Health insurance mandatory for long-stay foreigners in Thailand

[Jumbo1968]

1 minute ago, Snow Leopard said:

No, it isn't. You buy it at the airport. By far the biggest burden on the Thai health care system is tourists with no medical insurance. 

Thousands of people queuing up at the desk too buy Medical cover then ?

[Kerryd]

29 minutes ago, Dario said:

I cannot see Bangkok Bank insurance policy "more than meeting the requirements noted in the news article and costing only 29'000 Baht per year".

Can you show us a link?

Here is the "Plan 2" details. Plan 2 is the one with the reduced Outpatient limit. The Inpatient coverage is limited to 930,000/year (actually it says per confinement). Annual premium for this one is 21,000.

It seems I was on "Plan 4" before. That one included up to 30 "visits" per year at a maximum of 1,500 baht/visit.
30*1,500 = 45,000/year for Outpatient services and the same Inpatient limits as "Plan 2". That one is 27,000/year (I thought it was 29,000 but that could be me not paying attention at the time.)

Here is the link to the Bangkok Bank page with the different plans and premiums (and age brackets): https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/My-Family-and-Me/Bancassurance/Life-Insurance/Health-1st
 

[Mango Bob]

55 minutes ago, Longcut said:

I agree. Government hospitals are good for minor things. When I was in Bangkok Hospital last year, they wouldn't file anything with Tricare. Said, Tricare wouldn't accept it. I had to pay first and then file. Maybe you just have better luck. 

It is only for inpatient not outpatient.   The hospital will contact Jusmagthai for approval first.

[ianezy0]

4 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Has anyone obtained health insurance within Thailand? If so, did you have to provide your medical records from your home country or was a medical examination required by the insurer prior to the policy commencing?

Yes, Pacific Cross. A lengthy form to be completed regarding your medical history. Much like HI in other countries. Check out the video Link:

https://youtu.be/ZMc1JQCP1oY

[Fairynuff]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

wrong - it can be extended for 1 year by crossing a border before it expires = 2 years

 

This article IMO does not refer to 12 month extensions of stay which have a totally different set of financial rules - IN COUNTRY

You only get another year as long as you stay in the country. You’d lose the visa once you take a trip away. Or am I wrong?

[Snow Leopard]

1 minute ago, Jumbo1968 said:

Thousands of people queuing up at the desk too buy Medical cover then ?

Okay, have a buy it online option before arrival. 

[david555]

Just now, Fairynuff said:

You only get another year as long as you stay in the country. You’d lose the visa once you take a trip away. Or am I wrong?

unless that second year you can have re entry's, or else you loose it when leaving whiteout one

[GreasyFingers]

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this as there are too many posts to read.

 

I am married and the wife's daughter and father live with us. I have no problem being insured but as I am the sole family provider should I not cover the whole family with similar insurance benefits to myself. Otherwise that is being very selfish and not being part of a family structure.

 

Wonder what it will cost to cover the whole family.

[Olmate]

2 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

You only get another year as long as you stay in the country. You’d lose the visa once you take a trip away. Or am I wrong?

Wrong, get a re entry permit first tho

[ZAKY]

And how about the foreigners who promptly settle their bills and do not owe a single cent to thai hospitals? Are they going to get a reward or a medal? 

[Mango Bob]

13 minutes ago, Storekeeper said:

Even better there is a group on Facebook called TRICARE Overseas Program (TOP) you can join.

Yes if you qualified.  I.e retired military.  I would think you would know if you were.

[Kerryd]

22 minutes ago, me4175 said:

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/My-Family-and-Me/Bancassurance/Life-Insurance/Health-1st

Plan 1 doesn't cover any Outpatient expenses, only Plans 3 and 4 do, and only Plan 4 is high enough (30 x 1,500 Baht).

Plan 8 would be interesting, but I'm not sure if the deductible would be accepted, even it's very low (5,000 Baht, for Inpatient only).

Yeah I just went back and checked my previous policies and it seems I was on "Plan 4" up until this year when I switched to Plan 2. I also thought the premium for "Plan 4" were 29,000/year but it seems it's 27,000.

So if I have to change back to "Plan 4" then it'll cost me an additional 6k/year (again). No big deal (other than the fact I don't even come close to using it enough to make it worthwhile).

[Jumbo1968]

4 minutes ago, Snow Leopard said:

Okay, have a buy it online option before arrival. 

They can’t even get the 90 Day Reporting to work efficiently online, that involves maybe a handful of Expats, what chance is there of setting up a system to deal with millions of tourists ?

[johng50]

Hmmm, more paperwork and money grabbing, but anyone who dose not have insurance is stupid to come to this country of carnage, rapes, deaths, violence, For me just another cross against thailand and another box ticked for Cambodia and the Philippines, and i do have insurance from australia whenever and where ever i travel to. just other countries dont dictate like thailand, i guess they value foreign tourists more than thailand, ( i wonder if the chinese will be made to follow the same rules ).

[Kerryd]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You've confused the word 'farangs' and 'Americans', all us western folk outside America get free health care from our governments.

 

Lol - NOT !

 

A lot of Canadians (for example) are under the mistaken impression that their healthcare covers them 24/7 no matter where in the world they are.

They usually find out (the hard way) just how wrong (and uninsured) they are after they have an accident in a foreign country.

 

I imagine it's the same for people from other "Commonwealth" (or other "Western") countries as well (yes, there probably are exceptions, or people who think there are exceptions without actually checking whether or not they actually are covered while away from home).
The devil is in the details (otherwise known as the "fine print" that no one except the lawyers and Insurance people ever read).

For example, in Canada, healthcare is not free (you pay through your taxes) and it is managed provincially and each province has it's own set of rules. Because of that, even if you travel from one province to another, you may not be covered ! It's in the fine print that if you leave the province for more than a day, you won't be covered (unless you make other arrangements ahead of time, which usually means they want you to buy travel insurance or register with another province's healthcare service).
 

That's what they told me when they sent me a bill for a year's worth of premiums when I retired from the military. When I told them I was going to work in Afghanistan for a year, they told me I wouldn't be covered. I asked them why I should pay the premiums if they weren't going to cover me. 

No answer so I didn't pay the premiums.
3 months later (while I was in Afghanistan) I get a letter from them. It was a bill for the premiums they wanted me to pay, along with an extra interest charge for "late payment" !

When the issue of healthcare for foreigners first came up (last year ?) I suggested they should set up a "compulsory insurance" policy much the same as they have for vehicles. Every year when you do your Road Tax/Insurance for your scooter/car/whatever, you pay for the compulsory insurance whether you like it or not.

 

Set up a basic Healthcare policy and ticket dispenser machine (like an ATM) and charge a couple hundred baht for everyone renewing an Extension for whatever reason. Present the ticket with your other paperwork and carry on.
Or they could simply add the fee to the cost of the Extension.

Some of you may remember when we used to have to pay a Departure Fee at the airport whenever we flew out. They eventually decided to hide the fee in the ticket price instead of collecting it when you were checking in for your flight (too many people flat broke when they get to the check in and unable to pay the fee they didn't know about until they got to the counter).

They could do the same thing with a compulsory insurance plan. I have additional medical insurance that covers me in the event of an accident. I go to the bank, sign a couple of papers, they write my name on a card that comes with a booklet explaining the coverage (in Thai of course), I pay the fee and am good to go.

They could do that same thing at Immigration. Sign a form, pay the (increased fee), get your new Extension stamp and a card you can stick in your wallet showing that you have the compulsory health insurance.

But that would be too easy.
 

[giddyup]

Just now, Jumbo1968 said:

They can’t even get the 90 Day Reporting to work efficiently online, that involves maybe a handful of Expats, what chance is there of setting up a system to deal with millions of tourists ?

Immigration could check tourists on arrival for health insurance. The onus would be on the tourist to purchase insurance before their arrival in Thailand.

[david555]

3 minutes ago, johng50 said:

Hmmm, more paperwork and money grabbing, but anyone who dose not have insurance is stupid to come to this country of carnage, rapes, deaths, violence, For me just another cross against thailand and another box ticked for Cambodia and the Philippines, and i do have insurance from australia whenever and where ever i travel to. just other countries dont dictate like thailand, i guess they value foreign tourists more than thailand, ( i wonder if the chinese will be made to follow the same rules ).

"( i wonder if the chinese will be made to follow the same rules )."

 

Maybe Alibaba & Aliexpress can sell them fake ins.doc. same as example the fake gold bullions , fake or copied this or that other items 

[stanleycoin]

19 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Are STIs covered?

No, it's self-inflicted,  so is a court marshal offence.  

[AAArdvark]

7 hours ago, gunderhill said:

https://www.thaihealth.co.th/2012/product_wealthy_eng.php

Good rates for UNDER 66.

 

2. Eligible to apply for the first year coverage from 15 days up to 65 years of age, renewable up to 80 years of age for IPD and up to 70 years of age for OPD

[Burma Bill]

Why worry? No doubt this will enable the establishment of "health insurance agents" - just like the visa ones!!

[mikosan]

They REALLY don't want us here any more do they.  Far from being translucent as it previously was, it's now very transparent.  As it happens, I have health insurance that covers both requirements, but I believe that I will be unable to renew that when I reach 75, so I better make the most of the next 15 years.  I feel for people who cannot get insurance.  This country is becoming a sick joke.

[poohy]

Why worry

If an agent can help immigration to overlook 800K

whats the health insurance  going to cost to "ahem" check or overlook.

 

either that or a khoasan road special health insurance!

[rabas]

12 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Yeah I just went back and checked my previous policies and it seems I was on "Plan 4" up until this year when I switched to Plan 2. I also thought the premium for "Plan 4" were 29,000/year but it seems it's 27,000.

So if I have to change back to "Plan 4" then it'll cost me an additional 6k/year (again). No big deal (other than the fact I don't even come close to using it enough to make it worthwhile).

No one over 59 can apply.

Retiree age: 50 - 119

 

[Storekeeper]

10 minutes ago, Mango Bob said:

Yes if you qualified.  I.e retired military.  I would think you would know if you were.

Oops ... can’t be arsed to look back through the thread but I assumed you were retired US military. The group I recommended is fairly new but is still probably a better place to seek TRICARE info than here on Thai Visa. Up to you ... 

[AAArdvark]

6 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Well  surely  this would mean at least another 400k and  another 40k for outpatients in the bank which would suit me  just fine.

And that amount, designed to pay for medical expenses, will be required to remain in the bank for ever.

[Saltire]

Just had a quick look at the link in the OP for Pacific Cross to compare to my UK Health Insurance (HCI).

 

I am 64

 

UK (no outpatient, have co-pay and excess)

 

Premium £1100 per annum coverage (£350,000) = 14.2 Million Baht

 

Pacific Cross 

 

Premium 51,074 Baht = £1248 per annum coverage 420,500 Baht

 

Something is not adding up here?

 

 

[Speedo1968]

I have visited / lived in Thailand on business for more than 20 years

I spent 10 years working full time in this country for a Thai company paying a tax rate of around 35%.  At the end of the contract I left as is the Thai law, returning one week later to live the rest of my life here.

No free hospital neither local in / outpatients or private in / outpatients.  I paid all my bills.

Having had Parkinson's for many years and many TIA's and a number of strokes due to work stress, I paid my hospital bills here.   ( My current health status is very good but have already been tared by the brush when it comes to trying to get insurance ).

If I compare the hospital treatment I received here with that of the UK, Thailand wins.

It took over an hour to get an ambulance when I had a bad TIA in the UK compared with 10 minutes here, local hospitals closed in UK.

How easy is it to get to see a GP in the UK, from my experience very difficult, then if you are lucky you get 5 minutes with the GP who often desn't listen to you about things like drug allergies.

Dentist, same story regarding getting an appointment.

 

I started work in 1961 when I was 15 and spent most of the time since 1968 working in other countries, eventually not through choice but, I was deemed 'too' experienced to be given a job in the UK.

 

Classed as 'non- resident' in the UK I will have to pay medical bills there.

With my previous health problems I would be unable to get medical insurance in the UK, or for anywhere else.

 

I tried twice in the UK to get rented accommodation ( 2011 and 2014 ) but have no credit rating, despite having the same bank accounts for 40 years, so its 6 months rent or more upfront.

The money I spend here in one month would not even cover one months electric / gas bill in the UK.

To try and regain my UK residence status will mean at least 3 months of rented / hotel accommodation.

 

I am sure there are many others perhaps in a similar situation as mine who have come to see Thailand as their 'home' whether married or not, whether they are of good health or not, whether money is an issue or not.

I live alone and am now in much better health

Given a choice as a person on low income I would prefer the UK if it were possible to live near my children / grandchildren, unfortunately I am priced out of that market in all ways imaginable.

 

Perhaps my local immigration will be understanding as I have always retained my retirement visa deposit, if not then its border hopping if it's possible or, facing a miserable and cold existence in the UK with a guaranteed early demise.

 

For those who have posted 'good riddance' to us poor older people have a little heart for this is our home ( for whatever reason ) and we may not be as young as you.

 

 

 

 

 

[TGIR]

5 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

does medicare parts a and b work in thailand, does anyone know?

That will be a quick no can do........Medicare only works in the U.S., no foreign coverage available.

[Jumbo1968]

4 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Immigration could check tourists on arrival for health insurance. The onus would be on the tourist to purchase insurance before their arrival in Thailand.

So an I.O. could read and understand the Terms and Conditions of an Insurance Policy no matter what language and at the same inspect it too see if it was genuine ?.

[GalaxyMan]

5 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

does medicare parts a and b work in thailand, does anyone know?

Medicare only works in the US. Zero coverage outside. You'd have to hope you weren't too sick to get on a plane and fly to the nearest US territory that had decent medical care.