Health insurance mandatory for long-stay foreigners in Thailand

[vukovar77]

On 5/14/2019 at 6:53 AM, james.d said:

I have my 1 yr Thai wife visa due in June from sawañakhet but could not see a date this new law comes into play.

Am I missing something?

 

Yes,when?

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

After my friend has made several phone calls to immigration he has been told it will only apply to O-X visa long stay 10 yr visa,and was told not to read the newspapers.

It's been a requirement for OX visas for a while.  Making it also apply for OA visas is what has been confirmed by Cabinet, but it's not yet law.  A Police Order will be issued.

[rott]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

If you think your at the bottom you must be ????

 

Mix it up with low-lifes, not me, top surgeon at a govt hospital, nope, retired with two past degrees and I love the bars, especially the ones with those sweet girls.

 

I didn't say they were disgusting people, you did !

 

 

Yes I do think that people who do runners from hospitals leaving bills unpaid are disgusting. (Or doing runners leaving unpaid bills anywhere).

 

How many have you actually known? I have never known any. I do not think you have either, I think you just invented it to bolster your story.

[sniggie]

53 minutes ago, Nong Khai Man said:

Everyone has an NHS Number Mate,If You had a Doctor in The U.K Then YOU Certainly DID Have one !!

I don't remember mine but it's on any NHS correspondence you might have. I do remember by heart my earlier one which was my wartime ration card number! Proof that I'm uninsurable as far as insurance companies are concerned.. 

[Krataiboy]

1 hour ago, Huckenfell said:

Well said Krataiboy.  This is exactly what is facing so many of us. In my last post i am asking for someone with the ability to post a petition for Thai immigration.

 

Good idea. We should also start lobbying our respective governments to start batting on behalf of us "uninsurables". The idea of having lump sum in the bank in lieu of insurance cover, floated by the Thai immigration spokesman, is obviously worth pursuing.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, hml367 said:

You cannot translate it online?

 

Experience-Department-sat-revealed-Council-of-Ministers-approves-the-additional-criteria-for-health-insurance-for-the-elderly-foreigners-1-year-term-reduces-the-risk-of-bad-debt-hospital (1).pdf 149.87 kB · 8 downloads

The translation of the attachment IMHO only adds to the confusion. It's about as clear as mud whether this is a recommendation, up for discussion by the powers that be, about to be legislated into Immigration law, etc. No time frame for implementation.

[4MyEgo]

53 minutes ago, rott said:

Yes I do think that people who do runners from hospitals leaving bills unpaid are disgusting. (Or doing runners leaving unpaid bills anywhere).

 

How many have you actually known? I have never known any. I do not think you have either, I think you just invented it to bolster your story.

We agree on something.

 

Actually I correct myself, they didn't actually do runners, they used the public system and paid for it, I suppose that's ok as it's paying the account for services rendered, e.g. same price as Thai's.

 

I don't bolster stories, although in this instance made a mistake and correct myself here and now.

[zydeco]

20 hours ago, aqua4 said:

I think it is a good idea as I am sure the Embassies in Bangkok are getting tried about being called about a foreigner who has no health coverage. I have seen this many times before where many expats dont even so much as have accident insurance. Yes you think it will not happen to you until is does. Private health care in Thailand can be pretty stiff and there should have been a rule years ago about health insurance as well as death coverage to ensure that there is money to send you body back home if that is what you want. The annual premiums above is pretty standard in Thailand but they usually offer combination policies such as coverage for cancer and other illnesses, accidents as well as death. 

What insurance company do you work for?

[geronimo]

On 5/14/2019 at 4:07 AM, gunderhill said:

So how many are going to be leaving now, what exactly s a NON O -A I have a visa which just states NON O married to a  Thai (no other letters  after it) been on it for 6  years.

Perhaps someone can clarify if  it  will  apply to me?

I may be wrong, but I think it only applies to the retirement visa.

[Cheops]

17 hours ago, aqua4 said:

You dont get printed for your extension?

No. Only recent photos are required (I'm on 2 year extensions, based on my WP, for the last 14 years).

[Date Masamune]

It is interesting as different to other places many things rumored to happen come true.

Now we have mandatory insurance for longstay (O-A) visa. The only rational concept would be for retirees to be to be enrolled in the national scheme at a higher premium, but that won't happen. The Thai insurance policies mooted are rediculous. No way to tell how individual offices will handle this, or deal with hundreds of different policies from dozens of countries if using overseas policy? What if they ask for explanation of benefits in the Thai language with  Certificate of Cover signed within 24 hours? 

 

This new policy will cause confusion and is impacting my retirement plans, and of course opens up more possibilities for "agents" and their fees, or force more to the elite card. If one has  money you will be able to stay just like everywhere else.

This is bad though regarding Thai retirement ideas the "last nail in the coffin" for many.

[smedly]

perhaps now the 12 month 400k baht minimum deposit for extension of stay makes sense

 

I posted very early in this thread that this announcement only applied to O-A visa, turns out I was right and the hysteria shown here and several other threads was just that - hysteria 

[Jeffrey346]

2 hours ago, kickstart said:

How about all those who like to post "My wife is a civil servant, and under the Thai social security system I will get free treatment ", they could well have been chocking on they cornflakes this morning reading this. they now might have to pay for their own health insurance.

 

 

  

If they are covered by the Thai Health System, I doubt they will have to obtain and pay for health insurance.

[Tiger Sam]

I went to Chaeng Watthana Immigration Div 1 office to renew my one-year retirement visa on Monday this week,  After I obtained my one-year extension for the nth time I asked the Immigration Officer in Section C1 of the same office for information covering extension of more than one year, say 5 years. They provided me with a copy of their latest printed information on their new long-stay visas (only for citizens of selected countries), which says that for visa extensions of 5 years or more, health insurance coverage is now mandatory.  Since I am past 70 years young, they said it is far easier for me to just apply for a one-year extension every year because I will not be able to get new health insurance coverage policy issue to me in Thailand being older than 70 years.  I am not really worried about not having health insurance coverage since I have been self-insured for years after retirement and I have more than enough funds for this purpose.  Therefore, will the Nation reporter(s) who wrote this article re-check their source of information and issue an update to this articel if needed, because the new health insurance coverage issue only applies to new visa or visa extensions that are longer than one year.  Try not to provide information that is confusing and not quite accurate.  Thank you.

[eagleo]

21 hours ago, JWRC said:

After wading through all the speculation on here, I see quite a few have asked when this will start and as far as I can tell, no one has answered that.

If there is not a start date then the article started by webfact is misleading in as much as it gives the impression this is a done deal.

 

I have had a very stressful day as a result of this misleading post and now going through some of the posts it appears that the requirement is not yet in place.

 

Perhaps our most intelligent of visa advisors namely Ubon Joe could shed some light on this, my personal situation is that my visa extension is due at the beginning of June and I would like to be prepared,

 

21 hours ago, JWRC said:

After wading through all the speculation on here, I see quite a few have asked when this will start and as far as I can tell, no one has answered that.

If there is not a start date then the article started by webfact is misleading in as much as it gives the impression this is a done deal.

 

I have had a very stressful day as a result of this misleading post and now going through some of the posts it appears that the requirement is not yet in place.

 

Perhaps our most intelligent of visa advisors namely Ubon Joe could shed some light on this, my personal situation is that my visa extension is due at the beginning of June and I would like to be prepared,

Can't you apply for the extension 45 days prior to the due date? If your due date is early June you can apply any day from now before its an IO requirement.

[marcusarelus]

4 hours ago, dcnx said:

Told you all this was coming.

You said O-A visa's would have to have health insurance? 

[marcusarelus]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That's interesting because when I was deciding where to live in Thailand, CM was my top choice, but I rejected it based on the smoky season, and of course it's gotten much worse since then (so that was a wise decision for me). 

20 years ago it was smokey so I moved to Pattaya. 

[marcusarelus]

46 minutes ago, eagleo said:

 

Can't you apply for the extension 45 days prior to the due date? If your due date is early June you can apply any day from now before its an IO requirement.

Most places it is 30 days in advance as I recall. 

[fletchsmile]

1 hour ago, Tiger Sam said:

I went to Chaeng Watthana Immigration Div 1 office to renew my one-year retirement visa on Monday this week,  After I obtained my one-year extension for the nth time I asked the Immigration Officer in Section C1 of the same office for information covering extension of more than one year, say 5 years. They provided me with a copy of their latest printed information on their new long-stay visas (only for citizens of selected countries), which says that for visa extensions of 5 years or more, health insurance coverage is now mandatory.  Since I am past 70 years young, they said it is far easier for me to just apply for a one-year extension every year because I will not be able to get new health insurance coverage policy issue to me in Thailand being older than 70 years.  I am not really worried about not having health insurance coverage since I have been self-insured for years after retirement and I have more than enough funds for this purpose.  Therefore, will the Nation reporter(s) who wrote this article re-check their source of information and issue an update to this articel if needed, because the new health insurance coverage issue only applies to new visa or visa extensions that are longer than one year.  Try not to provide information that is confusing and not quite accurate.  Thank you.

The "new" 10 years visa, which is valid for 5 years + can then be another 5 years is an "O-X" visa. For that type of visa it clearly states "O-X" in your passport. That type of visa clearly states health insurance of 400k + 40k OPD, under the current rules for it, which have been around a couple of years. 

 

These articles all clearly say "O-A" Visa.

 

Sound like the immigration officer is just another one of those providing confusing and not quite up to date/ accurate info.

 

Then again that's nothing knew with the government + ministries + immigration offices/officers on these things.

 

Plus of course the mandatory 80+ pages of waffle and confusion on here.

 

Let's face it. Very very few people actually know what is going on. And those that do aren't exactly on here LOL. Those that do also likely haven't communicated to other ministeries and immigration offices and officers. Even those that do think they know what's going on aren't necessarily the ones who will be calling the final shots.

 

The rest is even more meaningless waffle LOL

 

Cheers

Fletch ????

 

Edit: If perchance there is someone in these 80+ pages - which I confess I haven't read in totality - who was actually at the cabinet meeting and knows what the people actually there did and that they had the authority do enact such legislation, then I'm happy to be corrected: that there isn't a single person among these 80+ pages who actually knows what the full story is, and all it does is add to the confusion LOL

 

In such a rare event I will correct my post to 80+ pages of waffle and confusion less 1 post on facts LOL

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by fletchsmile

[Just1Voice]

Ok I could be wrong here, but a "NON O-A" is NOT a Retirement Visa, but merely a one year "long stay" visa.  If this is what they are talking about, then it has no bearing on Non-O Retirement visas. 

 

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O-A"-(Long-Stay).html

 

[marcusarelus]

8 minutes ago, fletchsmile said:

The "new" 10 years visa, which is valid for 5 years + can then be another 5 years is an "O-X" visa. For that type of visa it clearly states "O-X" in your passport. That type of visa clearly states health insurance of 400k + 40k OPD, under the current rules for it, which have been around a couple of years. 

 

These articles all clearly say "O-A" Visa.

 

Sound like the immigration officer is just another one of those providing confusing and not quite up to date/ accurate info.

 

Then again that's nothing knew with the government + ministries + immigration offices/officers on these things.

 

Plus of course the mandatory 80+ pages of waffle and confusion on here.

 

Let's face it. Very very few people actually know what is going on. And those that do aren't exactly on here LOL. Those that do also likely haven't communicated to other ministeries and immigration offices and officers. Even those that do think they know what's going on aren't necessarily the ones who will be calling the final shots.

 

The rest is even more meaningless waffle LOL

 

Cheers

Fletch ????

 

Edit: If perchance there is someone in these 80+ pages - which I confess I haven't read in totality - who was actually at the cabinet meeting and knows that the people actually had the authority do enact such legislation, then I'm happy to be corrected, that there isn't a single person these 80+ pages who actually knows what the full story is. In such a rare event I will correct my post to 80+ pages of waffle less 1 post on facts LOL

 

I called my insurance agent who works for the largest insurance company in Thailand (A1A) and she had no idea what I was talking about when mentioning that I needed 40k and 400K insurance coverage or anything about the new rules discussed above. 

[nongsung]

This afternoon I tripped over something and fell sideways on a concrete floor.

My hip was hurting real bad and we went to the local hospital for a quick check.

A tiny abnormality was seen on the X-ray but for the rest all seems ok, have to rest and a follow-up x-ray is planned in a month or so.

The doctor is born in the village we live in and he’s a close friend of our family.

It was the end of his shift and we walked outside for a chat.

 

I asked him about his experience with farang/aliens that skipped paying their bills and he said that, to his knowledge, that had never happened in the three government hospitals he worked.

We like farangs, they are good for the hospital because they bring in some cash. They are knowledgeable, you can discuss

treatment with them and most of the time they agree with a treatment if you explain things to them. Of course we are way cheaper than private hospitals but sometimes I feel that even in our hospital a certain treatment is expensive.

It’s never a problem with farangs, they want the best and we give them the best we can give them. We charge according to the standard prices in our computer and payment has never been a problem.

 

We do however have payment problems with a specific group of foreigners... people from Laos. They are known for sneaking out without payment. We try to prevent that but it’s kind of difficult.

 

Just my (or his) two Satang.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, fletchsmile said:

Edit: If perchance there is someone in these 80+ pages - which I confess I haven't read in totality - who was actually at the cabinet meeting and knows what the people actually there did and that they had the authority do enact such legislation, then I'm happy to be corrected: that there isn't a single person among these 80+ pages who actually knows what the full story is, and all it does is add to the confusion LOL

 

You think the people on the Cabinet, whomever they are, who actually voted on this actually understood what it meant and the details of who was and wasn't going to be impacted? I seriously doubt that.

 

They probably just rubber stamped whatever Immigration and MFA sent them, then went back to talking about how to best get the EC to further re-allocate parliament seats in favor of the ruling government that didn't earn them in the election.

 

As usual here, such things now get thrown back to the bureaucrats to actually come up with whatever rules and procedures they're going to come up with to implement this poorly thought out policy.

 

--Did they talk about what's going to happen to very old people or those with significant past medical problems who may be denied insurance altogether, or what will happen to people who have tons of things excluded from coverage? 

 

--Did they ask MOPH to do an analysis of just what types of foreigners are running up these supposed unpaid hospital bills at government hospitals and to what extent?  Visa exempt or VoA entries, tourist visa holders,  extension holders, O-A visa holders?  I'm guessing, the O-A portion of that is a tiny sliver.

 

--Did they include in the adopted policy a directive that there ought to be some "buy-out" provisions for people who simply can't get the required insurance to allow them to deposit funds somehow as a guarantee against future medical expenses?  Apparently not.

 

--Did they talk about the difference and distinction between O-A visas vs. retirement extensions, and did they mean to only apply the insurance rule against O-A visas, or did they really mean to apply it to all "retiree" visa holders here?  Anyone's guess at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marcusarelus]

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

--Did they talk about the difference and distinction between O-A visas vs. retirement extensions, and did they mean to only apply the insurance rule against O-A visas, or did they really mean to apply it to all "retiree" visa holders here?  Anyone's guess at this point.

Unless you can buy the insurance in our home countries I think the answer is obvious. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Unless you can buy the insurance in our home countries I think the answer is obvious. 

 

I don't understand your comment at all. The announcement yesterday did actually say that they would accept either Thai-issued policies or those from abroad, as long as they had the required minimum 400K/40K coverage...

 

That's a distinct difference from the O-X visa health insurance requirement, where only policies issued by the half dozen or so Thai insurers on the government's Long Stay website will be accepted.

 

[marcusarelus]

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I don't understand your comment at all. The announcement yesterday did actually say that they would accept either Thai-issued policies or those from abroad, as long as they had the required minimum 400K/40K coverage...

 

That's a distinct difference from the O-X visa health insurance requirement, where only policies issued by the half dozen or so Thai insurers on the government's Long Stay website will be accepted.

 

Because everyone has it wrong.  The insurance is for retirement extensions that's why they listed Thai insurance companies.   

[eagleo]

I have a travel insurance. Its covering the required amounts. Similar to a previous poster with an Australian credit card. I have just done my first extension about a week ago in Thailand. I guess I can wait and see once the dust settles what is required for which type of visa or extension. I usually stay in Thailand for a max of 6 months then back to Oz for a couple of months and repeat.

Is there anyone who has an idea of the difference of a travel vs health insurance?

I also would think that when you apply for a new O-A visa in your home country you will need the insurance as the required B800k only need to be in your bank account on the day and not stay as required for an extension.

[Olmate]

5 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

We agree on something.

 

Actually I correct myself, they didn't actually do runners, they used the public system and paid for it, I suppose that's ok as it's paying the account for services rendered, e.g. same price as Thai's.

 

I don't bolster stories, although in this instance made a mistake and correct myself here and now.

Suppose it is? And it wouldn’t be Thai price!

[pagallim]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Because everyone has it wrong.  The insurance is for retirement extensions that's why they listed Thai insurance companies.   

No, you have it wrong Marcus.    Insurance is for O-A visas obtained external to Thailand.   These visas are commonly referred to as 'long stay' or 'retirement' visas.   The overwhelming majority of us long term residents in Thailand have Non O Tourist visas, which have been extended through retirement, marriage, or having a dependent.   Completely different.

[macwr1958]

I am not sure why anyone would expect to get free medical care paid for by the Thai government or by Thai citizens. If I didn't have my own insurance I would feel like a parasite, taking advantage of others.