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

[kiwikeith]

On ‎5‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 5:00 PM, Pilotman said:

what a good idea.  No, I'm not being sarcastic. 

 

Yes, this is a great idea, I would be happy to pay 500 BHT upon entering.

This tax can be paid with your ticket.

It does need admin, if it is used properly, and many countries use a tax upon arrival or leaving then it is good for all.

The only thing I see as a problem is that if you are staying on long term then they may treat that as freeloading on the system.

 

However if you can only stay one year at a time, then maybe the fee should be paid with visa renewals as well.

There would be plenty in the kitty @ 500BHT per person.

They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.

Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.

Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

[stanleycoin]

5 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.

Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.

Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

They would only plough most of the money into there own personal pockets,

TIT.

[hioctane]

 
Yes, this is a great idea, I would be happy to pay 500 BHT upon entering.
This tax can be paid with your ticket.
It does need admin, if it is used properly, and many countries use a tax upon arrival or leaving then it is good for all.
The only thing I see as a problem is that if you are staying on long term then they may treat that as freeloading on the system.
 
However if you can only stay one year at a time, then maybe the fee should be paid with visa renewals as well.
There would be plenty in the kitty @ 500BHT per person.
They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.
Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.
Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

If insurance premiums cost around 8000 baht a month, what kind of meaningful insurance can you get for 500 baht a visit?!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[laspalmas]

6 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

 

Yes, this is a great idea, I would be happy to pay 500 BHT upon entering.

This tax can be paid with your ticket.

It does need admin, if it is used properly, and many countries use a tax upon arrival or leaving then it is good for all.

The only thing I see as a problem is that if you are staying on long term then they may treat that as freeloading on the system.

 

However if you can only stay one year at a time, then maybe the fee should be paid with visa renewals as well.

There would be plenty in the kitty @ 500BHT per person.

They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.

Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.

Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

a bucket of naivety...such stupidity of an individual
  harms the general

No matter how much you pay, you will get something back only if

you pay 10 times as much as it is worth ... so you will get 50 baht

for your 500 baht at best.

Edited May 28, 2019 by laspalmas

[wayned]

7 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

 

Yes, this is a great idea, I would be happy to pay 500 BHT upon entering.

This tax can be paid with your ticket.

It does need admin, if it is used properly, and many countries use a tax upon arrival or leaving then it is good for all.

The only thing I see as a problem is that if you are staying on long term then they may treat that as freeloading on the system.

 

However if you can only stay one year at a time, then maybe the fee should be paid with visa renewals as well.

There would be plenty in the kitty @ 500BHT per person.

They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.

Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.

Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

If you pay 500 baht or even 1000 baht what do you think that you will get in return?  Do you think that you will get an insurance card that can be used at any government hospital?  Not!  You will get absolutely nothing and will have to pay all of the expenses out of your pocket as your 500 or 1000 baht has already disappeared into somebody elses pocket!

[jethro69]

I appriciate it. 100 bath a couple times/year is a way better deal than the almost 20K insurance I have at the moment. 

[inThailand]

So the hospitals will start claiming every falang not pay and gets the government to pay them? Who doesn't like to be paid twice? This should help the hospital's bottom line and exhaust the government fund faster than you can say we need to raise the 100B fee to 1,000B. 

[new2here]

what a good idea.  No, I'm not being sarcastic. 

Effectively this becomes a shared risk pool scenario.... and to me, it kind of makes sense... I think if you take the total number of non-Thais that enter by air, and effectively divide that into the cost to cover unpaid health care costs- that the per person amount would be quite low.

I personally would add it as a tax on air tickets - just like Air Passenger Duty (APD), Fuel Surcharges (YQ) and the like are done. True, anyone crossing by land or sea wouldn’t be charged... but... I think if you could look at the total numbers, the percentage that enter Thailand by air at some point, would be the overwhelming percentage of people.

You could also institute a land-entry fee that it paid like the old days at (the now coded) DMK whereby you had to pay in cash, for you airport fee before you could pass immigration.. so, a land entry person would be required to buy their entry fee coupon... at immigration that coupon would be stamped and dated... therefore hard to re-use.

For those who perhaps are frequent travelers (perhaps legally working here or have legal long stay permission) I can see a process whereby those who perhaps paid the fee within the last X days (for example, 180 days) can take their previously used air ticket receipt and submit it for a refund of the tax that would have been paid on a more recent ticket within that 180 period... thereby reducing the risk of “double paying”

For those that perhaps have existing insurance here in Thailand already - I can see a process whereby your Thai-based insurer certifies that you have/had the minimum coverage required and you then turn around and submit that certification for a tax refund.

For me, given how complex insurance can be — all the different types, levels of coverage etc... I’m not sure that this is an issue that Immigration is well suited to be addressing... also, I tend to believe that the actual number or percentage of cases of a non-Thai having unpaid care and freeing payment - expressed against the total number of non-Thais entering the Kingdom, is exceedingly small.. so I think a shared-risk pool premium makes sense here.

[Uptooyoo]

On 5/26/2019 at 6:43 PM, Bill Miller said:

I am one of the folks who suggested something of the sort.
Since we long term, retirement types, etc., are still considered "tourists" for most practical purposes, can we get by on this as well?
Most of the available commercial policies I have seen thus far are on the steep side.
Make the program available to us as well, but more than 100 baht per head would be needed for the idea to work.
I would have no problem kicking in say five thousand baht each 90 day reporting period.  The US charges me about thirteen thousand baht each three months, total, for a policy I cannot use, even though it would be far cheaper to payout for Thai medical care, and Medicare is becoming increasingly useless, largely due to the opaque and byzantine billing requirements.
I have been getting by with cash, as the usual cost at Thai government hospitals is about equal to my Medicare co-pays.
I know, because I have been averaging two admits per year during my five years here.

Most tourists arrive and get a 30 day stamp and will pay 100 baht. So long-term O and O-A visa holders should pay 100 baht every 30 days or 1200 baht per year. Seems fair. 

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Uptooyoo said:

Most tourists arrive and get a 30 day stamp and will pay 100 baht. So long-term O and O-A visa holders should pay 100 baht every 30 days or 1200 baht per year. Seems fair. 

You're assuming that the risk of someone having an accident or becoming ill and needing hospitalisation is the same for a 30-day period and a 365-day period. I'd have thought the risk of having something in any 12-month period is somewhat greater than the risk of having something in any given 1-month period. No doubt an actuary can give a more definite guideline

[BangkokBaksida]

Free medical care for my visits to Thailand - for just a 100 baht premium?  Sounds good to me.

[Uptooyoo]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:45 AM, ThaiBunny said:

You're assuming that the risk of someone having an accident or becoming ill and needing hospitalisation is the same for a 30-day period and a 365-day period. I'd have thought the risk of having something in any 12-month period is somewhat greater than the risk of having something in any given 1-month period. No doubt an actuary can give a more definite guideline

Would the odds of flipping a coin and landing on heads be 50-50 if I did it only once? The odds are 50-50 each flip, and it will average out to 50% of the time given enough flips. I would think it's the same in each 30 day period. It doesn't matter if you get off the plane and stay only for 30 days or you stay here long-term and pay every 30 days. You are exposed to the same hazards every 30 days and you pay 100 baht to insure for the risk of being exposed to those hazards in that time frame. Yes, the odds of getting into an accident are higher in a 365 day period versus a 30 day period, but that's why you pay 1200 baht for the former and 100 baht for the latter. Some might say a long-term expat is less of a risk because he or she is more experienced and has a heightened sense of the dangers in Thailand; therefore, might qualify for a lower premium. Any brainiac actuaries out there want to pipe-in?

Edited May 30, 2019 by Uptooyoo
clarification

[Pilotman]

On 5/28/2019 at 6:30 AM, kiwikeith said:

 

Yes, this is a great idea, I would be happy to pay 500 BHT upon entering.

This tax can be paid with your ticket.

It does need admin, if it is used properly, and many countries use a tax upon arrival or leaving then it is good for all.

The only thing I see as a problem is that if you are staying on long term then they may treat that as freeloading on the system.

 

However if you can only stay one year at a time, then maybe the fee should be paid with visa renewals as well.

There would be plenty in the kitty @ 500BHT per person.

They could plow the excess into improving hospitals for Thailand as well.

Could be enough to mount a road safety campaign, get some speed cameras on the highways and police.

Maybe that's a dreammmmmm.

That may come, and if it does, I would have no problem with it, provided it was a replacement for compulsory health insurance cover for Extension of Stray.   

[wayned]

9 hours ago, Benroon said:

Good grief !!

 

There's no hope sometimes

If you don't agree, please make a list of everything that you received for the 700 baht exit tax that is automatically added to you ticket!

[Road Warrior]

think 100 bht on entering Thailand sensible ,i agree as a ex pat resident 

[rott]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:06 AM, new2here said:

 

Effectively this becomes a shared risk pool scenario.... and to me, it kind of makes sense... I think if you take the total number of non-Thais that enter by air, and effectively divide that into the cost to cover unpaid health care costs- that the per person amount would be quite low.

I personally would add it as a tax on air tickets - just like Air Passenger Duty (APD), Fuel Surcharges (YQ) and the like are done. True, anyone crossing by land or sea wouldn’t be charged... but... I think if you could look at the total numbers, the percentage that enter Thailand by air at some point, would be the overwhelming percentage of people.

You could also institute a land-entry fee that it paid like the old days at (the now coded) DMK whereby you had to pay in cash, for you airport fee before you could pass immigration.. so, a land entry person would be required to buy their entry fee coupon... at immigration that coupon would be stamped and dated... therefore hard to re-use.

For those who perhaps are frequent travelers (perhaps legally working here or have legal long stay permission) I can see a process whereby those who perhaps paid the fee within the last X days (for example, 180 days) can take their previously used air ticket receipt and submit it for a refund of the tax that would have been paid on a more recent ticket within that 180 period... thereby reducing the risk of “double paying”

For those that perhaps have existing insurance here in Thailand already - I can see a process whereby your Thai-based insurer certifies that you have/had the minimum coverage required and you then turn around and submit that certification for a tax refund.

For me, given how complex insurance can be — all the different types, levels of coverage etc... I’m not sure that this is an issue that Immigration is well suited to be addressing... also, I tend to believe that the actual number or percentage of cases of a non-Thai having unpaid care and freeing payment - expressed against the total number of non-Thais entering the Kingdom, is exceedingly small.. so I think a shared-risk pool premium makes sense here.

 

The "exceedingly small" comment is the only reality in this post.

Sorry but you just do not seem to have any grasp of how things work here.

[Percy P]

On 5/30/2019 at 3:04 PM, Uptooyoo said:

Would the odds of flipping a coin and landing on heads be 50-50 if I did it only once? The odds are 50-50 each flip, and it will average out to 50% of the time given enough flips. I would think it's the same in each 30 day period. It doesn't matter if you get off the plane and stay only for 30 days or you stay here long-term and pay every 30 days. You are exposed to the same hazards every 30 days and you pay 100 baht to insure for the risk of being exposed to those hazards in that time frame. Yes, the odds of getting into an accident are higher in a 365 day period versus a 30 day period, but that's why you pay 1200 baht for the former and 100 baht for the latter. Some might say a long-term expat is less of a risk because he or she is more experienced and has a heightened sense of the dangers in Thailand; therefore, might qualify for a lower premium. Any brainiac actuaries out there want to pipe-in?

Well tourists are not prone to topical illnesses as they have lived to hygienicly in their own country. A case recently two Australians went down with an illness which they said it was eating pad thai.

[nong38]

The poor taxpayers need some respite from keeping Thai Airways International from going under! Which do you think is the greater...………..1 The amount Thai Airways are losing per year or 2 The amount tourists ( lets say non Thais ) are costing the health service?

The Thai tax payers is a poor excuse for this.

It might only be 100 bts but it will make people think of their options and one of them will not to come back, they will unwelcomed.

[bowerboy]

On 5/24/2019 at 12:07 PM, JohnOFphon said:

Didn't there used to be a departure tax? I remember going to a machine and paying 500 bt for a ticket that had to be shown,,,at check in or passport control...don't remember which.

 

There still is a departure tax....in every country....it is now built into the ticket price rather than paid on departure as it used to be...

[bowerboy]

Every country with tourism carries this cost...why should Thailand be entitled to charge an insurance fee when no other countries do....$10M (THB300M) is the price you pay for having 36 million tourists visit your country....it’s nothing in the grander scheme

[Brigand]

It's just a scam, as if you need hospital help you will be not be able to claim this at a hospital of your choice, it will be at a useless underfunded government hospitals only that offer horrible service that you won't want to go to. Lol, just levied a new scam on everyone. They know no bounds to their scamming and <deleted>-taking.

[Banana7]

Maximum charge should be 10 baht for the 38 millions visitors, which still exceeds the 300M baht expenses, by 80M baht.

 

[greeneking]

3 hours ago, bowerboy said:

Every country with tourism carries this cost...why should Thailand be entitled to charge an insurance fee when no other countries do....$10M (THB300M) is the price you pay for having 36 million tourists visit your country....it’s nothing in the grander scheme

Thai Airways, Thai Railways (pay Hopewell now, cheats!), huge Army, huge variety of Police Forces, your rich people hate being taxed....sick tourists are not much of a problem.

Be thankful very few need your hospitals, and largely pay anyway, because they give far more than they get away with.

[meand]

The problem with this is the first time any program needs emergency tax funding, which is pretty much immediately in every country, this is the first fund that would be dipped into and depleted. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by meand

[happy chappie]

There will be small print as all insurance companies like to have.number 1 will be probably a maximum stay of visa maybe 30 days.they will probably not cover expats on marriage/retirement extension or all the other extensions.

what scares me is what sort of hospital you'll be able to use.

[wayned]

when a person enters immigration should give the person a insyrance card that is good at any hospital, government or private, for the duration of the granted permission to stay.  If you extend the pernission to stay or leave and reenter another 100 baht would be required to get a new card for the new permission to stay. That would work for me, 100 baht extra at my yearly extension for "free": mmediclal service anywhere!

[Waynou]

Sounds like a great idea if they give full coverage...i would pay 500 Baht for it.

As for the 3.5 Billion profit who cares what they do with it, I am sick of paying huge Travel Insurance fees and yes I am on an O-A visa and had a heart attack 14 years ago in Phuket which my Travel Insurance paid 100% but now only a couple of companies will cover me.

I think alot of travelers would be willing to pay this, again as long as it is full coverage.

And all Hospitals

Edited September 4, 2019 by Waynou

[mtls2005]

13 minutes ago, Waynou said:

Sounds like a great idea if they give full coverage..

 

It's not insurance.

 

For lack of a better term it's a slush fund, over which various ministries will trough-it-up.

 

Hopefully the MoH will get their ~ 300 million to cover pesky foreigners, while the other 3.5 Billion can go to wristwatches.

 

This was planned to go into effect next month, but haven't seen any news.

 

 

[Number 6]

Absolutely guarantee all this will cover is money to hospitals when farang can't pay (insurance for hospitals not tourists) and costs govt incurrs shipping you home in a wooden box.

 

It might fob itself of as fake accident insurance but it will never cover health. Never.

 

 

The rest will be pocketed.

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Number 6

[losworld]

On 5/24/2019 at 12:07 PM, JohnOFphon said:

Didn't there used to be a departure tax? I remember going to a machine and paying 500 bt for a ticket that had to be shown,,,at check in or passport control...don't remember which.

that's the ripoff tax many localities use to pay for their airports lol