Bangkok Hospital/s in emergency

[Number 6]

Assuming I live in the middle of the CBD, can anyone give me a go-to hospital in an emergency that is fairly honest with costs and prices for medical services?

 

Other than an in emergency, can anyone provide a hospital with good service and value?

 

*Job I'm moving to has bupa I'm told as well.

 

I've done a few checkups at PraRam9, it's ok but a bit money driven imo. Wife went in with vertigo some years back, really unhappy at the meds prescribed.

 

Thank you

[uhuh]

St Louis

Christian Hospital

Chulalongkorn Hospital (much bigger facility but government, so routine checkups involve a lot of waiting, try the after-hours clinic as described by Sheryl in many posts)

[ThaiBunny]

I agree with Saint Louis, been there a number of times

[Sheryl]

St Louis is a good choice for most things.

 

If a really major trauma (motor vehicle accident etc) then Chula ER. But only for that, otherwise the wait will be enormous.

 

For non-emergencies you really need to choose the doctor, not the hospital. There is no such thing as a hospital where all the doctors are good and taking pot luck or letting the clerks decide who to send you to is a terrible idea almost guaranteed to get you sent to one of the least competent docs on staff (since these will be the least busy).

[Number 6]

Thanks everyone. I'm very familiar with both hospitals. Chula is more abouts where I live and work. Any idea if they take the standard government insurance card or BUPA?

 

Thanks again. Done asking questions.

[JoePai]

go-to hospital in an emergency

 

The answer is simple - the nearest one !

[Sheryl]

If by government insurance you mean Social Security it can be used only at one hospital that you register at under the system. There is some choice as to which but Chula has been closed to new SS enrollment for years. I believe Lerdsin may still be taking new SS enrollment. Check with your HR dept or SS office to find out which hospital you are registered at now and when you can make a change (usually Jan - March but can do at other times if you have moved or started a new job). Do NOT let your company decide for you which hospital...there are some really bad ones on the list that ate desperate for clients and may differ "incentives" to HR staff.

I can't say specifically for Chula but usually government hospitals do not have direct billing arrangements with private hospitals, they simply do not have the staff and resources to deal with the associated paperwork. You'd have to pay first and be reimbursed.

St Louis and Bangkok Christisn Hospitals (another good option, on Silom) do have direct billing arrangements with some insurers. You'd need to check with your insurer to find out if they do. Most can provide lists of hospitals whete they have a direct billing agreement.

By BUPA I assume you mean BUPA international? As BUPA Thailand no longer exists. Was bought out by Aetna.

Note that direct billing is usually only for inpatient care. And there are pre authorization requirements in order for hospital to get a Guarantee of Payment (GOP) which is needed to have them directly bill the insurer. All of this should be spelled out on your polucy documents.


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[Number 6]

Thanks for all that Sheryl. Sorry to belabor the issue. I was told BUPA and 8ts most likely Thailand but very possible the person was not aware of the change.

 

Yes. Government hospital. I'm registered at Huaicheaw Hospital as it's sorta local, wife born there and best that was available in enrollment.

 

Is it possible to keep the government insurance active by paying the 5-700b premium after leaving my school employer? I'd read it was. I've got my wife checking on this but I'll get the answer sometime next year ????

 

 

Big thanks again.

[Sheryl]

If you are employed for 13 months yes, you can keep the Social Security for life as long as you make the monthly payments and you absolutey should do so.

 

Huaicheaw Hospital is a private, not government, hospital.

 

There was a thread a while ago that listed the Bangkok hospitals currently open to new SS enrollment, unfortunately I can't locate it but I do recall both Lerdsin and Mission Hospital being ion it, personally I would prefer either of those to where you are now registered.

 

There is a very good American GP and Mission.

 

Re the private insurance, if this is a Thai company it will likely have such a low cap as to not be worth very much. And certainly will not be BUPA since as mentioned, no longer here. Could be AETNA.  A lot of companies in Thailand offer very low value private insurance policies as a "perk", this can be dangerous in that people sometimes make the mistake of being admitted to a private hospital only to find the insurance maximum is reached within a day or two and they then start amassing a bill they can't easily pay, and it is hard to arrange transfer. So look very carefully at the benefit and avoid being hospitalized for anything likely to exceed that amount.

 

If it is a private school you are going to be working at these do not usually provide SS so make sure youhave first worked at least 13 months at the government school and arrange to continue the payments to keep that cover. Private schools are exempt under the SS law. Most provide some sort of "priovate:" insurance but rarely worth anything.

 

 

 

 

[Number 6]

21 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

If you are employed for 13 months yes, you can keep the Social Security for life as long as you make the monthly payments and you absolutey should do so.

 

Huaicheaw Hospital is a private, not government, hospital.

 

There was a thread a while ago that listed the Bangkok hospitals currently open to new SS enrollment, unfortunately I can't locate it but I do recall both Lerdsin and Mission Hospital being ion it, personally I would prefer either of those to where you are now registered.

 

There is a very good American GP and Mission.

 

Re the private insurance, if this is a Thai company it will likely have such a low cap as to not be worth very much. And certainly will not be BUPA since as mentioned, no longer here. Could be AETNA.  A lot of companies in Thailand offer very low value private insurance policies as a "perk", this can be dangerous in that people sometimes make the mistake of being admitted to a private hospital only to find the insurance maximum is reached within a day or two and they then start amassing a bill they can't easily pay, and it is hard to arrange transfer. So look very carefully at the benefit and avoid being hospitalized for anything likely to exceed that amount.

 

If it is a private school you are going to be working at these do not usually provide SS so make sure youhave first worked at least 13 months at the government school and arrange to continue the payments to keep that cover. Private schools are exempt under the SS law. Most provide some sort of "priovate:" insurance but rarely worth anything.

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much. Excellent ????

[uhuh]

Last time i checked (about 2 years ago) neither Lerdsin nor Mission accepted new SS patients. There was no decent hospital on the SS list within a reasonable distance of Rama4. That made SS kind of useless.