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

[Papafarang]

Yes I know what is ment buy Thai doctors my GF went to a clinic and was given 8 different pills when I looked them 7 of them where Placebos and the other was a 200mg ibuprofen but they where 10 mgs of ibuprofen and the rest was a Bulking agent I took them back a got the doctor to explain what they where he not like it when I showed him the write up I handed him he had no choice but give back the 800 baht  I gave my GF a 200mg from england and it knock her out for 4 hours and when she woke up he Period pain had gone

 

 

[rumak]

9 minutes ago, losworld said:

That is not the point.  What if a thai received the oil change and you see his bill is 150 and yours is 300 would you roll over and be happy?

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.

[monkfish]

8 minutes 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. 

Many Farang work and pay tax does that make dual pricing OK?

[rumak]

16 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

If government hospitals are subsidized by the Thai government,  I wonder why  foreigners are allowed to use them in the first place?

 

well,  certainly won't be long before the Farang  "why should we pay more"  brigade take care of that issue.

Soon enough the govt will say."screw you"....... go to a private hospital.

 

[DavisH]

49 minutes ago, Is this real said:

Is anyone surprised by this?

2 and 3 tier pricing is endorsed by the government.  They don't want you here anyway, but, will make more from you until you leave or die.

Thai hospitals are already very over crowded; they don't need extra foreign patients creating even more burden. They rather you take private health insurance and use a private hospital instead. I see this as the ONLY justification for having differential fees.

Personally, I think anyone with a work permit and paying tax here should get the standard Thai rate. Same goes for national parks.

Having said that, I pay only a fraction of what Thais pay as I'm covered under my wife's government medial insurance as she is a civil servant (eg. my CT scan a few weeks ago is well over 10K, but I paid about 2K) for it. Only use a private hospital if it's convenient and need quick care. 

[Totoandlilly]

16 minutes 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.

When did Europe become a country? The wages for bus drivers arround Europe varies from country to country, a bus driver in Switzerland or Denmark earm l probably way more then a bus driver in Spain or Romania.

 

europe have  very expensive countries, expensive countries, cheap countries and very cheap.

 

When you are referring to one country please don’t use the globalist term Europe, it’s the same as calling Asia for a country, all countries are different , wages varies from country to country, the Japanese earn way more then the Thais or Chinese.

 

[PatOngo]

So, what treatment will you choose?

 

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

will this have any affect on medical tourism?

 

has the cost of a heart stent or a boob job just doubled?

 

 

[Just1Voice]

Chiang Mai Ram wanted, 600,000 to do heart bypass. Sriphat was 300.000. Same doctor, different hospitals. 

[Tilacme]

I have had occasion to use Thai gov hospitals including dental, fluid check certificates, nerve pain and physiotherapy, and dont have a bad word to say about the doctors, nurses or administration.  Waiting times are nothing compared to UK, and unlike NHS, you can get non emergency help without an appointment. BTW i do carry BUPA insurance but why bother travelling 90 mins when the local service is fine.

[monkfish]

10 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Thai hospitals are already very over crowded; they don't need extra foreign patients creating even more burden. They rather you take private health insurance and use a private hospital instead. I see this as the ONLY justification for having differential fees.

Personally, I think anyone with a work permit and paying tax here should get the standard Thai rate. Same goes for national parks.

Having said that, I pay only a farction of what Thais pay as I'm covered under my wife's government medial insurance as she is a civil servant (eg. my CT scan a few weeks ago is well over 10K, but I paid about 2K) for it. Only use a private hospital if it's convenient and need quick care. 

And the fact that Thai Civil Servants get much better Healthcare than Thai Civilians is also wrong.

[Rama]

Most foreigners use private hospitals. If you have insurance you're using a private hospital and the insurance company monitors fees and won't allow themselves to be charged ridiculous sums. Most foreigners that use the government hospitals are tourists. If you have a B visa, you have a work permit and pay social security you are eligible for using the social security section in hospitals. Many of the social security clinics are in private hospitals. New reg doesn't really affect many people. Its still up to the hospital. I think it mostly gives a green light to some government hospitals in high tourist areas like Pattaya etc where they see a lot of tourists seeking emergency treatments.  

[DavisH]

39 minutes ago, Papafarang said:

Yes I know what is ment buy Thai doctors my GF went to a clinic and was given 8 different pills when I looked them 7 of them where Placebos and the other was a 200mg ibuprofen but they where 10 mgs of ibuprofen and the rest was a Bulking agent I took them back a got the doctor to explain what they where he not like it when I showed him the write up I handed him he had no choice but give back the 800 baht  I gave my GF a 200mg from england and it knock her out for 4 hours and when she woke up he Period pain had gone

 

 

Placebo huh...did they have placebo printed on them? I'm calling BS on your post.

[DrTuner]

47 minutes 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. 

Not that I'd go to a government slaughterhouse, but I'd wager I pay far more taxes in VAT and imports than the average Thai does. Exactly what percentage of Thais is paying income tax again?

 

It's just a farang tax, plain and simple. If you don't like it and so on. 

[2long]

21 minutes ago, Totoandlilly said:

When did Europe become a country? The wages for bus drivers arround Europe varies from country to country, a bus driver in Switzerland or Denmark earm l probably way more then a bus driver in Spain or Romania.

 

europe have  very expensive countries, expensive countries, cheap countries and very cheap.

 

When you are referring to one country please don’t use the globalist term Europe, it’s the same as calling Asia for a country, all countries are different , wages varies from country to country, the Japanese earn way more then the Thais or Chinese.

 

Grow up! He/She never claimed Europe was a country. Oh, and sort your grammar and spelling out please. It hurts my eyes!

[Lebua]

I only use public hospitals never had a problem very good service apart from Pattaya that the worst in Thailand.

Very bad, that's why they hate us Farangs

[drbeach]

Great so now illegal immigrants from Burma get to pay the same as Thais because they are the "right" skin color.

 

This country is getting more racist by the day.

 

Anyway, you'll never see me in a government hospital. Government hospitals are for poor people. At least I have insurance. You couldn't pay me to go to a government hospital in any country in this region except Singapore.

 

Private hospitals all the way period. Haven't seen the inside of a government hospital for well over a decade and now with this discriminatory policy, never again will. It's one thing to charge a higher price than Thais but to preference certain nationalities over others because they look the same as your own, that's another.

 

Imagine the outrage if that happened back home! Americans, Canadians and Mexicans pay $10. Panamanians pay $20, while Thais, Africans and Europeans pay $30!

 

Ludicrous! What nonsense will they think of next? Oh, maybe supermarket goods. Three tiered pricing. Oranges 49 Baht a kilo for Thais and Burmese. 59 for working expats and 69 for tourists.

Just bring your passport and visa along for verification, unless you're an illegal Burmese or Cambodian your face is enough.

[drbeach]

55 minutes 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.

Well I would also look at Thais with disdain if they dared to complain of discrimination for being charged more than a local at a US hospital. Not that that would ever occur, because Americans are not racist like Thais.

 

It's not the fault of farang that Thais earn <deleted> wages. That doesn't entitle the country to take advantage of foreigners just because they perceive we have more money. Also, last time I checked there were some very wealthy Thais who according to this policy, can receive treatment at lower prices than farangs.

 

Of course they wouldn't because no rich Thai would go to a third world Thai public hospital. They either go to private hospitals or go abroad for treatment.

[drbeach]

45 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Thai hospitals are already very over crowded; they don't need extra foreign patients creating even more burden. They rather you take private health insurance and use a private hospital instead. I see this as the ONLY justification for having differential fees.

Personally, I think anyone with a work permit and paying tax here should get the standard Thai rate. Same goes for national parks.

Having said that, I pay only a fraction of what Thais pay as I'm covered under my wife's government medial insurance as she is a civil servant (eg. my CT scan a few weeks ago is well over 10K, but I paid about 2K) for it. Only use a private hospital if it's convenient and need quick care. 

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? I think it's insane that the Thai government is allowing them to pay the same price as Thais while gouging the rest of us.

[drbeach]

1 hour ago, hansnl said:

Instead of offering a reasonable priced insurance for those who pay taxes in Thailand, spend huge amounts of money here, the government decided to milk even more out of expats.

A good thing to decide if you dont use your brains.

Exports tumbling down, tourism tumbling, and next let us hunt the expats living here away, the ones paying taxes, investing money, and so on.

Vietnam, Birma, Laos, Phillipines, Indonesia, Malaya are standing ready......

Idiots!

 

Burma isn't standing ready for anyone.

 

There's a hotel in the border town of Myawaddy that has a three tier pricing structure. Locals pay one price, Thais and Chinese an intermediate price and foreigners from other countries the highest price. Dual pricing is practiced by nearly all hotels except some 4 and 5 star places.

 

Half the country is off-limits to tourists and expats.

 

It's called Malaysia now not Malaya but I get your point. Thailand is definitely not a welcoming place anymore and this policy shows it. Luckily for me and most other expats, private hospitals are the way to go. Would never step foot in a dirty, third world Thai government hospital. Can't understand westerners who do. I mean, if you have insurance (as you should) why bother? Private hospitals are superior in every way. Of course they're not all equal but there are so many good private hospitals in Thailand you have plenty of choice. Even rich Burmese don't go anywhere near Thai public hospitals!

[drbeach]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

If government hospitals are subsidized by the Thai government,  I wonder why  foreigners are allowed to use them in the first place?

 

Hmm. Well at least expats should be but you're right, the Thai government is shooting itself in the foot allowing all those foreign laborers to use them. They are the ones they're losing money off of by charging them the same as Thais. They should be charging them more. After all, using Thai logic, they had enough money to travel here therefore they can pay more than locals.

 

Besides, Cambodian and Burmese hospitals charge more to Thai patients so the government is definitely shooting itself in the foot here.

[Mansell]

6 minutes ago, drbeach said:

Burma isn't standing ready for anyone.

 

There's a hotel in the border town of Myawaddy that has a three tier pricing structure. Locals pay one price, Thais and Chinese an intermediate price and foreigners from other countries the highest price. Dual pricing is practiced by nearly all hotels except some 4 and 5 star places.

 

Half the country is off-limits to tourists and expats.

 

It's called Malaysia now not Malaya but I get your point. Thailand is definitely not a welcoming place anymore and this policy shows it. Luckily for me and most other expats, private hospitals are the way to go. Would never step foot in a dirty, third world Thai government hospital. Can't understand westerners who do. I mean, if you have insurance (as you should) why bother? Private hospitals are superior in every way. Of course they're not all equal but there are so many good private hospitals in Thailand you have plenty of choice. Even rich Burmese don't go anywhere near Thai public hospitals!

Somewhat amusing your comments, especially as the doctors move backwards and forwards between private and government hospitals many times on the same day. But as long as you are happy to pay the inflated private prices, good for you.

[Mavideol]

so it all went back to normal, hospitals copied the national parks system of double entry fee for foreigners, now all government services are same same but different.... but we shouldn't feel the segregation,  we are loved and welcomed

[garyk]

41 minutes ago, Mansell said:

Somewhat amusing your comments, especially as the doctors move backwards and forwards between private and government hospitals many times on the same day. But as long as you are happy to pay the inflated private prices, good for you.

That is exactly right. My ex GF's relative is a doctor. He worked in the Government hospital a few hours a day and a few hours a day in a private hospital. It is normal in Thailand.

I though the government came out with  campaign saying not to dual price the tourists?

Regardless, most expat friendly countries give expats a reduced price when seeing the doctors and give basically the same prices as locals. They know it helps the economy and keeps the expats coming. 

S.E. Asia is not what I would call expat friendly. 

[Puchaiyank]

pricing is ultimately determined by each hospital as to how much patients are charged.

 

Here we go again!  Giving hospitals approval to price gouge as they see fit...this is bad news for retirees who use public hospitals...

[drbeach]

1 hour ago, Mansell said:

Somewhat amusing your comments, especially as the doctors move backwards and forwards between private and government hospitals many times on the same day. But as long as you are happy to pay the inflated private prices, good for you.

Somewhat amusing your comments considering that the only reason to go to a dirty third world public Thai hospital is if you don't have insurance. And have all the time in the world to wait before being served.

 

With insurance it becomes free so the one who is getting screwed is you, if you choose to go to a government hospital. Besides, I hear some government hospitals don't even treat foreigners. Was mentioned in a FB post I read.

 

And yes, I'm happy to pay whatever the price is at a superior private hospital because generally speaking, they don't employ a discriminatory pricing policy. And they most certainly don't give certain groups of foreigners (like Burmese laborers) a cheaper rate than other expats or tourists.

 

It's the principle of the thing. I voted with my feet and left that horrible burmese hotel because of it's racist pricing policy and went back to my usual hotel, which was not only cheaper and more comfortable, but doesn't employ a three tiered policy. It only charges a modest higher price for ALL foreigners compared to Burmese locals, which, although I don't like it, I can live with.

[drbeach]

26 minutes ago, garyk said:

That is exactly right. My ex GF's relative is a doctor. He worked in the Government hospital a few hours a day and a few hours a day in a private hospital. It is normal in Thailand.

I though the government came out with  campaign saying not to dual price the tourists?

Regardless, most expat friendly countries give expats a reduced price when seeing the doctors and give basically the same prices as locals. They know it helps the economy and keeps the expats coming. 

S.E. Asia is not what I would call expat friendly. 

SE Asia is definitely not expat friendly, except maybe Singapore.

[Matzzon]

2 hours ago, rumak said:

yes indeed.    article says he was charged 250 baht more per visit than a Thai person.   He then launched a "four year campaign for justice".     Let's all send a big thank you to this Farang for standing up to the injustice.   Now we ALL can pay for his campaign.   Hey, but now its written as the law .   

How i wish Farangs would just keep their mouths shut.  But that is probably like wishing Thais would stop eating somtam.

You are soo right! When his fighting thread was up, and I posted that he was making too much noise, and just should have accepted his compensation from start. Then I got attaced from soo many posters here. Now we see what it leads to. I also hope that all of them are super happy now. Or at least that they understand better next time. Unfortunately that is also a hope i vain. Anyway, thank you for todays best comment.

So, now everybody out there on this forum knows exactly why I am so utterly tired of all the foreigner coming to this country an feel some kind of entitlement. Complaining over rules and regulations, complaining over Thai thinking, values and culture. Complaining over all they can complain about. That´s the real people that should be blacklisted for life.

[StayinThailand2much]

Wait till long-term tourists are required to have health insurance. The insurers won't be pleased to fork out higher payments to the hospitals.

[CLS]

funny how peoples experiences differ, 2 years ago i went to the gov hospital, in Soi Bukhow ? seen a doc, blood test,  urine sample, x ray, see doc again, get tablets, pay bill 1200, baht, best service ever, (and they will be asking 40,000 baht for out patient treatment,) how in gods name did they conjure up that figure

40k is per year, not per visit


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