Every foreign tourist to Thailand set to be charged 100 baht insurance fee

[ryane66]

6 hours ago, Bert got kinky said:

 

When the news broke about the 'possible' insurance requirement for ex-pats, this idea was suggested by a poster on Thai Visa. 

 

Is someone from the Ministry of Tourism & Sports reading Thai Visa in order to pick up a few tips. ????

 

 

Something l suggested but just add as a tax to all international airline tickets. Then no bother collecting it and no worry about others lifting it.

 

[rgraham]

3.8 billion baht should cover a few plasters!

[Kalasin Jo]

So, if not on a long stay visa, but either visa exempt entry, tourist visa or as in my case now non immigrant O multiple entry, does this charge mean that emergency treatment at point of delivery would be free to foreigners? No need to buy travel insurance, expensive at my age? 100 baht per entry or exit is fine by me, even though the estimated income stream from all those tourists is huge for the government.

[Peterbkk99]

Creating a pool of money for insuring tourists might seem a good idea. But how can we be sure some of this money won't be pocketed by corrupt officials? Is this going to be controlled / audited?

What will be the quality of healthcare provided? (private, or public hospitals? or the cheapest, lowest quality possible?). Will (private) hospitals be tempted to overcharge even more? Will this encourage tourists to come to Thailand without travel insurance? Is this just another scam? etc...

 

[wisperone]

So every time someone does a visa run, or leaves the country for whatever reason...you will have to pay up.

[wisperone]

I have said to myself many times that the junta monitors this site...its not the first time they have acted on something that has been mentioned on TV. Since they can't come up with any solutions themselves, best turn to the farangs for the good ideas.

[Isaanbiker]

The money would be used to ensure tourists and stop Thai taxpayers forking out for tourists' emergency medical treatment and the repatriation of people who die while on holiday. 

 

  That made my day! Hurray!!! I was waiting for such insurance for more than 25 years. 

 

   Not yet sure if I want to die here. They'd sell my Titanium knee without even asking me. 

 

But to be honest, it starts to suc_ almost everywhere now. I've spent many millions of Thai baht here and have to read more about how they can milk us?

 

  There's no light at the end of the tunnel, a breathing smelly CM air tax should be introduced as well for let's say 120 baht per day. 

 

And all who decide to swim in Pattaya should have to pay 200 baht and fill out a card where their organs will go to. 

[ocddave]

3 minutes ago, wisperone said:

I have said to myself many times that the junta monitors this site...its not the first time they have acted on something that has been mentioned on TV. Since they can't come up with any solutions themselves, best turn to the farangs for the good ideas.

The Thai military is nothing more than a Mafia organization, there isn't a bright/intelligent soul among them, just pigs looking for a position at the trough.

[Pedrogaz]

300 million baht is only $10 million....it is peanuts compared to the tourist industry with its 40 million or so visitors. Now 40 million visitors multiple by 100 baht is 4 billion baht....now 4 billion divided by 30 is roughy $140 million.....enough to pay all the unpaid bills many times over. But one wonders who is actually going to collect the cash and will they be able to be in a position to pocket it, while passing some up the chain to their bosses?

[JHolmesJr]

Any clarity on what sort of health coverage you're entitled to, once you have paid this money to them?

[randy723]

that would be cheaper than the Philippines $20.00 US dollars

[ocddave]

Just now, JHolmesJr said:

Any clarity on what sort of health coverage you're entitled to, once you have paid this money to them?

The bare minimum while they pocket 3.5 Billion Baht, then next year increase the 100 to 200, because some bureaucrats will need new Mercedes for their wives/mistresses.

[randy723]

16 minutes ago, wisperone said:

So every time someone does a visa run, or leaves the country for whatever reason...you will have to pay up.

100 baht is not going to hurt anyone

 

[Rican0722]

Heck on my last trip into Thailand I spent 36,000 baht for a five night stay on treatment for Denge Fever. 100 Baht would be a nice discount if it covered it too.

[connda]

So they final figure out that they should focus on the actual demographics that are responsible for the majority of the hospital 'runners.'  

 

However, I still can not comprehend why anyone is allowed to rack up a hospital bill and then be allowed to do a 'runner' without the police being notified and then going after those who fail to pay their bills.

 

Think:  We hear about some guy who goes to high-end restaurants, racks up huge bills, and then splits.  That is reported to the police, The man is identified, caught, and prosecuted.
But if a foreigner racks up a substantial hospital bill <or any bill for that matter>, then walks out the door without paying -- it's a CRIME.  So why are not the police hot on the heels of those who don't pay?  They need to be arrested, charged, prosecuted, and suffer the consequences - publicly - as a deterrent to other idiots thinking the same thing.  
So the bottom line is: why is doing a runner on a restaurant bill any different than doing a runner on a hospital bill and vice versa?

If Long-Stay Expats were truly the cause of the unpaid hospital bills, then the police can easily track them down.  If they can't be easily tracked down, then they can also be charged with failure to report their address and probably other immigration related issues too.  But my guess is that Long-Stay Expats are probably a small minority of the 'runners' because they can be tracked down and charged. But tourists, including the coveted medical tourist, can dash to a waiting plane and leave the country - there are your most likely suspects.   

So yeah - 100 THB per head to offset the runners.  It's peanuts.  But the cops should also be cracking down hard on those who receive services and then run instead of paying - it is a crime and should be pursued as a crime!  
 

[ocddave]

6 minutes ago, randy723 said:

100 baht is not going to hurt anyone

 

Unless it (3.5 Billion baht not used) ends up in the pockets of the Junta and the Elite.

[Peterbilt]

Don't know if it has already been mentioned in this thread:
The new touristtax will not only be used to cover a handful of unpaid hospital bills or the charges for returning a dead to the home country.
According to an article in another english language newspaper which is published in BKK, most of the tax will be used for "improving local attractions".
The 300 million BHT of unpaid hospital bills were of course also mentioned, but most of the tax is used to rehabilitate tourism sites across the country. Part of the funds will also be used to improve infrastructure to facilitate tourists, such as a yacht port for tourists from Europe who travel by sea to drive tourism development in the South.

(Don't know if it is according to the rules to post a link to another newspapers website, so I refrained from doing so. Check out Richard Barrows twitter channel for it.)

[JHolmesJr]

11 minutes ago, ocddave said:

The bare minimum while they pocket 3.5 Billion Baht, then next year increase the 100 to 200, because some bureaucrats will need new Mercedes for their wives/mistresses.

I asked what do we get for the 100b.....your answer is a Mercedes for some thai officials....????

 

[Pique Dard]

so what if the tourist has his own insurance that he paid back home for his journey?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

14 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

300 million baht is only $10 million....it is peanuts compared to the tourist industry with its 40 million or so visitors. Now 40 million visitors multiple by 100 baht is 4 billion baht....now 4 billion divided by 30 is roughy $140 million.....enough to pay all the unpaid bills many times over. But one wonders who is actually going to collect the cash and will they be able to be in a position to pocket it, while passing some up the chain to their bosses?

Of course this is just another scheme dreamt up to milk the foreigner; 300m Baht is a drop in the ocean when compared to overall tourist revenue, and a proportion of existing revenue from tourists does, through sales taxes, licences and such, end up indirectly in state coffers. But as Thai officialdom sees it, more revenue should pour into state hands directly, because government hospitals are funded by the Thai taxpayer. 

As to whether the proposed levy on tourists will end up as intended, to pay for uninsured hospital treatment, well, I leave it to the reader to judge on past experience whether such monies usually find their way to the correct place. 

I believe a number of new fire engines have been rotting for years somewhere in the country, and one doesn't hear much these days about those several hundred buses from Malaysia which were impounded in Map Ta Phut....

[TheHangingJudge]

Does this mean no more fund me begging letters.

[Myome]

The 300 million bath shortfall was last attributed to retired foreigners and they said there were 38 million of us. Well, The Nation, what are the real facts?

 

[sammieuk1]

Don't forget to factor in the 99% embezzlement tax which is mandatory????

[UKresonant]

15 minutes ago, Pique Dard said:

so what if the tourist has his own insurance that he paid back home for his journey?

I'll have travel insurance anyway, but would not grudge 100 baht, if it is used for the the common good. 100baht it's about the same price as a small bottle of french sparkling water, airside, at BKK, so perhaps 500baht a year, no problem! (total contrast to maybe 60k baht for an insurance policy, that would be practically useless, discussed on other threads).

Perhaps the authorities could warm to the concept of efficient group arrangements to solve problems, rather than individual, high overhead, low efficiency concepts....

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

So they are looking to make a profit out of this.

Not necessarily as they need to cover administration and implementation costs.

 

And who cares anyway?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

The clue is in the word 'tourist' in the heading. 

 

So what exactly do you think that's supposed to mean here?

 

Only tourist visa holders?  Visa exempt arrivals? Visa on Arrival? Multiple Entry Tourist visa holders?  Or, basically, every time a non-Thai enters or departs the country?

 

On the basis of the news report, I wouldn't hazard a guess of how they intend to define "tourist" when it comes to levying this charge.

 

 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So what exactly do you think that's supposed to mean here?

 

Only tourist visa holders?  Visa exempt arrivals? Visa on Arrival? Multiple Entry Tourist visa holders?  Or, basically, every time a non-Thai enters or departs the country?

 

On the basis of the news report, I wouldn't hazard a guess of how they intend to define "tourist" when it comes to levying this charge.

 

 

Well, we can only go by what the article says, and it uses the word 'tourist', by which I suppose they mean people with one of the various types of short-stay visa or visa waiver you mention. But as always with announcements of this type, it's a given that it will be ill thought out and short on detail.

[emptypockets]

 

1 hour ago, JHolmesJr said:

Any clarity on what sort of health coverage you're entitled to, once you have paid this money to them?

Easy answer - none, zilch, zip.

Think of it as a levy to cover unpaid debt.

There is no insurance involved in this for a 100 baht.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, StevieAus said:

The article refers to tourists presumably those living here long term utilizing marriage visas, retirement extensions work permits etc are not tourists

There is no mention of how it would be collected so why jump to conclusions that are not there.

Even if the above groups were charged the 100 baht it would hardly break the bank.

 

For starters, I don't know the answer of whom they intend to apply the fee to....

 

But it's worth noting, the OP article in this thread from BECTERO appears to have based its revenue assumptions on applying the fee against the entire foreign arrivals number said to be 38 million annually. 

 

Quote

BECTERO conjectured that if the fee was 100 baht this would give the government 3.8 billion baht based on 38 million visitors a year. 

 

In the Thai way of thinking, even those on annual extensions or visas are "visitors" here, since only a tiny proportion of expats (those with permanent residency, Thailand Elite, O-X, etc) have any rights to stay longer than a year or a few years at a time.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

There is no insurance involved in this for a 100 baht.

 

The OP article seems to suggest there will be some kind of insurance cover....

 

Quote

The money would be used to insure tourists

 

But what exactly it would be and what/how much it would cover were totally un-addressed.