Health insurance mandatory for long-stay foreigners in Thailand

[dlclark97]

  I guess the state hospitals are in financial trouble only because ex pats run up unpaid bills while Thais are so conscientious they pay in full immediately.

[jimmyyy]

Could we COOP this insurance.  Seems like a decent plan for thai visa.  Offer 3 plans make em affordable.  Make it all in english so we understand it.  

 

Another thought all foreigners pay to be in the 30 baht plan.  I know my mrs found out about this and although i have insurance through us mil she is checking if i can get on the village plan what ever that is.  

[Melbun]

8 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

I, like many expats I meet here from western countries, have moved to Thailand and other countries because we cannot afford to live or live a comfortable middle-class retirement in our own countries. That is the real result of 30-40 years of the economic squeeze on the working middle-class.

Either way you need to do some belt tightening - be it Thailand or your previous country of abode. You choose .

[essox essox]

4 hours ago, 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!

very true...

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, travelerjim said:

Read again. .it is for those on LONG STAY....O-A and Extensions of Stay for retirement are included.

"According to Nattawuth, the new rule applies to both new applicants for the non-immigrant visa (O-A), which offers a stay of up to one year, and those wishing to renew their visa. Each renewal is valid for one year."

 

Nothing about VISA extensions in that, quote me where it says 'extensions'?

[wwest5829]

5 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

Yeah just like Obama told me the type of insurance I should have.  Thank you but I am a 62 year old engineer with doctors as friends and relatives as nurses.  I will seek my own counsel

As is said in Mexico, "Viva Yo"! Hooray for you ...

[poobear]

I was off to New York tomorrow morning with all my paper work filled out for my OA visa. Another waste of time and money getting my police and medical checks. At his point I wish I had never went to Thailand in the first place.

 

[pmarlin]

4 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

I wonder if this will be a problem if you are a retired American military with Tricare for Life coverage.   You pay 25% of the bill and no more than $3,000 a year.  After that Tricare covers the total cost.  This is better than any plan they list here.

I'm looking for an answer on that too.

[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

I wonder what they will do if you have insurance in your own country but it does not apply internationally. 

 

I suppose they would make you get insurance. 

Yah think??

[justin case]

50 minutes ago, schlog said:

Compared with this new insurance scam the Elite visa is cheap as chips with ~8.300 per month.

The best you get hassle free 5 year visa with great service and free limo.

it is still a tourist visa and guess what... why not enforce it on elite also

 

it was ment for rich people, so the extra's are peanuts

 

unless elite is your only option, as it will be for more people in the future

[anchadian]

Returning to settle

UK citizens who return to the UK on a settled basis will be classed as ordinarily resident. This means you will be eligible for free NHS care immediately. This includes cancer care.

You might be asked for proof you are returning to settle for in the UK.

[TheAppletons]

Just now, BritManToo said:

"According to Nattawuth, the new rule applies to both new applicants for the non-immigrant visa (O-A), which offers a stay of up to one year, and those wishing to renew their visa. Each renewal is valid for one year."

 

Nothing about VISA extensions in that, quote me where it says 'extensions'?

One cannot "renew" an O-A visa....except by converting it to an extension of stay.  When an O-A visa expires, one obtains a new O-A visa.  

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Melbun said:

Go back home - come back as a visitor 4 X a year.

 

If you're from anywhere outside Asia it would be cheaper to buy the insurance.

[crazykopite]

No doubt it came into force the same day as they announced it . Soon they won’t have to worry more and more over 50s will be upping sticks to move to a neighbouring country where they are more welcome . It’s not the over 50s who are the problem as the majority have funds to pay for hospital treatment it’s those tourists who come with no insurance and end up in hospital having come off a hired scooter.

[smedly]

10 minutes ago, globalnomad12 said:

Can anyone confirm the actual date when this mandatory health in surname policy kicks in?  My annual retirement visa extension date is June 2019

 

you do not have an O-A visa

 

the requirements for a 12 month extension of stay are quite different and in country, a recent change requiring you to maintain a minimum bank balance of 400k baht 12 months a year or other options involving income 

[madmitch]

14 minutes ago, smedly said:

correct and soon to be a requirement for O-A visa obtained in home country

 

Extensions of stay already have their own financial requirements updated recently to include a minimum 12 month Thai bank balance of 400k baht 

 

People are reading too much into this and getting their wires crossed about what is being referred to in this topic

You may be right, and there are thousands of expats that hope you are, but remember it's a translation of the real rules, that probably haven't been properly thought through, despite the insurance companies knowing about this for a while. We'll find out sooner or later, meantime let the speculation continue!!!

[Longcut]

32 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

I do think there is a validity to this idea and have proposed to US representatives arguing that we can get world-class care and a far better cost overseas. I think Medicare coverage could be extended on the same global basis as military "Tri-Care". Of course your conclusion, I think is also correct. The reply could be we can save even more money by not covering you and returning to the US for coverage from Thailand makes that idea cost prohibitive unless a very costly illness and you are able to fly (that would not have been possible when I had a heart attack in 2015.

You do understand that Tri-Care must be paid out of pocket first? Then the member must file a claim. After approval, if all is approved by Tri-Care 75% is paid to the member in reimbursement. That's after the deductibles are paid first. Tri-Care doesn't do any direct payments to Thai hospitals. 

 

 

[giddyup]

It seems to me that it's the short term tourists that are the problem, those that don't buy travel insurance, have an accident and either skip out on medical bills or start a gofundme charity.

[david555]

12 minutes ago, smedly said:

correct and soon to be a requirement for O-A visa obtained in home country

 

Extensions of stay already have their own financial requirements updated recently to include a minimum 12 month Thai bank balance of 400k baht 

 

People are reading too much into this and getting their wires crossed about what is being referred to in this topic

You seem to have forgotten you live in Thailand .., where every gov. immigration office & each desk or each I.O. ,even depending which day of week it is,... interpret ate official police orders in a different way of reading/ implicating them ?

[BritManToo]

46 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I am insured by the Thai Gov.. My co-pay is B280. How can your bill be B77, Makes no sense..

I never question the billing unless it's too much.

The night before when I visited the emergency department it cost me 268bht but that included significant surgical supplies.

 

 

[salavan]

There's going to be a lot of forign deposits withdrawn from Thai banks

[WorriedNoodle]

19 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

21 minutes ago, WorriedNoodle said:

I do not see the words extension of stay mentioned anywhere in the lead article.

 

It says "renew visa". Since a visa cannot be renewed one assumes what is meant is extension of stay. 

 

Though technically incorrect, it is not unusual for people to refer to extensions of stay as visa extension or visa renewal.

So maybe you are technically incorrect? Ubonjoe has already posted about it within past hour on another thread.

 

[Okis]

Seniors should have the proper insurance for staying in Thailand ????

[LawrenceN]

It's a good policy. As others have pointed out, the problem will be enforcing it consistently.

 

I have recently gained a new perspective on this issue. I'm writing from a private room in a private hospital where I have just finished two months of radiation therapy for cancer. Nearly all of it, now approaching a million baht, has been covered by my health insurance, Aetna. I have only a hospitalization (inpatient) policy, but they covered nearly all of the outpatient treatments, because it was cancer. That was five times a week for five weeks.

 

I'm a 64-year-old American, so not quite old enough for Medicare. Not sure if I would rush home in a medical emergency anyway. In a serious, sudden emergency, it's not practical to load your broken body on a plane, especially with Medicare only.

[justin case]

11 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Thai have free or subsidised medical, why would they need insurance.

and how many pay taxes here you think ?

 

most people pay nothing and cost a lot

 

the few farangs are a problem now ? where are the REAL numbers ?

 

make tourists prove at arrival that they have insurance, but that would have been too much trouble

 

let's harass the people who live here, have families , houses, jobs, with no other options, to pay for this nonsense

 

I try to live as healthy as possible and my last visit to any hospital was 8 years ago and still had to pay out of pocket for out of patient services, ok with that, while I saw most thai people pay nothing at all ... there were about 100+ thais and 1 farang ...

 

yeah, the farang that pays premium in cash is the problem

 

land of XENOPHOBIA, finger pointing, blaming others

[pmarlin]

2 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

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

No, Medicare does not work in Thailand.

[Sheryl]

4 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

One cannot "renew" an O-A visa....except by converting it to an extension of stay.  When an O-A visa expires, one obtains a new O-A visa.  

Exactly.

 

It is unclear what is meant by "renewal" and whether it is limited to those on O-A visa.

[sumrit]

6 minutes ago, anchadian said:

Not correct.  You would receive immediate NHS treatment if you returned to live in the UK.

BUT, you have to be back in the UK for six months before it is accepted that you have returned to live and are not just a 'medical migrant'.

 

Last year a married woman went to S. Africa for six months because her husband went to work there. She came back (pregnant) for Christmas then had problems with the pregnancy and the baby was delivered early, by cesarian. She was presented with a bill for over £10,000 by the NHS because she was deemed no longer a UK resident'. 

[holy cow cm]

16 minutes ago, mania said:

So insurance freight train has now pulled into station parked alongside increased bank fund visa ext requirements

Insurance Load is light at this time....It will surely be aimed at anyone over 50 on a retirement extension or based on marriage extension

400k in coverage & 40k out

 

But next year sure as Sh1t you know they will say they are overwhelmed with cases where the hospital bills far exceeded the coverage

So expect next year to double or more

Sadly this will not likely be because expats used the coverage so much as the Thai doctors now knowing all expats are covered will

be recommending many "procedures"

Yes pretty much right on target. 50 or over on any type of long term visa or extension. And yes again you may be correct and the ante will be upped on the insurance rules. I do not think they seriously have compassion or care a rats a.. about us even though we as in our countries and people helped make their country into what it is now. Even China would be now here without stealing the ideas or having direct help of building an economy. It also looks like the self appointed government really doesn't care about their own people on the general whole (see elections and control), so thinking about that, we are really in or going to be in a predicament coming soon if not wealthy. 

[Jen65]

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 ?