Health insurance mandatory for long-stay foreigners in Thailand

[Tuvoc]

4 hours ago, eagleo said:

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

 

Travel insurance is just for emergencies generally.

 

If you have a heart attack or are hurt in an accident  - OK. But if you get diagnosed with cancer say and are given a couple of years to live, travel insurance won't pay for your treatment unless you are incapacitated. If you are able-bodied and fit to travel, they would expect you to travel back to the country where you bought the policy for free treatment there.

[fforest1]

2 hours ago, macwr1958 said:

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. 

Why not get free medical care in Thailand.....The media is constantly repeating how hospitals in Thailand are passing out free medical care like hotcakes to deadbeat farangs... Need a new hart or liver?...After surgery just tell them you have no money and would they please pay for your surgery with some of that free farang medical care..... 

[Basil B]

On 5/13/2019 at 9:55 PM, webfact said:

 

The insurance policy must offer up to Bt40,000 coverage for outpatient treatment and up to Bt400,000 for inpatient treatment. 

Seems a trivial amount, could not one selfinsure? by demonstrating they had the equivalent of many times Bt400,000?

[AYJAYDEE]

2 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Seems a trivial amount, could not one selfinsure? by demonstrating they had the equivalent of many times Bt400,000?

If you could, they would have said you could

 

[sprq]

On 5/14/2019 at 9:29 AM, Jen65 said:

I am with Pacific Cross and a hefty 48,000 baht premium for a 68 year old !!  ( and I have no health problems - pronounced physically fit at my annual medical )   .  Only problem is the premium goes UP once you reach 70 so heaven knows what it will be and after 75 they don't appear to want to insure you as with most .  Health /Medical insurers must be rubbing their hands with glee at the news - can up their charges , rake in huge new income and likely without any government control !    Why can't the government hospitals offer a plan for expat / long stay residents based on an initial/annual medical and give a listing of medical/operation costs and offer a health insurance policy (possibly with suggested bank deposit to cover expected/unexpected medical costs depending on the individual , age and current health) .  The 800,000 in the bank should be made mandatory for all ( after all it is not that much ) and that form the basis of medical cost coverage .   After all what else is it for ?       

It will be 140,000 baht odd for OPD + IPD without no claim bonus. And believe me, that's a very good deal. If you get prostate cancer, for example, as I did last year, then just the initial IPD treatment is about 400,000 baht, and the cheapest therapy you can get put on will be 160,000 baht a year (hormone therapy). 

 

Pacific Cross cover is excellent for the money, and the Bangkok office is very good in dealing with claims.

[sprq]

Just now, sprq said:

It will be 140,000 baht odd for OPD + IPD without no claim bonus. And believe me, that's a very good deal. If you get prostate cancer, for example, as I did last year, then just the initial IPD treatment is about 400,000 baht, and the cheapest therapy you can get put on will be 160,000 baht a year (hormone therapy). 

 

Pacific Cross cover is excellent for the money, and the Bangkok office is very good in dealing with claims.

that is, from 71 to 75 years old, annual premium.

[bobinkolat]

On 5/14/2019 at 4:24 AM, gunderhill said:

Next people  will  buy coverage for the  amount specified and to reduce premiums to as  small as  possible get a massive excess smacked on it.

Be prepared for the longest ever tv  thread!

Been in Thailand for over 11 years 2 years ago changed fro non o to retirement visa I AM 73 years old & find it near impossible to get medical insurance, as are many of My mates on long stay visas  

[mfd101]

39 minutes ago, bobinkolat said:

Been in Thailand for over 11 years 2 years ago changed fro non o to retirement visa I AM 73 years old & find it near impossible to get medical insurance, as are many of My mates on long stay visas  

Don't worry, the wunnerful Thai administrators will think of a way.

 

If it is mandatory for, say, a 90-year-old living 'permanently' in Thailand to have health insurance (as it should be), it will be mandatory for Thai insurance companies - or at least those who wish to partake of the profits - to offer cover. The question will be, as always: What's the cover & what's the cost? It would be nice to think that competition between insurance providers might be helpful to customers ...

[4MyEgo]

12 hours ago, Olmate said:

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

Suppose your right.

[gmac]

11 hours ago, pagallim said:

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.

Interestingly I went to renew my health policy through AA insurance on the day all this broke on Tuesday and was told I needed to change policies as mine didn't have OPD cover.  Having read through this thread and having a non-O retirement extension I returned yesterday intending to tell them that I would continue my current policy as I did not believe this change affected me at this time (maybe later but not now).

 

Before I could say a word they asked all about my visa extension whether it was O or O-A and did I have 800k deposited and confirmed to that the new requirements indeed did not affect me so I could carry on with my old policy as before.

[jmd8800]

12 minutes ago, gmac said:

Interestingly I went to renew my health policy through AA insurance on the day all this broke on Tuesday and was told I needed to change policies as mine didn't have OPD cover.  Having read through this thread and having a non-O retirement extension I returned yesterday intending to tell them that I would continue my current policy as I did not believe this change affected me at this time (maybe later but not now).

 

Before I could say a word they asked all about my visa extension whether it was O or O-A and did I have 800k deposited and confirmed to that the new requirements indeed did not affect me so I could carry on with my old policy as before.

If it plays out that Non-O extensions do not have to get insurance, and Non O-A do, that will certainly be an interesting twist. If I had of come to Thailand on a tourist visa and then switched to Non O and then obtained an extension I would not need to buy insurance. However, came to Thailand on a Non O-A and now would be required.

 

As always we'll have to wait until the last minute to know the details and then how each office will react to the changes.

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

It would be nice to think that competition between insurance providers might be helpful to customers ...

Any other place on the planet i would agree.

But, TIT.

[Deerculler]

Like most here I am s little confused.
I have been here for nine years.

I am on the O-A extension. The said extension due again next August 27.

Is the insurance required for the extension?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[mania]

16 minutes ago, Deerculler said:

Like most here I am s little confused.
I have been here for nine years.

I am on the O-A extension. The said extension due again next August 27.

Is the insurance required for the extension?
 

Who knows right ????

 

Truth is as always the govt makes new rules & Immigration will be confused/uninformed as to how to implement but............

 

From what I am reading I think the new insurance for Non Imm OA Visa obtained outside Thailand at your home country consulates yes will need insurance

to complete

 

But any long stay extension done inside Thailand will have the new 800k for X amount of months?  & 400k remainder months?

That basically is the insurance requirement covered by the 400k....probably easier than trying to suss who has what policy etc.

 

So if your doing your extension inside Thailand & are following the seasoned money in bank rules you will not need the insurance since your 400k

is showing a form of locked in self insured?

 

But as usual like I said Who knows right? ???? That is my guess & how I have read it so far

How each Imm office will interpret it is anyone's guess

[Tanoshi]

16 minutes ago, Deerculler said:

Like most here I am s little confused.
I have been here for nine years.

I am on the O-A extension. The said extension due again next August 27.

Is the insurance required for the extension?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

You are not on a O-A extension.

An O-A Visa cannot be extended.

Your are on an extension from an entry of an O-A Visa.

No difference to that of an extension from an entry on an O Visa.

 

You would only require the medical Insurance if applying for a new Non O-A Visa, which can only be applied for in a Country where you have citizenship, or permanent residency.

An extension grants you nothing more than a temporary permission of stay for 1 year.

[Jingthing]

54 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

You are not on a O-A extension.

An O-A Visa cannot be extended.

Your are on an extension from an entry of an O-A Visa.

No difference to that of an extension from an entry on an O Visa.

 

You would only require the medical Insurance if applying for a new Non O-A Visa, which can only be applied for in a Country where you have citizenship, or permanent residency.

An extension grants you nothing more than a temporary permission of stay for 1 year.

But you're wrong. The foreign ministry has said the rule will apply to RENEWALS of O-A visas as well. If you think you actually know what they mean by renewals, then you're smarter than me. It's all speculation at this point. Let's not pretend otherwise. 

[Tanoshi]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

But you're wrong. The foreign ministry has said the rule will apply to RENEWALS of O-A visas as well. If you think you actually know what they mean by renewals, then you're smarter than me. It's all speculation at this point. Let's not pretend otherwise. 

You can only renew a Non Imm O-A Visa in a Country you have citizenship or permanent residency.

They are issued by Thai Embassies/Consulate's.

 

Immigration do not issue Visas or renew them.

[ivor bigun]

Who knows right [emoji6]
 
Truth is as always the govt makes new rules & Immigration will be confused/uninformed as to how to implement but............
 
From what I am reading I think the new insurance for Non Imm OA Visa obtained outside Thailand at your home country consulates yes will need insurance
to complete
 
But any long stay extension done inside Thailand will have the new 800k for X amount of months?  & 400k remainder months?
That basically is the insurance requirement covered by the 400k....probably easier than trying to suss who has what policy etc.
 
So if your doing your extension inside Thailand & are following the seasoned money in bank rules you will not need the insurance since your 400k
is showing a form of locked in self insured?
 
But as usual like I said Who knows right? [emoji3] That is my guess & how I have read it so far
How each Imm office will interpret it is anyone's guess

But you cannot spend the 400k ,if you do you lose your visa,is that not right?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[dabhand]

17 hours ago, nongsung said:

/snip

 

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.

This lengthy topic from 2016 has details of outstanding debts, as claimed by some hospitals. Vachira Hospital in Phuket and Banglamung Hospital in Pattaya gets a mention. ScandAsia are noted as the source of the information, who also highlight the amounts unpaid by Scandinavians. Unlikely to be limited to just these two......

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/900767-uninsured-foreigners-burdens-thai-public-hospitals/#comments

 

 

[Tanoshi]

7 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

But you cannot spend the 400k ,if you do you lose your visa,is that not right?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

You lost your Visa a long time ago ….. it expired.

[Tanoshi]

4 minutes ago, dabhand said:

This lengthy topic from 2016 has details of outstanding debts, as claimed by some hospitals. Vachira Hospital in Phuket and Banglamung Hospital in Pattaya gets a mention. ScandAsia are noted as the source of the information, who also highlight the amounts unpaid by Scandinavians. Unlikely to be limited to just these two......

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/900767-uninsured-foreigners-burdens-thai-public-hospitals/#comments

 

 

And the areas where hospitals suffer from non payments from foreigners are predominately the tourist areas …….. what a surprise!

However if the Thai government introduced compulsory Travel Insurance for Tourists, as some Countries do, it would decimated their Tourist Industry and the losses would be far ore than the cost of unpaid medical bills.

 

In rural areas, unpaid medical bills are not so common, the main culprits here being from adjoining Asian Countries, not the expats.

[fforest1]

4 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

And the areas where hospitals suffer from non payments from foreigners are predominately the tourist areas …….. what a surprise!

However if the Thai government introduced compulsory Travel Insurance for Tourists, as some Countries do, it would decimated their Tourist Industry and the losses would be far ore than the cost of unpaid medical bills.

 

In rural areas, unpaid medical bills are not so common, the main culprits here being from adjoining Asian Countries, not the expats.

Agree......The Thai media loves to mix up unpaid medical bills from surrounding countries citizens and tourist with expats....As a matter of fact its almost certainly intentional on their part.......

 

All for the goal of forcing almost worthless insurance on expats....Amazing Thailand....

[fletchsmile]

20 hours 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.

 

they actually said the equivalent of "may be considered" rather than "would accept". 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, fletchsmile said:

they actually said the equivalent of "may be considered" rather than "would accept". 

 

From the OP article in this thread....

 

Quote

Foreigners can buy valid health insurance from longstay.tgia.org or if they wish to use health insurance that they bought overseas, they must ensure that the coverage amount is no less than what is required by the rule.

 

And the subsequent article talking about July being the implementation date had the following:

 

Quote

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry has suggested that visa applicants purchase health insurance from one of the companies listed on www.longstay.tgia.org. The ministry has also told relevant agencies to plan how health insurance policies bought overseas will be verified. 

 

[fletchsmile]

Yes those are true. Bearing in mind though: That's all in English, and just a quote of somebody speaking in a newspaper interview. So a couple of steps even further away from being anything official.

 

The most official text I've seen so far was in Thai from the Ministry of Health on their website, which said (translated) "may be considered"

 

......

 

plus even the full quote in OP article also said they were going to discuss with authorities how to check it. If someone anywhere in the chain decides they can't reasonably check it, or it fails the check for whatever reason (eg immigration officer throwing in their 2 cents interpretation) that will also be an issue.

 

So another maybe to add to the list. I wouldn't like to count my chickens just yet though, and wouldn't rush into buying anything based on all this confusion ????

 

Quote

Foreigners can buy valid health insurance from longstay.tgia.org or if they wish to use health insurance that they bought overseas, they must ensure that the coverage amount is no less than what is required by the rule. “We are going to discuss with relevant authorities on to how to check the validity of health insurance bought from overseas,” Nattawuth said. 

the cynic in me also sees the following scenario: yes you can buy it; yes you wish to use it; yes you must ensure coverage is at least as high; but no Immigration don't want to accept it ????

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 minutes ago, fletchsmile said:

 

the cynic in me also sees the following scenario: yes you can buy it; yes you wish to use it; yes you must ensure coverage is at least as high; but no Immigration don't want to accept it ????

 

It's probably not wise to assume anything until the actual rules and policies are issued.... as opposed to the conceptual approval from Cabinet.

 

For right now, we can only go on what we have seen and read....

 

 

[Longcut]

On 5/14/2019 at 4:05 AM, Thaiwrath said:

I am sure, with the proficiency of English within the Thai immigration, this should not pose any problems ! ???? ???? ????

If they can't check the validity of pension funds. How are they going to check the validity of health insurance? Confirming my pensions is a whole lot easier than checking the validity of a health insurance plane. My pension paperwork is only two pages. Or one if you print front and back. 

[mania]

12 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

But you cannot spend the 400k ,if you do you lose your visa,is that not right?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Yes that seems to be the rule right now....Which if the intent is self insured savings then I guess it is valid

 

Then if used for medical emergency perhaps it would be allowed if 400k replenished after & visa stays intact?

Or is it just a type of guarantee for unpaid hospital bills?

 

Once again with Imm who knows...they make rules that even the various immigration offices all interpret

as they see fit.

[essexman]

On 5/15/2019 at 1:08 PM, Jingthing said:

So which is it? O-A visas only or also extension of O and O-A?

 

 

 

First 15 seconds this guy mentions that extensions of stay are included?

[brewsterbudgen]

First 15 seconds this guy mentions that extensions of stay are included?

I wouldn't rely on Fabulous 103 for facts!!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app