".

Do they mean a Thai Elite Visa for 5 years ?

I don't think so, but more probably they meant the Non-Immigrant Visa O-X (vLong Stay) : 5 years and a very similar health insurance requirement.

 

2 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

I was referring to immigrations, assuming the ruling applies to the majority of long stayers who are not visiting embassies getting visas but renewing their extensions of stay.

Why assuming that?

The original article clearly states it is about the Non-Immigrant Visa O-A (Long Stay),

and nowhere it suggests it could be extended to Extensions.

 

1 hour ago, Lingba said:

 Great..and now another piece of paper you will have to bring when renewing your visa along with several copies

Same. It's for Visa O-A, in your country, not for Extension in Thailand.

[jpinx]

It's understandable that Thailand wants to avoid the costs of "freeloading" foreigners, but they need to think through the rules they're going to write.  There are so many types of visa and extension, and even more options of insurance.  It's really difficult to know how they would ever cover all situations.

[SheungWan]

16 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Interesting.

 

I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa, which I thought had all the bells and whistles any card has.

I missed a non-refundable flight due to a medical situation, and when I called Visa I found out it only covered 60 days or less trips.

 

"Depending if gold or platinum , cover ranges 3-6 months".

Is this referring to an AmEx card?

 

 

UK cards do not offer 3-6 months default with a card. Separate Amex travel insurance offers 120 days max per trip.

[SheungWan]

15 hours ago, shackleton said:

I dont  have a problem with the yearly medical cover as have my own

But reading the papers lately thought they would be looking more at the tourists who come here with No insurance  or insurance that does not cover all eventualities

Hence the increase of Go Fund Me  actions taking place in covering tourists shortcomings   Medical ect 

There is no insurance that covers all eventualities for all people.

[SheungWan]

14 hours ago, jesimps said:

Yes he is, a real teacher's pet. Bet he used to rat out all his mates when he was young. This type of poster annoys me more than the authorities do. A little what the people of an occupied country must feel when they have collaborators in their midst. I'm personally self-insured. I have a goodly amount in the bank here and in my home country to pay for any sort of medical treatment. I say this, not for the benefit of the Thais who don't care, but for my fellow farang who keep saying things like "About time!" and "Make the cheap-charlies pay" etc. Some of us prefer to self-insure.

The effective going rate for self-insure has been calculated by some to be $150,000 accessible cash. Plenty of guys with a lot less than that.

[SheungWan]

11 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

None of us are not sure that is the case. I see some definitions of O and OA as the same type of visa. A long term retirement visa. So, it might apply to both. 

O and O-A are not the same type of visa.

[SheungWan]

9 hours ago, wvavin said:

Its very simple. Every foreigner must show proof of insurance at the immigration if he or she intend for a long stay.

And O-A gets a one year stamp.

[SheungWan]

9 hours ago, Cobby said:

Another crock of shit the government are trying to put the nail in the coffin or all types of tourists who want to come to Thailand and stay (...)

O-A visa holder is not a tourist. And. Tourist visas are not intended for those who want to stay.

[SheungWan]

7 hours ago, keemapoot said:

Paying for a living in two places would be undoable for most people. So, you are asking if they can rebuild a life and support themselves overseas and at the same time support a remote Thai family? Do you really need to ask this question?

Yes. And I'm telling you three is even worse.

[SheungWan]

6 hours ago, jesimps said:

I'll give you an argument, I have sufficient funds to cover any eventuality and during my 12 years here, I've paid right away for the couple of visits I've made for minor ailments. Why should I waste megabahts on insurance scams when I'm in a position to self insure? How's that irresponsible???

Because there would be even worse issues having to provide evidence of sufficient financial resources to cover serious medical expenditure.

[SheungWan]

2 hours ago, happy chappie said:

Just take out the cheapest 12 months travel insurance possible don't tell the company about any health problems and show you have insurance but it's not worth the paper it's written on.who are immo to know.12 months basic insurance was £40.99 not even 2,000b

Well for starters just try to get 12 months travel insurance if over the age of 66. No can do. If in UK. Plus journeys must originate in UK.

[SheungWan]

51 minutes ago, jpinx said:

It's understandable that Thailand wants to avoid the costs of "freeloading" foreigners, but they need to think through the rules they're going to write.  There are so many types of visa and extension, and even more options of insurance.  It's really difficult to know how they would ever cover all situations.

The focus (for now) is on O-A visa which gets a one-year stamp on entry to Thailand.

[Bucko]

20 hours ago, BestB said:

It’s just travel insurance , complimentary when you buy a ticket. Depending if gold or platinum , cover ranges 3-6 months 

better than mine Best B---- 2-months max -- but ok for me-   have to buy a return air fare with card to activate -- 

[swissie]

1 hour ago, SheungWan said:

The effective going rate for self-insure has been calculated by some to be $150,000 accessible cash. Plenty of guys with a lot less than that.

Most of them had it when they arrived.

[swissie]

1 hour ago, SheungWan said:

O-A visa holder is not a tourist. And. Tourist visas are not intended for those who want to stay.

On all those Long-term visa's I read "NON-IMMIGRANT". So we are not Immigrants and not Tourists. And Tourists are not Immigrants. My father is not my mother.
We are Aliens!
Why not simplify and issue a new class of long-term Visa: "Alien with sufficient ATM capabilities". If your Thai-Bank Balance never drops below 1 mill Baht, you can stay forever. Thai Bank will have software signalling Immigration when Balance is less than 1 mill Bht.
Can fire 95% of Immigration Officers putting them to better use. Like in the chronically understaffed massage parlors!

[allen303]

14 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

My preexisting conditions are covered by VA and my hospital will direct bill.  Does that make me a rich goody goody type? 

What hospital here in Thailand will direct bill? I have Tricare, VA and just started Medicare AB. Did 4 days in a Bangkok hospital in private room. Hospital asked do I have insurance, told them Tricare, no problem. Paid first two days with CC. Then paid last two days with CC upon check out. The hospital gave me a itemized bill in English. Sent to Tricare over seas, 19 days later received approx. 80% back in my US Wells Fargo checking account. No complaints. Very good service ( with two sponge baths a day by two nice little ladies ). But would be interested in a hospital that does direct billing. 

[ThaiBob]

To meet these proposed insurance requirements from a Thai insurance company, what would the approximate costs be for a retired 70 year old?  I have urgent care and emergency medical insurance already but proving it to some Thai bureaucrat might be more trouble than it's worth. The proposed policy itself is insufficient but what would the costs be (?), just to make everybody happy. 

[chainarong]

On 12/23/2018 at 9:47 PM, Youlike said:

And what about the VIP visa's, do they also need to take or show a healthcare insurance to stay in their condo? (some condo's gave a VIP visa for free if you bought a unit from them).

Good point .

[Mister Fixit]

10 hours ago, jesimps said:

I'll give you an argument, I have sufficient funds to cover any eventuality and during my 12 years here, I've paid right away for the couple of visits I've made for minor ailments. Why should I waste megabahts on insurance scams when I'm in a position to self insure? How's that irresponsible???

Spot on.  This is what the sanctimonious holier-than-thou brigade are forgetting.

 

Generally speaking insurance is a scam and has been for centuries.  It's a way of making money from the gullible by betting that something will or will not happen.  There are some types which are of course necessary, such as vehicle insurance, but medical and life policies are a waste of money.

 

I have two wonky knees with stage 3 arthritis (Stage 4 is agony and pretty well unable to walk).  I will need them replaced before long although losing 28 kgs over 18 months has helped a lot.  I shall have to pay because they won't be covered by any medical insurance, but anyway, I will be 70 in a month's time and very unlikely to find any cover for anything at all.

 

I will need to scrape the money together somehow but in the meantime, I just grin and bear it and go to the gym every day to do leg-strengthening exercises.  The answer over here is to take care of yourself and be self-reliant, but some people think they are still in their homeland and will be looked after.  That doesn't happen here.  

 

 

[CH1961]

20 hours ago, randy723 said:

I have had 7 Farang friends move to either Vietnam or Cambodia in the last year and at last 5 of my Farang friends and myself will not be renewing of retirement visa but moving out of Thailand FOREVER. 

Goal achived ????