Thai Tourism: "Half of foreigners" don't pay their hospital bills; director points finger at three nationalities

[Curt1591]

1 hour ago, Puccini said:

a few years ago and had Tetanus injections into his fingers,cost....Bht 10.000.00!

The Thai Red Cross only charges 80 baht! 

[samsensam]

 

thailand certainly has a bee in its bonnet about healthcare. i'm sure this happens in many countries, especially popular tourist destinations, but the adverse financial/economic cost is far outweighed by the income from tourism, the situation just needs to be monitored and managed effectively.

 

my australian inlaws were over a few years ago and needed hospital treatment, they were given the excellent care that any uk citizen would receive, they should have paid, were billed, and said they would pay, however they just skipped off home. i have no doubt this happens all the time but is managed by the uk government without bureaucratic measures being applied to tourists, because guess what? the uk wants and welcomes tourists as they are a great source of income for the country.

 

however every country has the right to deal with domestic issues as they see fit, and as i said, healthcare is a very sensitive issue for thailand.

[bert bloggs]

At christmas time i had to go to hospital ,luckily all was ok ,when i went to pay the bill i was told that i owed the hospital for seeing a doctor 6 months before ,it was only about 1200 baht , i then told her the reason it had not been paid was that i never saw the doctor as he had an emergancy and i had to leave without seeing him ,so i was on that list of foreigners who dont pay ,she was going to check it out ,but for that amount i just paid it with my bill ,

[Maestro]

Removed a troll post.

[bert bloggs]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:16 PM, Jimbo53 said:

Hopefully you don't have to go to Banglamung Hospital for a dog bite, my mate was here from Brisbane  a few years ago and had Tetanus injections into his fingers,cost....Bht 10.000.00!

Well i went to Banglamung as my angina was playing up ,as an emergency at christmas ,i had a blood test ,an ecg and an x ray ,the total cost was 1500 baht ,luckily all was ok and i came home, so goodness knows how his was so expensive .

Edited July 5, 2020 by bert bloggs

[A1Str8]

I don't get it how the bums leave without paying. When I was there, I recovered and as soon as I did, they escorted me everywhere until i paid. I said I gotta go to my condo to get the money. They said no problem. Our driver will take you there. So he drove me home and waited downstairs.

And I agree with them. That's how you do it. You give the losers no chance to get away. They racked up a bill, they are going to pay one way or another. Hospital staff simply needs to step up their game and no roach will leave without paying. That's all. 

[Pattaya46]

On 12/20/2019 at 7:16 AM, Jimbo53 said:

Hopefully you don't have to go to Banglamung Hospital for a dog bite, my mate was here from Brisbane  a few years ago and had Tetanus injections into his fingers,cost....Bht 10.000.00!

Sorry but I am tented to call that full B.S. ... 

Why?...

Because I was unlucky to get a severe calf bite by a soi dog in last November.

I went to the public Banglamung Hospital.

- first bill was 645B including care and dressings, anti-Tetanus and first shot anti-rabies

- bills #2, 3 & 4 were 256B, for successive anti-rabies shots

A total of about 1'600B only ????

 

Edit: I see now it was an already old post. But still, Banglamung Hospital is the best choice for many cares in Pattaya

Edited July 5, 2020 by Pattaya46

[runamok27]

So 448,000,000 baht in unpaid bills and they get over 30,000,000 tourists a year. Couldn't they just have an insurance charge for tourists and charge them 50 baht upon entering Thailand? That would be 1,500,000,000 baht a year, more than 3 times necessary to pay these unpaid bills, which if the 50% number is correct it would be enough to cover the medical bills for every tourist who comes to Thailand.

[StayinThailand2much]

4 hours ago, A1Str8 said:

I don't get it how the bums leave without paying. When I was there, I recovered and as soon as I did, they escorted me everywhere until i paid. 

Seconded. Over the years, I have had a number of health checks and doctor's consultations. Always been accompanied by nurses, and never let out of sight till the bill was paid, so I don't buy this news item. 

[Trillian]

7 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Seconded. Over the years, I have had a number of health checks and doctor's consultations. Always been accompanied by nurses, and never let out of sight till the bill was paid, so I don't buy this news item. 

They are not talking about westerners at private hospitals, they're talking about Cambodians, Lao and Burmese in government hospitals.

[Rimmer]

A troll post and replies have been removed

[Airbagwill]

11 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Seconded. Over the years, I have had a number of health checks and doctor's consultations. Always been accompanied by nurses, and never let out of sight till the bill was paid, so I don't buy this news item. 

You think they were nurses?

[KhunKenAP]

Would help is they did not overcharge foreigners! 

[StayinThailand2much]

4 hours ago, Trillian said:

They are not talking about westerners at private hospitals, they're talking about Cambodians, Lao and Burmese in government hospitals.

Perhaps, but I read the article differently:

 

"Vachira Hospital, the largest in Phuket, treated 9,000 foreigners over the last year. Most of them were Russian, Chinese and French (...)

 

And half of all patients left without paying their bills."

[overherebc]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:25 PM, metempsychotic said:

having worked in and arounds healthcare for over 10 years in thailand, this is utter dross. run away rates are far lower than that.

these numbers have to be down to poor management and process.

 

if a customer is treated and billed efficiently, there is not time to consider running away.

if it is taking half the day to come up with a bill, people simply wont wait around.

 

something as simple as taking card information at registration stops runaways dead.

 

Can you change the last word?

[mommysboy]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:18 PM, darksidedog said:

While I agree wholeheartedly that anyone who uses a hospital should pay their bill, I think a major point is being overlooked. Tourism generates billions of dollars for the economy. Tourism is also by all accounts other than TAT in sharp decline. That number may well reduce further if every tourist has to pay out for an insurance policy, which may or may not cover problems they encounter. Maybe they should weigh the 448 million baht against the potential tens of billions they might lose.

Agreed, it's a relative drop in the ocean. 

 

And indeed, if it is of such concern then a small airport levy say 250 baht per person could easily lessen the problem. 

[checkered flag]

On 7/5/2020 at 1:24 PM, Derek B said:

Even if you have travel Insurance the T&Cs may require you to pay the bill and claim your entitlement back later. Also many accidents may arise from activities excluded from cover in the policy. If you attempt to enter Thailand without insurance better the Thai Gov should provide an option to buy a standard Health & Personal Accident Policy at the port of entry BEFORE immigration. No cover no entry. No mask no entry.

Why did this resurface here after being dead for 6 months +? Looks like the insurance companies are trying to drum up business.

[Trillian]

4 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Perhaps, but I read the article differently:

 

"Vachira Hospital, the largest in Phuket, treated 9,000 foreigners over the last year. Most of them were Russian, Chinese and French (...)

 

And half of all patients left without paying their bills."

I recall an article about two years ago that talked about there being over 150,000 Burmese on Phuket, many of them there illegally and many involved in the construction industry. The article was written in the context of health costs and medical insurance and went on to say that only about 20% of them have any form of health insurance. It said they are by far the biggest single nationality to use the Phuket health care system, behind the Thai's. If the problem with Russians and French etc not paying their bills was so acute, don't you think the hospitals there would start to do something about the problem, such as retaining patients passports etc.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Trillian

[Kwasaki]

One Thai news post is about double pricing now about tourists not paying hospital bills, I don't really wonder why they didn't pay their hospital bill in place like Phuket.

[Gandtee]

21 minutes ago, Trillian said:

I recall an article about two years ago that talked about there being over 150,000 Burmese on Phuket, many of them there illegally and many involved in the construction industry. The article was written in the context of health costs and medical insurance and went on to say that only about 20% of them have any form of health insurance. It said they are by far the biggest single nationality to use the Phuket health care system, behind the Thai's. If the problem with Russians and French etc not paying their bills was so acute, don't you think the hospitals there would start to do something about the problem, such as retaining patients passports etc.

Perhaps the employers of these so called illegal workers should be made to pay their workers medical bills.

[Sambotte]

Just add a few bahts to the airport taxes.

This looks much more like a push on assurances, and the timing is suspicious.

Nobody should be forced to get an assurance.

 

Hospitals in Thailand-touristic tend to overcharge grossly. I visit rarely, for check, and last two times i had to made them correct the bill. Not to mention the pills they try to force sell you.

 

By experience it's either you go to a local Thaï hospital and have a special attention for a amazingly cheap price (it was in a really not touristic at all town i visited a few years ago, had a ear to be cleaned, bill was like 50 baths !), either the "new business hospital special farang" are charging foreigner like crazy.

That may explain the so-called losses.

 

BTW i'm french, but i pay my bills ????. But as said if ever i visit a hospital for a check something, i have to check the bill, and to refuse the overcharged pills i never need.

[mommysboy]

1 hour ago, checkered flag said:

Why did this resurface here after being dead for 6 months +? Looks like the insurance companies are trying to drum up business.

Good point! Anyway Thailand aint got no international tourism no more.

[Swimfan]

22 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

thailand certainly has a bee in its bonnet about healthcare. i'm sure this happens in many countries, especially popular tourist destinations, but the adverse financial/economic cost is far outweighed by the income from tourism, the situation just needs to be monitored and managed effectively.

 

my australian inlaws were over a few years ago and needed hospital treatment, they were given the excellent care that any uk citizen would receive, they should have paid, were billed, and said they would pay, however they just skipped off home. i have no doubt this happens all the time but is managed by the uk government without bureaucratic measures being applied to tourists, because guess what? the uk wants and welcomes tourists as they are a great source of income for the country.

 

however every country has the right to deal with domestic issues as they see fit, and as i said, healthcare is a very sensitive issue for thailand.

Doesn't the UK and Australia have a reciprocal Health Agreement 

[Andre0720]

Dr Chalermpong said that the leading reasons tourists sought treatment at Vachira were after injuries during water sports, motorcycle accidents and attack by animals. 

Well, should be easy.

Water sports. Make the owners of such awful piece of machinery responsible for hospital bills.

Motorcycle accidents. Make police responsible for not controlling speed on the roads.

Attack by animals. Get rid of soi dogs, and make owners of dogs responsible for hospital bills.

 

See, was not that difficult to find a way to keep visitors here and collect the billions of bahts that they spend on holidays here.

[Sailboat]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:19 PM, Samui Bodoh said:

How to deal with this issue:

 

1. Add 100 Baht to each plane ticket.

 

OR

 

2. Make it difficult, bureaucratic, nonsensical, stupid and unintelligible in order to make every visitor angry.

 

Which do you think will be chosen?

 

 

Which of the two choices will create more government jobs? 

[tingtong]

Simple solution:

 

Make motorbike rental contract include a mandatory insurance fee.

Make watersport rent to also include mandatory insurance.

Based on number of users per total accident, a 30 thb a day or per use should suffice...

After all a Thai can have the same coverage...

 

As for animal attacks?

All on Phuket or Thailand.

Control it!! 

Collect the doi dogs, and give jail terms for those feed them.

Want a dog, take home, keep home, be responsible for it.

In public places it is the local government responsibility, do they pay for those hospital bills!!

 

 

 

[Mung]

The Chinese? How dare they bad mouth their father like that 

[Mung]

8 hours ago, mommysboy said:

Good point! Anyway Thailand aint got no international tourism no more.

I've got an apartment, nice bike and many belongings there; and I don't even want to return for a long while. 

[lee b]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:37 PM, Misterwhisper said:

How hilarious! Two of the three named nationalities are exactly the ones the tourism authorities want to attract in ever larger numbers.

Yep, I no longer need to goto the toilet now after reading that. Its mind boggleing lol

[A512]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:33 PM, Sheryl said:

I think these are mostly serious emergency cases including ones who ultimately die  after long stays in ICU.  Not easy to collect from those.

 

An average of 50k per patient is more than believable. Many individual bills will have exceeded 1 million.

 

Certainly tourists should have travel insurance that includes emergency medical before coming here. The problem is the l9gistics of trying to enforce that.

 

And what sort of hare brained onerous  impractical scheme govt might concoct in the regard to the problem,  based on what we have witnessed for retirees.

A friend s kid was 3 days in a hospital in north country, the bill was something close to 100k, the case wasn't that serious, he paid half of the bill after have an unpolite   conversation with the hospital managers. Abusive prices.