Thailand to demand proof of health insurance for 'risky' long-term visitors

[TheAppletons]

2 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

Rules are already in place to require that non UK resident patients, including tourists and visiting expats, requiring non life threatening medical treatment are charged for their treatment by NHS Trusts. Enforcement is of course another issue and varies from Trust to Trust, though a visa national skipping a bill can be refused a further visa until the bill is paid.

You'll be aware that those seeking settlement in the UK have to pay a surcharge of £400 a year to cover any chargeable NHS treatment up until they're given Indefinate Leave to Remain.

 

Thai people visiting Europe require evidence of medical insurance before a visa is issued.   

"Leave to Remain".  Sort of sums up the UK right now, huh?

[theoldgit]

1 minute ago, Howiehotspur said:

My girlfriend didn’t ..  and got a visa , no problem 

Your girlfriend didn't what, pay her NHS bill in the UK or supply evidence of insurance for Schengen? 

[CMNightRider]

I guess the mass exodus of western expats wasn't going fast enough.  This new requirement should speed up the process. 

[Estrada]

This is just a repeat of yesterday's news on Thai Visa/Nation which clearly stated that this applies for applications for O-A visas from outside Thailand which does not apply to Non-O retirement visas and extensions.

[Jeffrey346]

7 minutes ago, RBOP said:

I only know of one dentistry case. 

Same here.. The one I know of was for dental as well...

[davemos]

4 hours ago, Soikhaonoiken said:

Some long stay ex pats will have difficulty in obtaining medical insurance or if they can it will be at a very high price... 

Its near to impossible to find health insurance for over 70. I have sufficient assets to cover any emergency and am not prepared to pay huge.amounts for dodgy insurance .I spend well over 10000 per week in Thai So Im in the risky sector?

[Sticky Wicket]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

I agree, and hope Britain (and other countries) will start charging Thai citizens visiting for their hospital visits.

And strip them of all their land & property. Let's see an equal playing field where they have to report to the local plod every 90 days with their tail between their legs

[Vacuum]

25 minutes ago, steve2112 said:

Compulsory insurance required for retirement visas and renewals from this point

The Health Department Support services boss explained that compulsory health insurance would now be a requirement for new Non Immigrant type O-A visa applications and renewals or extensions of stay. 

 

from here https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2019/05/14/health-insurance-foreigners-thailand-thai-government-visa-retirement-compulsory-foreign-men/

 

looks like this may be the last straw for me, i don't want to spend thousands on something i don't need

The link is 5 months old.

[Sticky Wicket]

Why not cuff foreigners to the bed? 

Along with the ankle tags to monitor their every move, it would make a lovely matching set!

Edited October 10, 2019 by Sticky Wicket

[hansnl]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I do not have a problem requiring visitors to have health insurance; it is simply a good idea.

 

However, the quote above leaves me speechless. Are there any valid figures to show a lack of repayment? Especially by long-stayers? Generally all I hear about are tourists, not long-term stayers, who don't have insurance and end up with a 'Go fund me' page.

 

Add a few Baht tax to all plane tickets/landings, use the money to aid foreigners hurt in the Kingdom, and problem solved.

 

It doesn't need to occur like this, and thus makes me wonder what else is at play...

 

Very simple, for those on extension of stays offer a kind of insurance valid only in state hospitals, or even easier, put 500 Baht on the price of obtaining the extension.

Problem solved.

[Sticky Wicket]

1 hour ago, steve2112 said:

what about if you already have a non O and are going for married or retirement extension, are they going to want to see insurance for that? if so, i think my days here full time are over.

Yeh they are, the noose is tightening !

[rexall]

1 hour ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I have not seen the numbers.. BUT if they are low, why would the Gov. get so involved and mandate med ins. Doesn't make sense to me...

Because that is what this gov does. It GETS INVOLVED and passes BIG, complicated, expensive, inconvenient laws that affect LOTS of people to attempt to control a few people who are creating a problem.  It's like the cliche of the frog trapped in a pot of warm water that is being heated very slowly so the poor froggy doesn't notice that he is about to become dinner until it is too late.

[NightSky]

Why not allow us to pay into the social security fund then..?

 

Now the economy is on its feet they don't need the over 50 retirees, everything points at them wanting rid.

 

I think even if one can afford private health insurance and even if you manage to get through your golden years without pre-existing conditions so not to increase the price with exclusions its the principal of not being allowed to pay to the social fund when others are allowed to that gets to me.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by NightSky

[randy723]

This is total BULL SH**. We all know that the Pm does not want expats here so why in the hell doesn't he just pass a law like he does on everything else that he does not like and tell ALL expats to get the hell out of Thailand.

Most of my expat friends have already said to hell with living in a country that does not want us and have left.

[Naamblar2014]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Hospitals have to treat them because of human rights reasons

But if we weren't fearful of losing face we would tell them to f@$k off

[mindfulness]

get ready for the mass exodus. 

[ftpjtm]

32 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I think that's a myth. I have only heard of one person who came here specifically for med reasons. How many do you know of??

I recently had a tour of Bumrungrad Hospital by a person involved in marketing the hospital for medical tourism. It's certainly big business there, mainly for middle easterners they say. They have a visa extension department in house, a large staff dedicated to processing paperwork in various languages, airport shuttles and plenty of other evidence of it being a major medical tourism destination. 

 

While I've had no such tour at Bangkok Hospital, I've seen enough of it to believe that it too is a major medical tourism destination. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya has an entire tower dedicated to cosmetic surgery. I'm sure there are plenty of foreigners making use of that facility.

[randy723]

This is total BULL SH**. We all know that the Pm does not want expats here so why in the hell doesn't he just pass a law like he does on everything else that he does not like and tell ALL expats to get the hell out of Thailand.

Most of my expat friends have already said to hell with living in a country that does not want us and have left.

[Isaanbiker]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

So when this stupidity and paranoia ends? this government is going from the silly to the ridiculous, let the government tell us how many non-o visa holders have treated in Thai hospitals and didn't had the money to pay, numbers and figures please real figures, not made up ones, i have been here for 35 years and i don't know any long term staying foreigners  that has been treated in a hospital and got away without paying...

 

 

   They do exist. 

 

I'm volunteering for an organization that helps certain nationals in emergencies and I've met quite a lot of them in the last years. 

 

It's often the same situation, most of them have spent their money on houses, cars, women and never thought about what's going to happen when they get sick. A stroke, a heart attack, a motorbike accident, anything can happen. 

 

Having proper insurance doesn't seem to be on many foreigners' list. It doesn't make much sense, older people do get sick easily and not having insurance is also a burden for the family and friends involved. 

 

  t's always very difficult to find any relatives who are willing to pay the bill or at least part of it. 

 

  Some of them don't use the cheapest option which would be a government hospital and they check in a private hospital that might be three times more expensive, always relying on others who should pay the bill for them.

 

I had to visit such a "gentleman" who checked into a first-class hospital without having any money. He couldn't even pay for the "special food" he ordered daily. 

 

He got really angry when I had to tell him that the organization would not pay the bill for him, nor was he willing to move into a government hospital. Unfortunately, do such stubborn people exist. 

 

  This article doesn't seem to show the reality, the 500 million baht they're talking about, seem to include people from neighboring Asian countries and I'm certain that this number is way higher than Farangs who're seeking medical attention in any form.

 

 After a chat with a befriender Thai doctor, I tend to believe that they're trying to make us pay for Burmese, Laotians Cambodians and other Asians who're using/abusing the Thai healthcare system.

 

   

 

    

 

  

 

 

[malibukid]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

So when this stupidity and paranoia ends? this government is going from the silly to the ridiculous, let the government tell us how many non-o visa holders have treated in Thai hospitals and didn't had the money to pay, numbers and figures please real figures, not made up ones, i have been here for 35 years and i don't know any long term staying foreigners  that has been treated in a hospital and got away without paying...

just another money grab.

[Naamblar2014]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

80,000 applicants for the Visas.

Gosh, sure kills it for those who claim no one wants to come and many are moving away to Vietnam and Cambodia...

Those stats brought to you by TAT ????

[NorthernRyland]

12 minutes ago, davemos said:

Its near to impossible to find health insurance for over 70. I have sufficient assets to cover any emergency and am not prepared to pay huge.amounts for dodgy insurance .I spend well over 10000 per week in Thai So Im in the risky sector?

but isn't that the time you need insurance most? What does that demographic do then?

[Momofarang]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I do not have a problem requiring visitors to have health insurance; it is simply a good idea.

Agree, it is indeed an obvious requirement. But, as with all things Thai, the solution is driven solely by corruption and utter intellectual laziness.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Momofarang

[beavenlen]

Is there any remote chance of clarifying this and hopefully make the issue clearer.i.e. will this be implemented for O.A. visa only or are they saying all expats above the age of 50 .thanks in advance.

[sweatalot]

5 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

The obsession with peanuts is slightly amusing. It is equivalent to 6,000B per non-imm visa applicant, and likely fewer than 750 meaningful hospital bills. But hey...

hospital bills 6000 Bt per non i visa ... if so 

when you appy for a visa you have to pay a fee, afaik it is about 6000 Bt for a one year non o. Why not use this money to pay thbe hosopital bills.

And if they need this fee for another purpose (which?) let them add 6000B per one year no im o and use it as health insurance - and forget ciompulsory additional insurance 

[StevieAus]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

I would be quite happy to see changes in the rules to ensure that Thais pay for any treatment they receive in the UK and don't get free treatment like pretty much everyone else in the world.

 

I know they pay nothing right now.

 

I wonder how much free treatment Thais get over in Europe per year and how that figure compares to this paltry sum?

If they are getting free treatment it’s because the hospitals are not following them up to pay the bills.

According to what I have read on the internet the NHS will not refuse to treat anyone but you are expected to pay, getting the money after is another story.

A couple of years ago when visiting the UK with my Thai wife on Australian passports she became ill and we visited a hospital in London.

She was told she would have to pay for any treatment but when she produced her Aus passport was told she could receive emergency treatment for free due to reciprocal agreement with Australia.

Didn't matter  as we haveinsurance.

 

[sweatalot]

2 minutes ago, Momofarang said:

Agree, it is indeed an obvious requirement. But, as with all things Thai, the solution is driven solely by corruption and utter intellectual laziness.

do you mean incompetence?

[owenm]

9 minutes ago, Estrada said:

This is just a repeat of yesterday's news on Thai Visa/Nation which clearly stated that this applies for applications for O-A visas from outside Thailand which does not apply to Non-O retirement visas and extensions.

TIT.. Clarification has never been a strong point with Thai bureaucracy. This new policy of mandated health insurance for over 50s on a Non-Imm O-A will be stage one. 

 

And I believe what could follow will be all Non-Imm visas for over 50s will be required to have compulsory health/medical insurance when doing annual extension of stay renewal. And those currently using visa agents for annual renewals, what is going to happen if proof of insurance is required in the future? An agent fix, or another layer making your future extension more difficult again. Only time will tell. TIT.. 

[Jeffrey346]

1 minute ago, beavenlen said:

Is there any remote chance of clarifying this and hopefully make the issue clearer.i.e. will this be implemented for O.A. visa only or are they saying all expats above the age of 50 .thanks in advance.

Right now it's for OA Visa holders. It would not surprise me if everyone over 50 will be required too in the near future.

[randy723]

I am 77years old and have tried with 3 different insurance companies to get insurance and they all say I am too old and will not insure me so does that mean I have to Leave Thailand, where I own a condo, car, motorbike, have a Thai wife and 2 children from my wifes first marriage and over 3 million baht in a Thai bank account where I am only getting 1 1/2 % interest. Does this mean i have to sell everything and leave and let the Thai goverament take care of my wife and kids.