Health Minister eyes Thailand’s medical tourism post COVID-19

[Thomas J]

3 hours ago, swifty5x5 said:

my country has free medical

swifty5x5

 

Saying any country has "free medical" is an outright lie.  SOMEBODY PAYS  namely the taxpayer.  Consider here in Thailand the VAT is 7%  do you pay it?  No the company who sold you the goods or service did.  Does that mean YOU GOT IT FREE?  If you got some gift as a premium for purchasing an item DID YOU GET THAT FREE or was its value included in the price you paid for the other item?  

There is nothing in life that is free.  You are merely transferring who pays for the services from the individual receiving the medical service to those who pay the taxes.  There is nothing more wasted than something that is given for "free"  There is no incentive to use moderately or only when truly needed. 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Thomas J

[findlay13]

1 hour ago, David gilbert said:

I very much doubt thailand will have a lot of medical tourists, I had 1 stent fitted at bangkok hospital. Cost 10,000 pounds same op at Nuffield in uk 4,000 pounds and Poland the cheapest these days, and most of the staff did their training in the uk!

I just had one put in in Australia .It didn't cost me anything.Although I have paid taxes in the past .I am now retired. I will have a knee replaced within the year,again at no cost.We have a wonderful health system. Which the "let them eat cake" mob try to wreck every time they are elected.

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by findlay13

[Samui Fan]

These initiatives are all well and good. However the whole hospitality industry is holding its breath as to when regular tourists, the bread and butter of this industry sector and provider of jobs to millions of locals, will be allowed back. Tourists are the largest contributor - they stay in hotels, eat out, go on trips, shop extensively etc.

As someone who is currently in quarantine in Bangkok, I do NOT understand why I could not have a COVID test on arrival and stay in a hotel near airport until the result comes through, and then, if the test is negative, fly back to my home in Samui and resume my life? Samui and Phuket are on their knees with no tourists. The government needs to open borders, putting into place strict arrival health protocols via testing, then maybe track and trace. All this nonsense about 14-day quarantine and having 500K in your bank account is certainly going to put off travellers who HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. And that includes medical tourists.

The government should tackle this in a sensible and realistic order. Please, please let tourists come back soon.

[stigar]

13 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

swifty5x5

 

Saying any country has "free medical" is an outright lie.  SOMEBODY PAYS  namely the taxpayer.  Consider here in Thailand the VAT is 7%  do you pay it?  No the company who sold you the goods or service did.  Does that mean YOU GOT IT FREE?  If you got some gift as a premium for purchasing an item DID YOU GET THAT FREE or was its value included in the price you paid for the other item?  

There is nothing in life that is free.  You are merely transferring who pays for the services from the individual receiving the medical service to those who pay the taxes.  There is nothing more wasted than something that is given for "free"  There is no incentive to use moderately or only when truly needed. 

 

Ur rigth.In norway i pay 22% tax..that covers everything about health etc etc.Next week i will change my eyelinces and that cost me 351 NOK(about 1200 thai bath).The travel to the clinic and back the goverment pay.

If i change my eyelinces and pay myslef it will cost me about 190.000 thai bath

[Jake72]

I doubt this is aimed at westerners, they are thinking more of China and the middle east. 

[mar zarych]

Once again dual pricing for most procedures, foreigners pay double at private hospitals. 

[mr_lob]

His golf course will be offering a full array of operations next...

[jerolamo]

How is it possible again in 2020 to speak like that with so many pretentious and deny and to have a power ?

[Cranky]

4 hours ago, BigStar said:

Unless, of course, you've paid into the Thai SS, as I have, so as foreigner I get free health care including all meds. I wonder why the UK doesn't give USA citizens the same prices it charges UK citizens?

I pay the Thai SS regularly, every time I get stopped for speeding for one whether I’m speeding or not. Don’t get any health care or drugs thrown in. 

[Sean60]

Of course, Double pricing!!! We faring love to be treated as idiots. We are not like you dirty non showering Thai government minister. In addition you look like monkey

[Jimbo53]

5 hours ago, Katipo said:

"Mr Anutin said Thailand will become the destination of choice among medical tourism visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic."......

 

.....no, it won't!

His head is up a very dark place,Turkey will be the destination for European and Middle East Medical Tourists,it caters for both English and Arabic speaking consumers,and competitively priced in comparison to Thailand.

[Traubert]

5 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

Of course, Anutin was not referring to his own impressive hospitality when he made this statement.

It will be some time yet before the World forgets his Xenophobic and Racist outbursts .

What xenophobic and racist outbursts?

[Thomas J]

1 hour ago, stigar said:

Ur rigth.In norway i pay 22% tax..that covers everything about health etc etc.Next week i will change my eyelinces and that cost me 351 NOK(about 1200 thai bath).The travel to the clinic and back the goverment pay.

If i change my eyelinces and pay myslef it will cost me about 190.000 thai bath

Stigar

My Thai fiance is a Norwegian citizen so I am familiar with the Norway "Free" system.  First off in terms of treatment she never gets to see her doctor, only a physicians assistant.  If she does need a specialist it typically is a 6 month wait. 

In terms of your 22% you are omitting numerous things.  First Norway has a 25% VAT so everything you buy is miserably expensive because you pay both the VAT and the merchant who also has confiscatory tax rates has to boost his/her prices to compensate for the government rake of the sale.  Finally, though you pay only 22% you are essentially shifting the cost to someone else who pays much more.  So maybe a good deal for you and others who pay lower rates but a lousy deal for those who earn the majority of the money in the country. 

Here is the percent of taxes to GDP and Norway is at the highest in the world for their "free" stuff. 

How anyone can think that somehow running things through the government suddenly makes them free is beyond me.  You are only adding a layer of cost through bureaucracy.  Also consider when you buy a car, you shop for the best car at the lowest price.  With government run healthcare and "free" healthcare the hospital/doctor has no incentive to reduce expenses knowing it will get paid by the government.  Conversely the patient has no incentive to limit the amount or type of healthcare received after all it is free. 

There are only 4 ways to spend money. You spend your money on yourself.  You care about the quality and the cost.  You spend someone elses money on yourself.  Like a company paid meal.  You don't care about the cost but you want only the best.  You spend money on another. Like a gift.  You care less about the quality but still are concerned about the price.  Finally Someone else spends money on you with someone elses money.  They could care less about the cost and even less about the quality.  That is government when you get

healthcare from them. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_to_GDP_ratio


 

[Scot123]

5 hours ago, BigStar said:

Unless, of course, you've paid into the Thai SS, as I have, so as foreigner I get free health care including all meds. I wonder why the UK doesn't give USA citizens the same prices it charges UK citizens?

Thai health care is not Free!!! It's very cheap for Thais but they still pay. There is NO! double or triple price scale depending on race in the UK. If you go private the prices are the same. If you use the NHS then your supposed to pay if your a foreigner but if you do not there is no arrest warrant issued and the police do not hall you off your flight. 

[Jessi]

5 hours ago, herwin1234 said:

 

Here we go again, positive initiatives are being ridiculed...

Thais ridicule themselves, they don't need ant help from me..

[Jessi]

15 minutes ago, Traubert said:

What xenophobic and racist outbursts?

Do some searching. Try google it may help.

[Truth Will Set You Free]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Mr Anutin said Thailand will become the destination of choice among medical tourism visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country has a robust public health system, an advanced level of medical service, highly skilled healthcare workers, and impressive hospitality.

 

He said this will help the country generate income, while the Ministry of Public Health will be positioning Thailand as the world’s medical superpower.

Someone please explain the destination choice among medical tourism visitors...???????????????? That should be a one page memo; We shut down our borders, instituted  quarantine measures for those that were infected, and travel restrictions to prevent the spread.
 

Don’t see how this will generate income or make Thailand a medical superpower...???????????????? If Thailand had cold weather like US and Europe, they would have more cases and death as those countries and surrounding countries. 
 

Be proud that you shut your borders and implemented  measures. Now focus now how you are going to provide  life support measures to your people of no jobs and income. ????????????????

 

 

[Traubert]

28 minutes ago, Jessi said:

Do some searching. Try google it may help.

No thanks. It'll try to sell me something I dont want.

[jobas69]

Anal tin is a deluded fool or maybe just a bad liar ????

[Truth Will Set You Free]

6 hours ago, herwin1234 said:

7 hours ago, Jessi said:

No longer "The HUB" now being called "The worlds medical SUPERPOWER"

That is a good laugh for today. ????????

 

Here we go again, positive initiatives are being ridiculed...

What ridiculed about making this statement? You think the health care here in Thailand is cheap for foreigners. 

 

What province are you in? One night in Bangkok hospital is 100,000 baht from the last time I visit and I am not talking about being injured. A routine visit is 4-5000 baht. 
 

At one time, it was and it depends on what you going in for. Bottom line, you got to pay if you don’t have in country insurance and why it going up, they are providing the service but there are those that don’t have the money to pay. 
 

The only superpower this country has been is night life and bars..

[bodga]

6 hours ago, BigStar said:

Sounds good. Keep us informed, please.

I  keep falling  over?

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, Katipo said:

"Mr Anutin said Thailand will become the destination of choice among medical tourism visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic."......

 

.....no, it won't!

Is this not the guy who called us dirty Farangs who don't shower, making it obvious that we are not wanted in Thailand? Now he wants medical tourists obviously to increase the income streams of himself and his soldier pals, so medical tourists wash and shower where ordinary tourists do not?

This guy is to politics what Stallone and Arnie are to acting.

[ronaldo0]

Ironic he’s opening a spine centre in a place run by a bunch of spineless people with no backbone !

[Clarkey611]

8 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Is this not the guy who called us dirty Farangs who don't shower, making it obvious that we are not wanted in Thailand? Now he wants medical tourists obviously to increase the income streams of himself and his soldier pals, so medical tourists wash and shower where ordinary tourists do not?

This guy is to politics what Stallone and Arnie are to acting.

Medical tourists will get washed by the lovely nurse on a daily basis at great expense, so they must be clean.

 

On last reading about 14-days quarantine, it was shown to be 16 days and 15 nights. Why so? 

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, Samui Fan said:

These initiatives are all well and good. However the whole hospitality industry is holding its breath as to when regular tourists, the bread and butter of this industry sector and provider of jobs to millions of locals, will be allowed back. Tourists are the largest contributor - they stay in hotels, eat out, go on trips, shop extensively etc.

As someone who is currently in quarantine in Bangkok, I do NOT understand why I could not have a COVID test on arrival and stay in a hotel near airport until the result comes through, and then, if the test is negative, fly back to my home in Samui and resume my life? Samui and Phuket are on their knees with no tourists. The government needs to open borders, putting into place strict arrival health protocols via testing, then maybe track and trace. All this nonsense about 14-day quarantine and having 500K in your bank account is certainly going to put off travellers who HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. And that includes medical tourists.

The government should tackle this in a sensible and realistic order. Please, please let tourists come back soon.

The soldiers government tackling anything in a sensible order???? If these soldiers had any decent education and were capable of tackling anything sensibly and realistically, they would never have joined the army. Anyone ever heard of anybody graduating from university and joining the army except maybe someone very rich paying to start off as a general or some other fancy rank?

[berrec]

7 hours ago, swifty5x5 said:

my country has free medical

 

Don't think so..........you possibly have a taxpayer funded medical system.................. like a medial services levy on tax paying citizens. ........ governments don't have any money.........for free stuff.....

[CheelBeel]

 

thanks to the country’s robust public health system and hospitality.

Dirty Farang by Anutin

[MaiChai]

The rich Bangkok elites in charge look down on everyone else, including us dirty Farangs and the poor Thais who have not received much financial help due to covid decimating the tourism industry. Over the years the situation has not improved which is why ordinary Thais hate Prayut and want change. This is not quite on topic but is the root of all the problems including this non sense statement from the Gov minister. Deluded and out of touch?

Edited November 20, 2020 by MaiChai

[Chiang Mai Bill]

Yes, there are many good hospitals in Bangkok -- 'possibly' one in Chiang Mai.  There are also many good dentists in Thailand.

 

They offer good, quick solutions to many and much cheaper than paying for private medical services in their home country -- and without paying massive medicare bills each year.

 

But, should Thailand become the medical centre of the world then, with popularity and growing customers, the old Thai culture will creep in and prices will go up and they will eventually lose their initiative.

[overt2016]

7 hours ago, madmitch said:

.....and Government-sanctioned inflated prices for foreigners!

Yes, in this release does A- nut-in inform that you are going to be charged an additional 25%

because you are a dirty foreigner?