Health insurance doesn't need to be an either/or situation.

 

My personal preference would be to have a high deductible policy that only really protects me and my family from catastrophic bills.  My personal savings and income situation makes this the most rational use of insurance.   A high deductible should mean yearly premiums are much more reasonable.

10 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Health insurance doesn't need to be an either/or situation.

 

My personal preference would be to have a high deductible policy that only really protects me and my family from catastrophic bills.  My personal savings and income situation makes this the most rational use of insurance.   A high deductible should mean yearly premiums are much more reasonable.

yes Actually an insurance should be something which you probably pay more than you get (at least for about 90-95% of the persons).

The problem is, when you depends to the other parts of the 5-10%, then you are very happy that you had the Insurance. At the end its a gambling not to have an Insurance. Exept for the few which really have the money and are selfinsured.

 

While you are healthy everybody can tell you .. that you not need it.. but when one of this events occur which become very expensive then the whining will start with most of the uninsured!

13 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

(health-care in my home-country is of high quality and at no cost also

just curious......mind telling which country ?

 

my daughter lives in Canada and tells me health care is also very good .   no cost, but of course

she does have to pay taxes which are fairly high.

2 minutes ago, rumak said:

tells me health care is also very good .   no cost,

Of course there is a cost. Every family pays but it is taken away from one's income along with income tax.  School taxes and local municipal taxes are paid separately.

Yes there are no monies paid at time of treatment, but there is a cost. Not sure if one can opt out.

29 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Of course there is a cost. Every family pays but it is taken away from one's income along with income tax.  School taxes and local municipal taxes are paid separately.

Yes there are no monies paid at time of treatment, but there is a cost. Not sure if one can opt out.

I am pretty sure that is what most  readers would interpret from what i wrote : 

" no cost, but of course

she does have to pay taxes which are fairly high."   

8 hours ago, rumak said:

I am pretty sure that is what most  readers would interpret from what i wrote : 

" no cost, but of course

she does have to pay taxes which are fairly high."   

Yes but the point is, that is is not a tax per se and not just jumbled in with the income/general tax. Everyone knows what they are paying for what. Use to be about $150 a month probably double that by now. So not a huge amount as compare to  actual income tax. It is provincial so varies from place to place.

57 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Yes but the point is, that is is not a tax per se and not just jumbled in with the income/general tax. Everyone knows what they are paying for what. Use to be about $150 a month probably double that by now. So not a huge amount as compare to  actual income tax. It is provincial so varies from place to place.

Point taken.     However,  when both my daughter and her husband needed urgent medical assistance

it was provided with great speed...and with great people.   Saved her husbands life !  

All one can ask for is to at least get what they "pay" for.    Not so common in today's world.

9 hours ago, rumak said:

just curious......mind telling which country ?

my daughter lives in Canada and tells me health care is also very good .   no cost, but of course she does have to pay taxes which are fairly high.

I am from Belgium, and my residence is still there.

Health-care in Belgium is of high-quality and there is NO difference between service in a government public hospital (you can choose freely the one you would like to be treated, e.g. because of a specific doctor/surgeon working there) or a private hospital, and for both there are as good as no waiting times for admission or surgery.  Many citizens of neighboring countries are being treated in Belgium when confronted with waiting times in their home-country (but for them the regular and regulated treatment fees are applicable).

For all Belgian citizens that high-quality health-care service is basically free of charge, but obviously a  mandatory monthly contribution which varies according to your income, is automatically deducted from that income to fund this universal solidarity.

Contrary to e.g. Canada, you do not need to live part of the year in Belgium to be entitled to that basically free of charge health-care service, which is indeed fair as you contributed to it during your active life.

In view of the above it is clear why travel-insurance is the option of choice for Belgian citizens living abroad to cover their health-care needs, and it is only outside Europe and for periods longer than 30 days such travel-insurance is needed, because within Europe and for short periods outside Europe it is in many cases also part of the universal health-care service you are entitled to 'free of charge'.

Note: It is only now that I realize how lucky Belgian citizens are with a system like that, but humans will always be humans and there are of course always complainers even in that Health-Care Land of Milk and Honey (obviously those complainers take that basically free high quality health-care for granted and have no idea about the fees/restraints in other countries that do not have such a solidarity system).

48 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Contrary to e.g. Canada, you do not need to live part of the year in Belgium to be entitled to that basically free of charge health-care service, which is indeed fair as you contributed to it during your active life.

Great post.   I agree about the scam (as i view it)  perpetrated by govts regarding residency requirements....especially for retired people who, as you say, have paid into the system for many many years.   Let's face it,  we do not live in a "fair" world .  That is just a dream.   

All is done , laws enacted, to benefit those in power , whether govt or private sector.  Sometimes i think the normal guy is just like the foot soldier sent into battle , as the "generals"  draw x's and o's while

sipping their drinks.  

Long ago I jumped my motorcycle over the barbed wire and made my escape.  Found my way to the garden of Eden ....los... away from those pesky farang snipers .   Ahhh, but they have caught up and the forest is slowly eroding away.    

I think i am getting off topic .  But no,  that is normal for 70 year olds,   isn't it ?

Hmm, theres a few argumentative Old Coots out there.If yer rich you dont need it. If yer not asses what insurance is worth to You.

On 8/23/2020 at 8:16 PM, bwpage3 said:

Health Insurance is a necessity in old age, however, in Thailand, the thing that worries me most, is if you could ever get to the hospital in time to use it?

 

So many instances where a major medical event could happen when you get old, no matter how healthy you think you are and if you have to be rushed to the hospital, its not going to happen in many areas.

 

I would have a definite plan on how I could get to the hospital quickly, in the event of an emergency.

 

 

 

 

If you are worried about getting to a hospital in time, I suggest that either you move next door to a hospital or perhaps Thailand is not the place for you. 

8 hours ago, pineapple01 said:

Hmm, theres a few argumentative Old Coots out there

Who you callin an Old Coot?    you young whippersnapper ...????????????????????????

20 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Of course there is a cost. Every family pays but it is taken away from one's income along with income tax.  School taxes and local municipal taxes are paid separately.

Yes there are no monies paid at time of treatment, but there is a cost. Not sure if one can opt out.

There's quite a lot of families that live off welfare and never pay a dollars tax in their life.

Presumably they don't pay at time of treatment ...... or at any other time.

39 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

There's quite a lot of families that live off welfare and never pay a dollars tax in their life.

Presumably they don't pay at time of treatment ...... or at any other time.

Yep, one more thing i could never understand . Fat, able bodied people "paying" for full baskets of

junk food with food stamps.    Then little ole me paying cash for half a basket of necessities.

10 hours ago, Raphael Hythlodaeus said:

If you are worried about getting to a hospital in time, I suggest that either you move next door to a hospital or perhaps Thailand is not the place for you. 

Consider yourself lucky if you live in Thailand.  I live in north Laos, and the nearest decent emergency hospital is in Thailand.  Heart attacks, strokes and serious vehicle accidents are not recommended here ...

On 8/23/2020 at 7:18 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

I am having a good day. I am still relative young and I have a good health insurance.

 

How about you? How is your day? Do you wish you were young and wish you had a health insurance? 

I could understand that such a situation won't make you happy. But don't blame Thailand for that.

Well, your post to which I responded seemed to indicate that you were a bit unhappy. Almost read like a bit of a rant.

 

How do you know I'm not young?  How do you know about my health insurance situation? Your assumptions & presumptions sound more than a bit immature.

 

BTW, I don't blame Thailand for anytyhing, especially posts like yours.