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

[Sonhia]

Bloody joke!

 

Tourists are persistantly victamized as it is! What next? Tax tourists breathing polluted air or for each step they walk! 

 

One example:

 

One popular national park entrance fee: 40 baht for Thai, 400 baht for a tourist! Outrages! 

 

In many cases, injuries are normally inflicted by lawless, uncaring Thais, so it is only right Thai should pay for farang medical costs!

 

Thailand is gettimg worse and too greedy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bastos60]

4 hours ago, potless said:

Or charge everyone 100 baht.

But for 100 Baht you don't have any insurance, my point was to make it mandatory to provide contract details on travel insurance on purchasing an airline ticket.

[Bastos60]

4 hours ago, brianthainess said:

So they can go to any hospital and receive free treatment. 

Only for your dead body to be returned home.

[Percy P]

8 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Indeed there was for a very short period of time (seems like 30 years ago but memory may well be wrong on that).  

Still there but now included in the price of the flight ticket. 700Baht.

[Percy P]

9 hours ago, 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.

Still there but now included in the price of the flight ticket

[ericthai]

9 hours ago, 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.

Yes there was and still is, they started having the airlines add it to the ticket I think that happened late 90's.

 

I recall the Philippines had the same thing and I think Vietnam did too.

[Bastos60]

2 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

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

None

[Percy P]

5 hours ago, owenm said:

So a proposal for a tourist health insurance plan at 100 Bht per tourist.. Cheap.. But what is the admin percentage cost in collecting this fee, counting it, banking it and distribution to various hospitals or a central tourist health fund? One would imagine about 90% or 90 Bht in admin costs.. Ridiculous IMHO.. 

 

I would imagine 300- 500 Bht would make more sense for it to be viable.. Payable on departure otherwise every tourist arrival would be forced to bring Thai Bht into the country and Immig arrival halls would be a nightmare for those without any Bht.. in their pockets. 

 

And those on a 2 week holiday would be charged the same as someone on a METV, or would they have to pay this each and every time they leave the country and re-enter? 

YES. The same as you should have 20,000 Baht each time you enter the Kingdom

[Bastos60]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

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

 

 

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

 

The use of the english language should be taken into account reading the article.

it is to insure the bills of the foreigners are covered for those who travel or stay in thailand without travel/health insurance.

[potless]

30 minutes ago, Bastos60 said:

But for 100 Baht you don't have any insurance, my point was to make it mandatory to provide contract details on travel insurance on purchasing an airline ticket.

I did get your point but my comment was in regards to the original story that, according to the announcement, a 100 baht levy would be a solution to the problem. not suggesting its a substitute for proper insurance. On a different thread,  I suggested that insurance could be made compulsory when booking a package tour {similar to your proposal } and that if there was a problem with workers from neighbouring countries not paying, then make their employers responsible. ????

[madmen]

So go fund me is officially dead now? I guess one could still use it for a new car when they know they can walk away after 100 baht in the ticket

[ocddave]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

So go fund me is officially dead now? I guess one could still use it for a new car when they know they can walk away after 100 baht in the ticket

I got my eyes on a new BMW M2 Competition, nothing fancy, just a simple econobox for around town ???? 

[madmen]

2 minutes ago, ocddave said:

I got my eyes on a new BMW M2 Competition, nothing fancy, just a simple econobox for around town ???? 

You may have to create a serious accident for those wheels but worth it IMO

[dinsdale]

[Inn Between]

My first instinct is to think that this isn't actually a bad idea if it's intended to replace the scheme of requiring certain visa holders to buy insurance. I can't believe that any particular group of foreigners is mainly responsible for racking up revenue loss through unpaid medical bills. And I don't understand the logic behind focusing on O-A (or 50+ year old people). My logic dictates that young people with no real assets riding around on motorcycles and likely engaging in more daring activities would be just as much or more of a risk than older people who aren't taking as many chances. And typically, those older people are aware of (potential) health issues and are probably addressing them with meds, etc. 

 

Perhaps the obvious difficulties of verifying a wide assortment of insurance plans and schemes finally occurred to one of the mental midgets behind this whole misguided mandatory insurance idea, and this more manageable one finally popped into one of their heads. Maybe they also realized that it could be the determining factor for some people, deciding that Thailand has gone too far and opting for one of its more tourist-friendly neighbours. 

 

As for justifying it because of Japan's Sayunara Tax, that's BS because Thailand also has a "Sayunara Tax" called Departure tax, and it's 700 baht. 

[Harry2]

So raising nearly 13x the stated cost of hospital bills! Otherwise it would be around B8 per head if they collected the right amount - yeah right not worth collecting.

 

Be interesting what the Chinese reaction to this nonsense will be - expect mass exemptions for certain tourist groups.

[HeyHeyHey]

9 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Oh that's easy. Don't give any insurance back for the 100b, just take it and say "hey it's for the ones that don't pay up at the hospital". Which is exactly what's likely to happen, you pay 100b, get nothing, times millions. Scams don't get better than that.

One would assume that 8 THB expense on a product (one tourist on average as per their numbers) would be considered cost of business as these products bring anywhere from 50,000 THB to 500,000+ THB during their visit.

 

But not in Scamland. 

[ianezy0]

5 hours 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.

If that’s true then there is no wonder they want rid of all farangs.

We are all being tarred with the same brush.

[curlylekan]

So I pay only 100 baht everytime I come here and I will be covered should anything happen to me while I am here, no matter what it is - I'm fine with that?

[SteveK]

It's not a terrible idea, in theory.

 

But the money will get siphoned off, misappropriated, and in a few years' time it will be 1000 baht per person. But you're still going to need travel insurance anyway, so it's just a stealth tax.

[DJ54]

Come on guys you wouldn’t say a lady is ugly until you see her...give it a chance I’m more than willing to fork over 100 baht 

[NightSky]

Great, so lets say for example every tourist stays in Thailand 3 weeks, if 100 baht is the cost then expats living here long term should be able to pay a similar cost. So 100 baht every 3 weeks for 1 year would be 1733 Baht to purchase life and health insurance.

 

Thats looks cheap so lets make the average visit only 1 week, the price is now 5200 Baht per year which is still a reasonable price in line with the Thai Social Security payment. Unlike the private insurance scams starting at 30,000 baht rising to 100,000 baht and more.

[daveAustin]

13 hours ago, 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 and it is still being collected; it was just 'absorbed' into the price of your ticket, meaning you pay for it without really knowing.

[mikosan]

This sounds like an eminently sensible idea.  I can't see how anyone could object, as it is such a small amount.  However, it doesn't detract from the fact that all visitors should still have travel insurance.

[ocddave]

1 hour ago, curlylekan said:

So I pay only 100 baht everytime I come here and I will be covered should anything happen to me while I am here, no matter what it is - I'm fine with that?

Yeah, why not show up when you need major surgery, 100 baht and the world is right again......LOL

[wisperone]

7 hours ago, Rican0722 said:

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.

Why do you think it would cover any of it? It won't cover 1baht of your expenses.

[madmen]

9 minutes ago, wisperone said:

Why do you think it would cover any of it? It won't cover 1baht of your expenses.

Sure it will. just say the magic words...me no money !!!

[bendejo]

Flew into Cambodia from KL once on Air Asia.  The various fees cost more than the RT ticket.

Thailand is getting in on it, this is just another excuse to pull more money from tourists.  Good for the officials, good for Benz and BMW dealers.

 

If this was health insurance then ok, but it would have to be no-fault, eg no bs excuses like "oh sorry, it does not cover [whatever it is you're suffering from]".

 

 

[Number 6]

The alleged claimed costs amount to a few bsht per incoming pax.

 

So when a tourist is murdered, a boat sinks, dies on the road or just has the dumb luck of dying on holiday Thailand sees no responsibility or obligation in the matter.

 

Funny, US has similar numbers. No one's crying about the cost there even under the Boogeyman President.

 

This is just a new slush fund. It won't address anything and I'll bet a night's worth of beer when someone dies, they'll still ask for reimbursement.

 

Further, it will be attached to air tickets which will include O B visa holders.

 

It's becoming the Philippines. Just a kleptocracy. We are frogs in a pot.

 

✓✓ Foreigners will not be able to make claims, this is an internal compensation scheme!!

 

[ThaiBunny]

45 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

Further, it will be attached to air tickets which will include O B visa holders.

Those using land borders will be exempt?