Dual pricing: Retirees and expats may be charged more at Thai govt hospitals

[natway09]

And the big question is, what would your home country charge a "foreigner" for the same treatment?

[Matzzon]

5 minutes ago, newatthis said:

There's no proof of this being a reaction to that foreigner's complaint. That idea really is a "webfact'" assumption.

Of course not. They like to hear complaints from all the foreigners in this country. Just continue and see where it leads. 

I don´t care, I am safe as a rock on a flat surface.

[Road Warrior]

i agree with MANGO BOB 

[Almer]

36 minutes ago, Blue bruce said:

Just another example of They don't want us here. 

Dual pricing, now at hospitals, what's next?????

Bit of a joke really, i have to go to govt hospital (excellent) every 2 months and when paying i don't  see  anybody else flashing the cash, so if like many claim that we are not wanted here that is a bit less in the hospital safe. Nothing makes sense to me, whilst i understand that a government isn't an insurance company why not at visa renewal have an option, prove your own insurance or pay a gvnt charge say 50,000baht and get access to care the same as thai residents, some are saying the 800000 is enough for a health guarantee that is fine but if you break into it for an emergency in the seasoning period and cant replace it your in trouble at IO.

I see in another post earlier that your passport is your guarantee and with a joined up computer system IO at visa renewal would be able to collect ir no renewal,  please don't start screaming at me these are only thoughts to a solution that isn't going to go away.

[cheshiremusicman]

14 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

# A lot of the government doctors work in the private hospitals to supplement their income.

# You can see what a bunch of thieves private hospitals are, comparing the prices 70k vis a vis 14k. Sure your private room had a better tv selection, the nurses may have been sexier, and the food might have been better, but 56k different?

# By the way, what do you pay for your annual health insurance?

Prolly a tad more than 14k..............

 

A few years ago I was suffering from an excruciating headache and I took myself off to the Military Hospital  near Pranburi where I was diagnosed with a bleed in the brain after a CT scan and was admitted to ICU. I had been using this hospital on a regular basis to get my INR blood check every few months and I had got to know the Doctor quite well and he advised me to go to a private hospital for the operation and offered to contact people he knew to get me a quotation. The following day I was advised that the best quote he could get was for 1 Million Baht for the operation and 1 million Baht for aftercare. I had given up private health insurance as the cost was now rising exponentially as I was over 70 years old. I told him that I could not afford these prices and he then said that I could have the operation in the Hua-Hin General Hospital. I was transferred there the same day and arrived at about 1500 and I was in the operating Theater  at 2000 the same day. I spent one week in the hospital (on the general ward) and my total bill was under 50,000 Baht for everything. The Neuro Surgeon came to see me twice a day including weekends during my stay in hospital. It is more than likely that the very same surgeon would have been operating on me in one of the private hospitals in Hua-Hin if I had gone down that route. I have nothing but praise for the Thai National Health Hospitals.

[Pasadena]

I think it's not wrong foregneir pay little more than thai people at public hospital, money for public health are not enough, also thai people for big problem use to go in private hospitals. They can not offer same price to tourist.

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by Pasadena

[drbeach]

1 minute ago, HHTel said:

For goodness sake.  I'm a Brit and foreigners will pay for treatment through the NHS in the UK.  Even I have to pay for treatment in the UK unless I return on a permanent basis.

What right have we to expect treatment in a government subsidised hospital on the same basis as a Thai.  I despair sometimes at the sheer stupidity and mentality of many posters on here.  Westerners move here from choice and then expect to pay the same as locals who are paid much less than ourselves and at the same time expect to be identified as superior.  

 

Ridiculous.

Except that in Britain there is no racist dual pricing policy. That's what we have an issue with here in Thailand. It's also not our problem that Thais earn on average less than we do in our countries. Thailand is also not the poorest country in the world yet it's policies are more discriminatory towards visitors and expats than many poorer countries (I doubt for example, any Latin American countries practice dual pricing towards expats).

 

Although rich Thais wouldn't be caught dead going to a public hospital, in theory they could - and if they do, they get cheaper healthcare when they are much richer than many expats? Absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention a Thai can live abroad for decades, come back and still be eligible for subsidized treatment on day one of returning, without them having paid any taxes here.

 

If you want things to be egalitarian, then maybe we should all be charged based on what we earn, not on our ability to pay for a plane ticket to come here. In making this argument, should Thais who can afford to purchase a plane ticket to the UK also pay more than British people for medical treatment?

 

We already have options - NEVER visit a public hospital - besides, some of them reportedly don't even accept foreign patients anyway. Plenty of good private hospitals we can use, or we can go back home for treatment.

[drbeach]

6 minutes ago, natway09 said:

And the big question is, what would your home country charge a "foreigner" for the same treatment?

Probably the same as for locals. Also, most foreigners will have insurance and can get access to private health insurance on day one.

[watcharacters]

19 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Would a retiree in the USA get more expensive hispital fees. Thought so.

 

What does the USA have to do with dual pricing in Thai government hospitals??

 

[drbeach]

2 minutes ago, Pasadena said:

I think it's not wrong foregneir pay little more than thai people at public hospital, money for public health are not enough, also thai people for big problem use to go in private hospitals.

 

 

 

Don't really understand what you're trying to say but for "big" problems, only Thais who can afford it or have insurance visit private hospitals. The poor masses can only use public ones.

[Almer]

14 minutes ago, drbeach said:

Good point. Also, it should be noted that some foreigners (Burmese, Cambodians, Laotians and Vietnamese) can avail themselves of the local price, which means it's a racist policy because they look similar to Thais whereas we don't. It confirms that the Thai government prefers these foreigners over us. No wonder so many expats from other countries are leaving this backward country and moving onto other more welcoming ones.

Not the case, i believe they chase the money and  farang are known to be dripping in it

[drbeach]

52 minutes ago, Jonnapat said:

I've just read through all the derogatory remarks about government hospitals but would in my experience say that there is a enormous gulf between them.

I have been treated at Siriraj hospital for the past 11 years and have nothing but praise for the excellence of the doctors and staff. This is a teaching hospital and many specialists are at the top of their profession and the hospital has all the latest technology. They have all the best scanning and radiation machinery which many private hospitals do not possess. And there are other equally good hospitals in Bangkok. The problem is when you get out in the provinces.

Regarding pricing, government hospitals have been allowed to surcharge non Thais since April 2018 and a 25% surcharge is added to my bills. I was told  that Queen Sirikit hospital has a 50% surcharge. So charging extra is nothing new.

What I would repeat about government hospitals is that they're certainly not all bad but you should be careful in your choice.

 

Government hospitals should be for Thais only. Some government hospitals don't accept foreign patients anyway. Get insurance as you're supposed to and go to a private hospital as rich foreigners are supposed to. Then the complaining will stop.

[Angry Dragon]

14 hours ago, riclag said:

I have a fear of needles in my back,getting back to the topic  It certainly looks dire for Farangs living and wanting to die here,with IO rules and medical requirements! What a difference the last 6 years has been  

Yes, for farangs living and wanting to die here who haven't taken the responsibility to prepare for their future demise.  For me, things have only improved over my 15 years here.  Man up, folks.  Instead of pointing fingers at the Thai authorities for every inconvenient rule change, look in the mirror and ask why you didn't prepare better for your retirement in a foreign country.

[drbeach]

1 minute ago, Almer said:

Not the case, i believe they chase the money and  farang are known to be dripping in it

Some government hospitals don't accept foreigners as patients. If foreigners/farang are dripping in money (which is laughable, given how many washed up backpackers and drunks on the tiniest budgets there are lurking around Thailand these days) then they should be heading to private hospitals. Besides, medical tourism authorities only ever advertise private hospitals for this purpose. No one would travel all this way to go to a dodgy government hospital. Besides, most of us are covered by our insurance back home so it wouldn't make sense to do so.

[safarimike11]

19 hours ago, Morakot said:

In most countries old age pensioners pay less, in Thailand they will pay more!

It seems that this country, or the people who run it, won't be satisfied until all the Expats leave Thailand and move the one of the three welcoming (truly welcoming) countries to the east; first you have this ongoing TM30 BS - which is totally unnecessary and should be done away with, then you have the strength of the Thai baht which is hurting European and Australian Expats in particular and now finally this "Two-tiered pricing" government hospital BS, for which retired Expats have to pay the highest rate.

[watcharacters]

1 minute ago, drbeach said:

Government hospitals should be for Thais only. Some government hospitals don't accept foreign patients anyway. Get insurance as you're supposed to and go to a private hospital as rich foreigners are supposed to. Then the complaining will stop.

 

"Then the complaining will stop."

 

You are dreaming.

[lensta]

19 hours ago, rumak said:

I will respond to the hospital charge instead.   Yes, if I was receiving care for cancer and was being charged 300 baht for my visit I would definitely be very happy.   

By your line of thinking every thai would look at all Farangs with envy and scorn when they learn that a bus driver in Europe or the States makes 30 dollars an hour.   Like  1000  baht an hour !  Then they retire here and get a pension of a least a thousand dollars a month .   Then that same Farang complains that they have to pay 5 dollars more for service in a Thai hospital.  Yes, if I was a Thai I would definitely dislike these entitled acting Farangs.

<deleted>, it doesn't matter what someone did or didn't earn or what nationality they are. If 2 people receive the same service then they should be charged the same.

[Bangkok Barry]

19 hours ago, SammyT said:

Just here for the angry retiree expats who don't get that many Thais pay taxes which actually go toward these hospitals. The response hasn't disappointed. Thanks team. 

 

Everyone in Thailand pays taxes. It's called VAT, and as we aliens are assumed by Thais to be big spenders they should give us a discount, not charge us double ????

[drbeach]

Just now, safarimike11 said:

It seems that this country, or the people who run it, won't be satisfied until all the Expats leave Thailand and move the one of the three welcoming (truly welcoming) countries to the east; first you have this ongoing TM30 BS - which is totally unnecessary and should be done away with, then you have the strength of the Thai baht which is hurting European and Australian Expats in particular and now finally this "Two-tiered pricing" government hospital BS, for which retired Expats have to pay the highest rate.

The three countries to the east are truly welcoming? LOL.

 

Cambodia has dual pricing for hospitals, they have the equivalent of the TM30 in place (though it's probably not as well enforced as here, not just yet anyway), dual pricing for long-distance buses, tourist attractions (Angkor Wat is free for Cambodians but costs US$37 for a one day pass for foreigners) and Sihanoukville is unwelcoming towards non-Chinese.

 

Laos. Terrible medical facilities and likely dual pricing in operation for foreigners there too. Dual pricing also in place for tourist attractions, though the differences are not as stark as those in Thailand (for example, foreigners might pay 2-4 times what Lao citizens do, as opposed to 10 times in the case of Thai national parks).

Vietnam. Not much dual pricing anymore but still in place at many hospitals. Foreigners must report their place of residence too but not as far as I'm aware, after a domestic trip. Some rural areas, particularly in border areas don't allow foreigners to visit or to reside there.

 

For that country to the west it's even worse: Burma has dual pricing for hotels, including some places that have an open three tier pricing policy (locals, Chinese and Thais and finally foreigners from other countries). Also for domestic airfares. Tourist attractions and probably hospitals also operate a dual pricing policy and half the country is off-limits to non-Burmese.

 

The best option is to find a welcoming country, which can't be found in mainland SE Asia except maybe in Malaysia and Singapore (to some extent). Or move back home. I concur with you that Thailand is regressing fast.

[KKr]

14 hours ago, dcnx said:

Hahahaha. Good. You oldies should pay more for the privilege of living here.

this is such a sad remark that I cannot resist the temptation to share my amazement that someone is riding so high that (s)he lost sight of reality completely and is even bothering to post on these humble informal exchange of thoughts pages.

Suggest that you make sure you have valid medical insurance for the day when you will fall off your horse !

[alien365]

27 minutes ago, drbeach said:

Government hospitals should be for Thais only. Some government hospitals don't accept foreign patients anyway. Get insurance as you're supposed to and go to a private hospital as rich foreigners are supposed to. Then the complaining will stop.

The healthcare provided by my employer is only valid at government hospitals. That being the case I will go to a government hospital.

Edited September 5, 2019 by alien365

[BimBoon]

A UK government or any foreign government should be warning Thailand there nationals will be treated with the same disrespect if they ever visited an overseas hospital.

[Time Traveller]

Love the way they divide up the foreigners. 

Class 1  = VIP room

Class 2 = Shared room with 20 other patients

Class 3 = vetinary hospital.

[Almer]

2 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

What does the USA have to do with dual pricing in Thai government hospitals??

 

I believe if you take your thai wife to the UK on a spouse visa you pay a one off fee i think its about £1500 and then treatment is free, world class treatment free, if you can last the 6 weeks waiting to see the GP then the 4 or 5 months waiting to see a specialist if needed, to those that are knocking gvnt hospitals, my experience after many many visits due to the need for regular treatment is that the care and treatment in gvnt hospitals has been excellent and very very reasonable, before some start throwing the muck my way telling me I'm asking for trouble not having health cover sometimes in life circumstances take over and things are not always in your control, such as my ongoing condition that at the first opportunity my insurer refused to cover at renewal, to sum up pay up and be grateful for the care that is available at a very reasonable quick efficient service.

[thaiguzzi]

18 hours ago, drbeach said:

Anyway, you'll never see me in a government hospital.

 

18 hours ago, drbeach said:

Anyway, you'll never see me in a government hospital. Government hospitals are for poor people. At least I have insurance.

Thank Christ for that!

Would not want to bump into such a nasty piece of humanity as yourself.

18 hours ago, drbeach said:

Not that that would ever occur, because Americans are not racist like Thais.

This guy is not on the same planet as me.

Was'nt it just this week that somewhere in the US would not wed an interracial couple?

Black Lives Matter - where did this come from?

18 hours ago, drbeach said:

It's not the fault of farang that Thais earn <deleted> wages.

? ? ?

18 hours ago, drbeach said:

Well then they should kick out all the Burmese and Cambodians who crowd their hospitals. Because it's not farang who are crowding them, it's these laborers. Why don't they use the hospitals back home?

Keep digging yourself a hole.

I could go on, but i realize you are just an ignorant AA (American Abroad).

First time with that passport in yer hand hey?

Careful out there, it's dangerous......

[drbeach]

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

So now the private hospitals, most of which already have a three-tiered pricing system, will have to  increase their charges so as to stay "in-line" with the government hospitals.

I don't think the private hospitals have any such policy. Some might have an unofficial dual pricing policy, but definitely not three tier. Also, they don't seem to treat Burmese laborers. They are supposed to go and seek treatment at an overcrowded public facility. Private hospitals are for rich patients - whether they are rich Burmese, upper middle class Thais, expats, middle easterners...

[Almer]

6 minutes ago, KKr said:

this is such a sad remark that I cannot resist the temptation to share my amazement that someone is riding so high that (s)he lost sight of reality completely and is even bothering to post on these humble informal exchange of thoughts pages.

Suggest that you make sure you have valid medical insurance for the day when you will fall off your horse !

Dcnx     Im sure your post was meant to be humorous so 555, however if it wasnt did your parents never tell you that what goes around comes  around, meaning your turn will come

[Tchooptip]

 

I imagine an old minister, ex general ????suggesting that retirees should pay twice as much in Tesco Lotus and Big C where the passport would become mandatory for all purchases. 

The cars, scooters and motorbikes would be sold "only" 30% more expensive, "we have to give them gifts from time to time"...????

 ..."we will catch ????up on the 300% more expensive insurance and their driving licenses at 10,000 Baht and valid for six months"

All restaurants and bars in the country could have "a foreign menu with a 50% VAT" (it will make us more friends among the voters) 

As well as train and plane tickets...I almost forget the gasoline⛽️...of course the gasoline!

Then the government answering, we think just like you???? but that's not possible..... 

... so sorry, but as smart as they are, it is with regret we need to forget about your proposals... don't you realise the foreign press???? <deleted> its nose everywhere?

[drbeach]

Just now, thaiguzzi said:

 

Thank Christ for that!

Would not want to bump into such a nasty piece of humanity as yourself.

This guy is not on the same planet as me.

Was'nt it just this week that somewhere in the US would not wed an interracial couple?

Black Lives Matter - where did this come from?

? ? ?

Keep digging yourself a hole.

I could go on, but i realize you are just an ignorant AA (American Abroad).

First time with that passport in yer hand hey?

Careful out there, it's dangerous......

Oh look a racist Thai apologist.

 

Yeah keep going to a Thai government hospital. I'll laugh when I hear you weren't admitted because they have a "sorry, no falangs" policy (which indeed some of them have).

 

The most racist country in this region is Thailand. You'll eventually catch on and go back to where you came from too because they don't want you here.

[Letseng]

19 hours ago, Morakot said:

In most countries old age pensioners pay less, in Thailand they will pay more!

 

Why should Thaiand give special prices to non-Thai pensioners? My home country doesn't do it for their own nationals. Or do you get discounted treatment in your home country?