US Alzheimer's patient: Goodbye Thailand - it was nice knowing you

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 7:03 AM, Isaanbiker said:

My mom's somewhere in heaven, but I'd never ever have sent her to the Phillippines and go back home where I believe I belong to. 

They just got rid of her, that's all. 

 

Healthcare in the Philippines isn't what I'd want for my mother. https://borgenproject.org/healthcare-in-the-philippines/

 

 

She is not in a hospital. She doesn't need a hospital ... she has Alzheimer's. She is in a privately owned care home. The level of care provided there is WAY better than the places we found in the USA. Well, unless if you have $10,000 per month to pay out of pocket ... only THEN can you get adequate long term care in the states. Even at that ridiculous price, the care is better in Asia.

You must not be from the states, right?

[mojaco]

15 minutes ago, BadSpottedDog said:

FYI: The facility that Mom is in actually provides a better trained staff than the one in Thailand. We did NOT pick the cheapest one at all. We picked based on her needs.
My issue with this whole situation, is that the govt would NOT count the 85,000 baht we were paying as her income! We weren't paying an agent to "fix" anything, because it's just not how we roll. Besides, the new rules are designed to eliminate the use of agents. They now want that 800k for 3 months prior PLUS 400k year round  (or 65k per month from a FOREIGN source) on top of what we were paying! 

Additionally, the flight to where Mom is, is the SAME time it took for me to get to Chiang Mai from where we live. She does not even remember me, so my visits are more for MY peace of mind than hers. 

Our deepest concern is the instability in the rule changes, is that Alzheimer's patients decline. As they decline, it becomes increasingly difficult to change their environment or move them.
It was best all the way round that she was moved now. She is happy and well cared for ... that's all that matters. I just feel sorry for the people who can afford care, but don't have family to help them.

If (when) my spouse reaches the stage she doesn't ever know who I am or anyone is, my main concern will be like yours . . . a safe, caring 24/7 environment.  You made a proper choice for your mother.

Edited June 5, 2019 by mojaco
typo

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:10 AM, donnacha said:

There was no "ruling". Money you have to pay for necessary care simply does not count as income.

The reason for the 800K bank deposit, or equivalent verified income, is to ensure that Thailand, a developing nation, does not get stuck paying for the considerable end-of-life costs of elderly people from rich countries.

Remember, for most people, the medical costs of their final month will be more than their medical costs for the entire life before that.

The 86K per month being spent on this unfortunate lady provided her with the special care that Alzheimer's requires. It does not cover the considerable cost of cardiac and other expensive operations that people often need as their body finally breaks down.

Sadly, this lies waiting for most of us at the end and, under current medical ethics, caregivers are obliged to do all they can to save your life unless you give very specific instructions that they must not.

Medical costs are lower in Thailand than America, but they are not nothing. $25K is actually a fairly low estimate. Just one cardiac operation would eat up most of that. You might need several. Emergency repatriation back to your home country could cost ten times that.

So, they are making sure you have that money stashed away, for your own emergency use. All poor countries should do this but, unlike Thailand, the Philippines are not in a strong enough position to insist upon it.

By leaving her in the Philippines, she is essentially getting that desperately poor country to pay her mother's end-of-life care. The care provided in a government hospital won't be great, healthcare in the Philippines is significantly worse than Thailand, but it will certainly drain resources away from sick Filipinos.

 

Huh? We are paying for her care in the PH, and the staff is actually better trained than the staff was here. I would never let someone else pay for my family's care. Of course .. many people would, so maybe that's why you jump to that conclusion. But now you know.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:17 AM, TonyR101 said:

I have absolutely no sympathy whatever with this family.

The solution to the problem is simple - 

Place the 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank savings account. Take mother home to Nakorn to live you. Spend $1000 of the current $3,000/month cost on keeping mother in the loving care of a Thai maid. Use the other $2,000/month to repay capital/loan costs on the 800,000 and in twelve months time the family has kept both mother and Thai Immigration happy, and as a bonus has amassed an 800,000 Baht nest egg in a Thai bank. 

We tried that. She did live with us, and we hired care. It was impossible for the following reasons.
1. She expects someone to sit and talk with her ALL day. This includes when she gets up at 3am.
2. Finding staff that could speak English well enough for her to understand was impossible.
3. Finding people that would sit overnight was hard, and when we did find them, they were unreliable.
4. She would always find a way to escape. One day, we had people we didn't even know bringing her back to the house at like 5am! Yes .. our garden was walled in.

5. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she would angrily bang on our bedroom door, demanding food. (see number 3)

6. When she did remember that I was her daughter, she would get angry and could not understand why I was now "the parent". 

It was not pleasant for her, and not pleasant for us. Unless you have personally cared for an Alzheimer's patient, you just don't know.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 6:43 AM, cardinalblue said:

Kasane

 

Do you wish to support your claim that usa doesn’t want to care for her? if she did the proper paper work and qualifies, why wouldn’t she be in the system?

 

my friends who complain about many things but one thing they don’t complain about is US Medicare coverage, As long as you follow their rules and willing to fork out the small amount of money for supplemental part B.....

 

most complainers are due to being non compliant with the regulations...

She does have medicare, and no .. it does NOT cover long term care at all. We tried that. It would pay for being in a "medical" hospital, but they won't take patients that have dementia. On the other hand, Medicaid (for poor people) requires that you make less than $600 USD per month. She makes more than that in Social security, so she didn't qualify. It doesn't really matter though, because I would not put my worst enemy in a Medicaid facility. It's horrible and disgusting.
The only options for long term, Alzheimer's care in the states are the following ... 
1. If you make less than $600 per month in social security, you can go into a depressing place, where the patients are crammed 6 to a room. It wreaks of urine and feces, and the patients are mostly bedridden or wheelchair bound.
2. You are rich, and can afford $10,000 USD per month (seriously not exaggerating), for a private memory care facility, which is still not as nice as the homes in Asia.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:52 AM, sanuk711 said:

Throw Momma from the train,

should be blindly obvious to anyone reading this that they just don't want her living with them, although as pointed out you could set her up with outside care coming in for less then the Thai cost.

Daughter of the year-----you must be joking................

 

 

If you haven't had to care for an Alzheimer's patient yourself, you shouldn't comment. We DID have her living with us, and it was terrible. Everyone we found to help with her was unreliable, and that is not to mention Mom trying to understand them. She would still be living with us if it had been a good situation for HER. 
She is happy and well cared for with superior and reliable staff now that CAN speak so she can understand. That's all that matters. She doesn't remember me, so my time with her is for MY peace of mind .. not hers.

[DogNo1]

Thanks for your continued input, Deanna.  It sounds as though your mother is in a nice place.  You have done well by her.  If you had known early enough, there were techniques that you could have used to keep her In Thailand but it sounds as though things have actually worked out better this way.  I imagine that there may be more English speakers around in the PI.  Good luck to you and your mother.  My grandfather and mother both died with Alzheimer’s so I can sympathize with you.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 9:08 AM, moe666 said:

I know nothing about this family but how was mom staying before they either put 800,000 in the bank showed income or lied to the US Consulate to get their income letter. The change to show proof seems to point at lying about the letter. Be honest folks nothing like a lie to make you look bad. By the way if the daughter was such a carring person how come her mom is in CM and she is in the south. This whole story is such a load of crap, about the reasons for leaving. I feel for the mom she is the one who is getting the shaft here, she will be in Manila. They really have not said if the entire family is moving there with her.

She doesn't know who I am, so when I visit her, it is for MY peace of mind, not hers. She was living with us until we were not able to continue caring for her at home, so we moved her to that amazing resort in CM. That is how we are in the south and she is there.
It takes me just as long to get to Manila as it does to CM ... but she doesn't know who I am, so it doesn't mean anything to her. The staff in the PH is superior to the staff in CM. Just sayin'.

[BadSpottedDog]

1 minute ago, DogNo1 said:

Thanks for your continued input, Deanna.  It sounds as though your mother is in a nice place.  You have done well by her.  If you had known early enough, there were techniques that you could have used to keep her In Thailand but it sounds as though things have actually worked out better this way.  I imagine that there may be more English speakers around in the PI.  Good luck to you and your mother.  My grandfather and mother both died with Alzheimer’s so I can sympathize with you.

Thank you ❤️ I am just now able to read all these comments, as I have just returned. It's really disheartening what lives in some of these posters' minds. 
I feel completely confident with her move, and if we had waited longer, it would be more difficult for her. We felt more urgency for her with the unknown with all of the immigration changes.
I really hope Thai immigration looks at this case ... this is why I agreed to talk to reporters. I feel there might be a small chance it could help someone else.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 9:18 AM, kingstonkid said:

She may not get the quality medical care in Manila but she may be able to get the assistance for daily life if her family stays close.

I was shocked at the care provided for Mom in the PH. I found it far superior than in Thailand. And guess what? The staff cannot use cell phones!! They are paying attention to the residents 24/7, and they are better trained. I feel completely comfortable with her situation now.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:42 PM, gk10002000 said:

Why couldn't they just switch to the income method as was suggested on some other posts?  Even if the money went into the daughter's name/account, couldn't the daughter then claim her Mom as a dependent?  

I believe the 65k option was just left out by the reporter. We looked at that too. Now, you have to show 65k coming in from a "foreign source" every month, for 12 months. Her social security does not meet that requirement, and in order for the money WE were paying for her care to show up as HER income from a "foreign source", we would have to have our money sent into her account, then we would be short. There was no legit way that we could find to accomplish keeping all 3 of us here. 
Additionally .. we were very concerned about unseen future changes. As she declines, it is more difficult to move her. This was a good decision and we are very impressed by the care she is receiving.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:00 AM, Thaidream said:

A very sad situation indeed and the Immigration rules and regulations do have a clause in which an IO can make an exception to any of the  regulations.  It would have made sense to do this in this case as the women was ill; she was elderly and she was not a burden on the system as she was being cared for in a facility in Thailand that was  assisting others like her.

 

The other sad commentary on this is the number of people on this forum who criticize the family; the daughter in particular; and attribute all types of venom towards them. 

 

 I doubt any of these so called critics ever had to care for a person with a debilitating illness or a terminal condition. 

 

I have and I understand the stress this family is under.  It's not just the financial stress- it's the total hopelessness of the situation that completely takes over.  Unless you have lived it- some of you are making assumptions that are crude and downright wrong.

 

I might be able to give Thai Immigration a pass barbecue they are a bureaucracy that is rigid in its administration.  but I am not giving the posters on this subject who have gone out of their way to post unfeeling; unverified and downright  nasty comments about  this situation.

 

If these comments and criticism are coming from people who are  representative of various nationalities- I really fear for the future.  The lack of compassion; understanding and empathy is truly tragic.

I love this. Thank you for your support. Spot on!

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:47 AM, connda said:

I'm still at a loss and will continue to be confused as to why an elderly person with a terminal disease - Alzheimer's Disease, The Long Goodbye, a slow, slow progress death - is not extended a Medical Visa for her long-term care in a Thai medical facility set up to care for Alzheimer's patients.  

I have not seen an answer to that very legitimate question yet.  Sheryl?  As our resident expert on Thai medical issues, any clues.  Ubonjoe?  As our resident expert on Thai Immigration, any clues?

Deanna here. To my knowledge, there is no medical visa for Alzheimer's patients. Mom is otherwise healthy ... so apparently not considered a medical emergency. Just like in the states ... insurance nor medicare cover long term care for the elderly.
We have spoken to Thai lawyers, visa agents, and have done immense research for any solution. And trust me, research is one of my "super powers".
We found a couple of Thai nursing homes, but we would still be in the same boat with immigration. Plus there would have been a serious language barrier, and she loves to ramble and talk!
I'm really hoping this sheds light on to a looming situation. What is going to happen to all these grumpy and bitter expats as they age? Some of them WILL suffer from dementia. Then what? Do they have family that can navigate immigration for them? Who will pay the bills? Because dementia patients are not capable of handling finances. 
This whole thing needs to be reworked, or the jails will be overrun with bitter old expats.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 11:09 AM, khunPer said:

Saving $2,000 a month, or 66.6%, I presume that could be the main explanation...????

You really think I would choose a place for my Mom based on price? I know you don't know me, but it's sad that you would jump to that conclusion. You must be battling your own demons.

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, BadSpottedDog said:

You really think I would choose a place for my Mom based on price? I know you don't know me, but it's sad that you would jump to that conclusion. You must be battling your own demons.

Actually "yes", I presumed that – and that's why I postet it – as you chose Chiang Mai for $3,000 instead of Atalanta for $10,000, and now Manila for $1,000 instead of Chiang Mai for $3,000.

 

There is no change in the financial requirements by immigration for staying as retired in Thailand, 65,000 baht transferred a month, or 800,000 baht in a bank deposit, or a combination of both, has been unchanged for years. But the US-embassy stopped issuing income letters, and that doesn't fit with the previous Thaivisa headline that said: "Alzheimer's patient forced out of Thailand: Daughter tells Thaivisa they love Thailand but immigration rule changes mean mum must go".

 

However, I sincerely hope your mom will be happy in Manila, and have a good long time there; and that you will be happy with their service, and at the same time have little extra funds for disposal. No need to blame That immigration.

????

 

PS: Do you know US Doctor Mary Newport's book "Alzheimer's Disease: What If There Was a Cure?: The Story of Ketones"?

Coconut oil is easy to get both here, and presumable also at Philippines, so might be worth a try – you could also check Mary Newport's home page here. 
 

[Sonhia]

Thailand has become too expensive and not worth the bother anymore.

 

Thai welcome farang not because of compassion, but because of money.

 

Farang are seen as easy targets for a nation that is basically lazy, taking the easy option by means of fraud corruption and embezelment. Let's not beat about the bush. 

 

The elderly mother is a person not a bank.  So much for Buddhism the land of the free and no problem. Thai should feel honoured individuals wish to attempt to stay in such a place.

 

Good luck to the both of them. The grass is greener.

[kritsana77]

Thailand has lost many POTENTIAL RETIREES  when people around the world Google "retirement in Thailand". Their egos are out of control. Case in point: If you ask a Thai if they have a right to own 100 percent of their business and home in the U.S.  they will say "of course". If you ask a Thai if they would want foreigners to have the same rights, they would either laugh at you or scream at you. 

 

I have more than enough money to retire. I am not going to retire in Thailand. Good luck with the Chinese LOS. 

[mania]

18 hours ago, BadSpottedDog said:

Medicare does not pay for long term care, and unless you earn less than $600 per month through social security, you don't qualify for medicaid. 
Even if she did qualify for medicaid paid long term care, I wouldn't put my worst enemy in those places. Horrid.

 

I think that <$600 may not be the last hope  as medicaid can be had for anyone under federal poverty level even as a secondary insurance to medicare

Perhaps you might want to look into that if you have not already....(Of course that is for in the USA only)

 

" Medicaid can provide secondary insurance: For services covered by Medicare and Medicaid (such as doctors' visits, hospital care, home care, and skilled nursing facility care),"

Edited June 6, 2019 by mania

[BadSpottedDog]

13 hours ago, khunPer said:

Actually "yes", I presumed that – and that's why I postet it – as you chose Chiang Mai for $3,000 instead of Atalanta for $10,000, and now Manila for $1,000 instead of Chiang Mai for $3,000.

 

There is no change in the financial requirements by immigration for staying as retired in Thailand, 65,000 baht transferred a month, or 800,000 baht in a bank deposit, or a combination of both, has been unchanged for years. But the US-embassy stopped issuing income letters, and that doesn't fit with the previous Thaivisa headline that said: "Alzheimer's patient forced out of Thailand: Daughter tells Thaivisa they love Thailand but immigration rule changes mean mum must go".

 

However, I sincerely hope your mom will be happy in Manila, and have a good long time there; and that you will be happy with their service, and at the same time have little extra funds for disposal. No need to blame That immigration.

????

 

PS: Do you know US Doctor Mary Newport's book "Alzheimer's Disease: What If There Was a Cure?: The Story of Ketones"?

Coconut oil is easy to get both here, and presumable also at Philippines, so might be worth a try – you could also check Mary Newport's home page here. 
 

The new rules are as follows, just so you know. We were told this directly by immigration officers, and read it on the immigration website. I'm assuming that you must one of the people that can keep 800k in the bank year round, otherwise, you would know this too. 
1. 800k in a Thai account 3 months prior, PLUS 400k in the bank the rest of the year. They are trying to get rid of the use of agents "loaning" money for 3 months.
2. 65k "from a FOREIGN source" deposited in her bank every month, with a certified bank letter to confirm drafted within 24 hours of renewal. The money CANNOT come from a Thai bank. 
3. They have done away with the "combination of the two" allowance

 

As for the US Embassy discontinuing the affidavits, it was not just the US. It was multiple countries. I would be surprised if the decision to do away with the affidavits were a joint effort / decision by multiple countries, all at the same time. Just some food for thought.

The longer we wait to move her, the harder it gets. Guaranteed there will be even further unknown changes. So really, these new rules were impossible to do for 3 people. We don't need the extra money ... as we live very cheaply and are happy that way. But believe what you will, and you might want to check out those new rules.

 

Yes. She is fine, and we will continue to watch for even more changes in light of the election results. I hope everyone stays diligent about this.

Thanks for the coconut oil tip. She has been taking it for years now. I'm sure it has helped to slow the progress. We also put her on a mitochondria diet (look up Dr Terry Wahl's "Minding your mitochondria" video on TedTalks). She hated it though ... and would not eat, so we had to abandon that idea.

Edited June 6, 2019 by BadSpottedDog
Correction and addition

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:42 PM, gk10002000 said:

They were able to and were paying monthly well in excess of the 65,000 baht that would be needed to qualify for extension by the income method.  Why they keep saying they had to do the cash 800,000 deposit method seems strange.  Why couldn't they just switch to the income method as was suggested on some other posts?  Even if the money went into the daughter's name/account, couldn't the daughter then claim her Mom as a dependent?  

 

  It is interesting that the Philippines is allegedly significantly cheaper for long term care.  Here in the USA, there are many many Filipinas that work as live in support/ care givers in many senior citizens.  I have known several, and my buddy's Filipina wife worked as a day care giver for peanuts here in California

In answer to your question ... the 65k has to come from a foreign source, directly into Mom's Thai bank account. I think the reporter just left out the 65k option, but we did look into that. We were not able to manage this for 3 people, as our money goes into our Thai accounts, and a chunk of it is what we use to pay for Mom.

We also looked at the dependent option, and in order for that to be accepted, we have to have adequate proof that she physically lives with us. 
I am completely impressed with the Filipina(o) care. 

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/30/2019 at 2:56 PM, fleur3 said:

not quite right. medicare would  pay if she is living in the us. Same in many countries. Out of the country is out of the medical insurance. And no payment more for the medical insurance .

Medicare does NOT pay for long term care. We went down that long and complicated road many times. Email them if you have doubts.

[BadSpottedDog]

On 5/29/2019 at 7:34 PM, Jingthing said:

This has morphed into a weird political debate.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Strange how that happened, huh? Does my head in

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, BadSpottedDog said:

The new rules are as follows, just so you know. We were told this directly by immigration officers, and read it on the immigration website. I'm assuming that you must one of the people that can keep 800k in the bank year round, otherwise, you would know this too. 
1. 800k in a Thai account 3 months prior, PLUS 400k in the bank the rest of the year. They are trying to get rid of the use of agents "loaning" money for 3 months.
2. 65k "from a FOREIGN source" deposited in her bank every month, with a certified bank letter to confirm drafted within 24 hours of renewal. The money CANNOT come from a Thai bank. 
3. They have done away with the "combination of the two" allowance

 

As for the US Embassy discontinuing the affidavits, it was not just the US. It was multiple countries. I would be surprised if the decision to do away with the affidavits were a joint effort / decision by multiple countries, all at the same time. Just some food for thought.

Thanks for update me on the "new rules", however I believe I'm quite confident in the rules...
1. 800k baht 2 month before, instead of 3 month before for renewal – some few immigrations might still wish 3 month before – and 3 month after application for extension of stay, the remaining 7 month not under 400 k baht in the bank deposit.

2. 65k a month has not been changed, but a few embassies only are no longer issuing an income guarantee letter; however US-embassy letters issue before 2018 year-end is valid for 6 month.

3. According to Thaivisa's visa-expert its still valid, but unclear how much shall be kept in bank deposit, 400k baht or equivalent to relative share of combination.

 

No, its not in number, but only a few embassies that have changed the affidavits, including USA, and Britain together with Australia and Canada, and the Danish (my home country) embassy also; however they can still issue for governmental retirement pension. I don't instantly recall having read about any others in Thaivisa forums.

 

In principle, you should always have transferred your mum's retirement pension into her account, however that's easy to say in the unbearably crystal clear light of hindsight...????

 

PS: Your saved $7,000 a month instead of Atalanta equals around 200k baht, so the 800k bank deposit is only 4 month saved cost. We knew about the change of affidavits from the US-embassy since last year, and affidavits issued before year-end was said to be valid for 6 month...

Quote

I want to renew my visa in 2019. How can I verify my income for the application?

• Thailand provides information about visa application and extension requirements on the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Thai Immigration Bureau websites. These include minimum savings and income amounts and types of evidence required.
• As of October 26, 2018, U.S. citizens can verify they meet the income requirements for retiree visas directly with Royal Thai Immigration by providing a local bank statement indicating a minimum deposit of 800,000 Thai Baht or evidence of having an income of at least 65,000 Thai Baht per month. Applicants should refer to the above-referenced websites for specifics regarding the timing and conditions associated with these deposits.
• We will continue to notarize income affidavit forms through the end of 2018. Thai Immigration Bureau officials confirmed to us that they will support early visa renewals for U.S. citizens during the transition period. The income affidavits are currently valid for six months.

Source: US Embassy Bangkok, 26 Oct. 2018.

[suzannegoh]

14 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Thanks for update me on the "new rules", however I believe I'm quite confident in the rules...
1. 800k baht 2 month before, instead of 3 month before for renewal – some few immigrations might still wish 3 month before – and 3 month after application for extension of stay, the remaining 7 month not under 400 k baht in the bank deposit.

2. 65k a month has not been changed, but a few embassies only are no longer issuing an income guarantee letter; however US-embassy letters issue before 2018 year-end is valid for 6 month.

3. According to Thaivisa's visa-expert its still valid, but unclear how much shall be kept in bank deposit, 400k baht or equivalent to relative share of combination.

 

No, its not in number, but only a few embassies that have changed the affidavits, including USA, and Britain together with Australia and Canada, and the Danish (my home country) embassy also; however they can still issue for governmental retirement pension. I don't instantly recall having read about any others in Thaivisa forums.

 

In principle, you should always have transferred your mum's retirement pension into her account, however that's easy to say in the unbearably crystal clear light of hindsight...????

 

PS: Your saved $7,000 a month instead of Atalanta equals around 200k baht, so the 800k bank deposit is only 4 month saved cost. We knew about the change of affidavits from the US-embassy since last year, and affidavits issued before year-end was said to be valid for 6 month...

Source: US Embassy Bangkok, 26 Oct. 2018.

Why the Third Degree?  These people could have just abandoned their mother in the US when they moved to Asia but instead they took her along and tried to make the best of a bad situation.  If their choices don’t meet with your approval, that’s your problem not theirs.

[BadSpottedDog]

31 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Thanks for update me on the "new rules", however I believe I'm quite confident in the rules...
1. 800k baht 2 month before, instead of 3 month before for renewal – some few immigrations might still wish 3 month before – and 3 month after application for extension of stay, the remaining 7 month not under 400 k baht in the bank deposit.

2. 65k a month has not been changed, but a few embassies only are no longer issuing an income guarantee letter; however US-embassy letters issue before 2018 year-end is valid for 6 month.

3. According to Thaivisa's visa-expert its still valid, but unclear how much shall be kept in bank deposit, 400k baht or equivalent to relative share of combination.

 

No, its not in number, but only a few embassies that have changed the affidavits, including USA, and Britain together with Australia and Canada, and the Danish (my home country) embassy also; however they can still issue for governmental retirement pension. I don't instantly recall having read about any others in Thaivisa forums.

 

In principle, you should always have transferred your mum's retirement pension into her account, however that's easy to say in the unbearably crystal clear light of hindsight...????

 

PS: Your saved $7,000 a month instead of Atalanta equals around 200k baht, so the 800k bank deposit is only 4 month saved cost. We knew about the change of affidavits from the US-embassy since last year, and affidavits issued before year-end was said to be valid for 6 month...

Source: US Embassy Bangkok, 26 Oct. 2018.

 

19 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

Why the Third Degree?  These people could have just abandoned their mother in the US when they moved to Asia but instead they took her along and tried to make the best of a bad situation.  If their choices don’t meet with your approval, that’s your problem not theirs.

Thank you ... you're right. We have gone above and beyond trying to help her. We even bought her a house in the states, before she had declined to this level, so she would be close to us.
Bottom line is that as long as WE know that we did everything in our power to provide the best care for her, it's all that matters. Some other posters obviously have their own demons they are dealing with, so they lash out at others. I'm good with that. I'm thinking they won't have help if they eventually suffer from long term ailment ... like dementia or a stroke or the like. I will be doing a post specifically about this later. 
However ... I do want to make sure that the correct information gets out there, so I'm trying to provide what we have experienced and accurate info in hopes that some changes might be made.  

[suzannegoh]

53 minutes ago, BadSpottedDog said:

 

Thank you ... you're right. We have gone above and beyond trying to help her. We even bought her a house in the states, before she had declined to this level, so she would be close to us.
Bottom line is that as long as WE know that we did everything in our power to provide the best care for her, it's all that matters. Some other posters obviously have their own demons they are dealing with, so they lash out at others. I'm good with that. I'm thinking they won't have help if they eventually suffer from long term ailment ... like dementia or a stroke or the like. I will be doing a post specifically about this later. 
However ... I do want to make sure that the correct information gets out there, so I'm trying to provide what we have experienced and accurate info in hopes that some changes might be made.  

The comments from judgmental busybodies notwithstanding, this thread have been good in the sense that it has caused me to think about what I would want my family to do if I become afflicted with Alzheimer's in the future.   

[BadSpottedDog]

11 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

The comments from judgmental busybodies notwithstanding, this thread have been good in the sense that it has caused me to think about what I would want my family to do if I become afflicted with Alzheimer's in the future.   

Not long ago, I spent 10 days in the hospital with a terminally ill friend who thought they were prepared. But turns out, was not prepared at all. I will be posting about that, and what I learned with the experience from my Mom. So watch in the forums for a post from me in the next several days. 

[DogNo1]

The 65K per month DID change.  It went from being proof of retirement income to 65K per month transferred into a Thai bank account from a foreign source.  I had consistently had proof of transfer of the retirement income into my American bank account as a backup to my embassy affidavit.  Starting in January of this year, I had to start transferring the 65K into my Bangkok Bank account on a monthly basis.

[BadSpottedDog]

I have posted another article about Healthcare issues for expats: Things you never thought of. Hope this helps!