Medical costs for Thai national

[Hurchy7]

Hi there all,

could anyone tell me there would be a cost

fir an elderly Thai national that needed to have an operation to install a pace maker for there heart?

ive herd it’s free medical for thais but I’m being told that not everything’s free and thus would be 150,000 baht? For the operation, 

Many thoughts would be much appreciated 

regards

[BritManToo]

Necessary operations to keep a Thai alive would be free.

[Sheryl]

Free unless there is a charge for the device itself (not the surgery or hospitalization), that I am not sure of. But that would certainly not be 150,000 baht.

 

I suspect you are not being told the truth.

[TheFishman1]

Thai National Free

[1FinickyOne]

My father in law had an 11 hour bypass operation, which included 3 weeks of hospitalization and a continuing stream of meds... 

 

30 baht... 

[Survivor9]

I suspect you need to hear the information directly from the Cardiologist and the hospital. I am a farang with a pacemaker. I had my PM done at Bangkok Hospital for about 600,000 THB. That is for a Biotronik PM. There are many different versions for more or less. I did some research. Seems there could or will be a charge dependent upon the type of government hospital, what programs the Thai National is on, and if they're on some types of government benefits.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Survivor9

[Deerculler]

Free if you are a farang and married to a Thai Govt. worker. Teacher, nurse etc.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Survivor9 said:

I suspect you need to hear the information directly from the Cardiologist and the hospital. I am a farang with a pacemaker. I had my PM done at Bangkok Hospital for about 600,000 THB. That is for a Biotronik PM. There are many different versions for more or less. I did some research. Seems there could or will be a charge dependent upon the type of government hospital, what programs the Thai National is on, and if they're on some types of government benefits.

 

There is universal health cover for all Thais. They are all covered under either one of the 2 SS schemes or the "universal" scheme *AKA gold card or 30 bat). This last oen automatically includes everyone not covered under SS. SO it is impossible for a Thai citizen not  to have health cover.

 

They do however have to avail of services at the government hospital they are registered with (which for the "30 baht" scheme they can't choose, it is based on where the have house registration) or a higher level hospital that their own hospital refers to.

 

There are some (uncommon) drugs and medical devices the schemes do not cover. However looking it up, pacemakers are not one of these.

 

In my many years on this board the majority of posts about supposed medical costs for Thais have turned out to be untrue i.e. the poster was being lied to. it even sometimes goes in waves and fads, for example some years back a Pattaya bar girl got someone to give her money for supposed operation for her mother with fibroids ("plant in the womb") and for the next 2 years all over the place farang men were being asked to pay for the same supposed operation for their girlfriend's mother. (An operation which is 100% covered under the univeraal scheme for Thais).

 

Not saying this is the case for the OP -- possible this person was simply seeking to be treated at other than their assigned hospital -- but it could be.

[Brunolem]

The only case when Thais have to pay the hospital, beyond the mandatory 30 baht, is when they are involved in a traffic accident. 

 

In this case, there is an extra fee of 30,000 baht... probably to discourage wannabe stuntmen... 

 

Anything else is covered by the system... providing that the patient visit his assigned hospital first... which doesn't necessary mean that he or she will be treated there... they might send the patient to some other hospital, depending on the medical requirements... 

 

The 150,000 baht is a scam that has been going on for a very long time, targetting newcomers with a good heart... 

[PoorSucker]

Agree with Sheryl. 

The quote is probably for an operation at a hospital outside the patients Amphur. 

Surprisingly many foreigners don't understand the house book system. 

You get "free" health care, but only at your "home" Amphur. 

You can not change house book unless someone agrees to put you in it, this means owning a house in that Amphur. 

Personally I think this is just a system for controlling where you vote. 

You can only vote at the Amphur where you have your house book. 

 

[brianthainess]

On 11/9/2019 at 12:44 PM, BritManToo said:

Necessary operations to keep a Thai alive would be free.

30 baht but must be registered in the province of the hospital 

[brianthainess]

15 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

You can not change house book unless someone agrees to put you in it, this means owning a house in that Amphur. 

Yep my wife put her friend in our house-book to facilitate this, and i think she had to get a new ID card.

[ChipButty]

16 hours ago, Brunolem said:

The only case when Thais have to pay the hospital, beyond the mandatory 30 baht, is when they are involved in a traffic accident. 

 

In this case, there is an extra fee of 30,000 baht... probably to discourage wannabe stuntmen... 

 

Anything else is covered by the system... providing that the patient visit his assigned hospital first... which doesn't necessary mean that he or she will be treated there... they might send the patient to some other hospital, depending on the medical requirements... 

 

The 150,000 baht is a scam that has been going on for a very long time, targetting newcomers with a good heart... 

If they have an upto date Tabien Rot they will get upto 30,000 baht and paid up porabor 

[ChipButty]

Some government hospitals Thai's can actually go as a private patient what they pay is peanuts compared to the international hospitals, Im not sure if Farangs can access that privilege 

[ChipButty]

Extracting money from a Farang for hospital bills as been around for 20 years that I know of I had one girl tell me she was pregnant and she needed to go to the hospital for a pregnancy test and she asked for money 5000 baht 

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Some government hospitals Thai's can actually go as a private patient what they pay is peanuts compared to the international hospitals, Im not sure if Farangs can access that privilege 

They can. Actually in case of a foreigner they are always self pay at a government hospital. They can go through the public channel on that basis or utilize an after hours clinic if the hospital has one. The latter costs more (but still much less than private hospital) but lets you directly access senior doctor and have a bit more time with them. Public channel is crowded and of necessity rushed and contact may be mostly with interns and residents in training.