Covid tests in Thailand: Where to go and how much

[cedel]

18 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Should be free ! That is a lot of money for some citizens.

But submarines are probably more important than the well being of your fellow people ? 

and going to the moon also !

[Crok]

The govt should hang their heads in shame. Charging for a service that is free even in the poorest nations does nothing for the image of the govt or Thailand.

[KhaoYai]

14 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

I don't think those locations are targeting the general population - more aimed at air travellers I suspect.

Maybe I should clarify, yes of course those are locations that provide testing but with public hospitals costing 1500 baht, why would anyone want to have one?  1500 when you earn 10,000 per month or even 25,000 per month is a big chunk of your salary - a salary that you will lose for at least 2 weeks if you get a positive test.  Its most likely that people will just think - why? Why would I want to pay for a test? If I feel sick and have Covid symptoms, I just go to hospital and they'll test me for free.

 

The cheapest private hospital is quoted as charging 2500 - ranging up to 6500, surely they are mainly targeting air travellers who need a test in order to fly?

 

If the government really wants to deal with this Pandemic they need an adequate testing programme that is free. If they want people to come forward for testing, they need to have some form of financial assistance in place for those who test positive.  Neither of those things is going to happen so the Thai Rath article is pointless except in advising travellers where to get a test.  I sincerely hope I'm wrong but the outbreak in Bangkok is very likely to spread countrywide in a couple of weeks.

Edited April 11, 2021 by KhaoYai

[Peter Denis]

9 hours ago, DefaultName said:

As I understand it, if you test positive, you're straight into quarantine at your own expense.  Do not pass go, do not go home and pack a bag, straight into quarantine.  Even if you have no symptoms.  Nope, not doing that.

Everybody that currently enters Thailand needs to have subscribed to a 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance.  So if you test positive and you need treatment, the costs will be re-imbursed up to the coverage provided by the insurance you subscribed to.

The snag however is that some insurance policies only reimburse actual covid-treatment (e.g. Pacific Cross), so if you are tested positive but it turns out that it is 'false alarm' the hospitalization cost will not be paid by them (as you were not ill, but were only preventatively quarantained at the hospital). 

Note: There was a report from someone encountering the above.  Luckily he did fly in on Emirates, and Emirates provides FREE 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance included in the ticket-price (30 days for a one-way ticket, full period of your return-ticket).  And when PacificCross refused to pay the hospitalization with no treatment cost, the Emirates insurance paid the full bill, no questions asked.

[bluejets]

For Thai should be free no exceptions.

 

Talk about complex web site in the link........ click on "where I can get COVID_free testing" and one is directed back to the same page at the top.

Looks like some Aussie government web designer Delete built the web page.

[sandyf]

9 hours ago, Rocking Robert said:

Why do people insist on using the word free it’s taxpayer paid for

Exactly, and some countries have more taxpayer's money available than others. I suspect the majority of expats pay tax in the home county rather than Thailand.

Some countries have so much, gambling it away has become a way of life during the pandemic.

 

Found to be insufficiently accurate by a laboratory at Oxford University, half a million of the tests are now gathering dust in storage. Another 1.5 million bought at a similar price from other sources have also gone unused. The fiasco has left embarrassed British officials scrambling to get back at least some of the money.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/world/europe/coronavirus-antibody-test-uk.html

[rustycc]

I got quited 6.5k at a government hospital in koh lanta.

[berrec]

How to keep the countries COVID case numbers down, price people out of taking the tests.

 

Great strategy, a bunch of clowns. 

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Luckily he did fly in on Emirates, and Emirates provides FREE 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance included in the ticket-price (30 days for a one-way ticket, full period of your return-ticket). 

Yes, the Emirates offer was due to expire 31st March. I booked on 23rd March and a few hours later they amended the website and it is now open ended.

[LukKrueng]

23 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Should be free ! That is a lot of money for some citizens.

But submarines are probably more important than the well being of your fellow people ? 

 

23 hours ago, colinneil said:

Bloody disgrace that poor people have to pay, yet those plonkers attempting to run this place can waste billions on war weapons.

 

23 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

so - let us see: a person on the minimum (and we all know that is effectively, certainly " up country" for very many the standard) wage is receiving around 2000 baht a week.

 

Not going to be many going for tests then.

 

Should keep the numbers manageable...

 

23 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

Good little money maker, those prices mentioned almost certainly sound rounded up

 

23 hours ago, jackdd said:

Why would anybody get tested voluntarily and even pay money for it? I wouldn't risk getting locked in a hospital for two weeks.

I'm pretty sure that's the point. They don't want 70m people tested on a regular basis as the numbers of "infected" will be meaningless as it is in the west. People with symptoms and those who were in the vicinity of confirmed infected are tested for free AFAIK

[DavisH]

18 hours ago, barney42bb said:

Complete and utter P**stake, whether you're Thai/Farrang Rich or Poor..... Shove it.

You must pay, you falang. Get used to that idea lol

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, nahkit said:

On Wednesday it was reported that the cost of the rapid result test was only 600 baht.

 

 I understand private hospitals marking it up but why are state hospitals doing that?

It is amazing how many people are making a fair bit of money because of a pandemic. I don't mind people making a fair profit, but things are getting a bit out of hand.

[lks7689]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:06 AM, Thaiwrath said:

Should be free ! That is a lot of money for some citizens.

But submarines are probably more important than the well being of your fellow people ? 

Yes it should be made free for those in close contact with positive cases. 

[DefaultName]

6 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Everybody that currently enters Thailand needs to have subscribed to a 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance.  So if you test positive and you need treatment, the costs will be re-imbursed up to the coverage provided by the insurance you subscribed to.

The snag however is that some insurance policies only reimburse actual covid-treatment (e.g. Pacific Cross), so if you are tested positive but it turns out that it is 'false alarm' the hospitalization cost will not be paid by them (as you were not ill, but were only preventatively quarantained at the hospital). 

Note: There was a report from someone encountering the above.  Luckily he did fly in on Emirates, and Emirates provides FREE 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance included in the ticket-price (30 days for a one-way ticket, full period of your return-ticket).  And when PacificCross refused to pay the hospitalization with no treatment cost, the Emirates insurance paid the full bill, no questions asked.

If you ENTER Thailand yes.  Some of us have never left.  Also, I have pet responsibilities at home, 2 weeks in quarantine would kill them.  If I got bad symptoms, then I'd make arrangements and go hospital, but not for asymptomatic, and not without those arrangements.

 

Hopefully none of this will matter anyway.  Roll on the vaccines.

[phitsanulokjohn]

On 4/10/2021 at 10:36 AM, herfiehandbag said:

so - let us see: a person on the minimum (and we all know that is effectively, certainly " up country" for very many the standard) wage is receiving around 2000 baht a week.

 

Not going to be many going for tests then.

 

Should keep the numbers manageable...

And that's why I believe Thailand's figures to be highly inacurrate,as compared to the size of their population,hardly anyone has been tested and at 1500 Baht for the ordinary Thai,are unlikely to be either.

[Jonathan Swift]

On 4/10/2021 at 10:06 AM, Thaiwrath said:

Should be free ! That is a lot of money for some citizens.

But submarines are probably more important than the well being of your fellow people ? 

Should be free, yes. Making it so is not as easy as you might wish or expect. It doesn't mean that Thailand is choosing one priority over another. It is simply a matter of trying to effectively manage a crisis of heretofore unseen proportion. And do a little digging into how the process was administered here, and how this government differs from other countries, good and bad. In many ways this has thus far been handled in an exemplary way - just look at the numbers and compare to other countries. So let's be fair and reserve judgment. As a serious medical matter, 1500 baht to 3000 baht for such a test, compared to the same in other countries (meaning how much such a test would cost during non covid times) , is economically reasonable. It is the virus that is unreasonable and unrelenting. 1500 baht is about $50 US, 3000 baht is about $100 US. For me that is serious money, I live on about $1600 a month. But since Thailand is so inexpensive in so many ways and since I am quite frugal in my lifestyle, I am prepared to pay such a price if need be. I keep an emergency reserve fund which I don't touch EXCEPT for emergencies. In the past I have sold off personal possessions in order to maintain that reserve fund. I dipped into it for my arrival quarantine, for my insurance policy, and for the extra cost of one way airfare. If this cost is the same for Thai citizens, which I doubt, THAT would constitute a problem. And the most important thing is the availability and cost of the vaccine. I don't know for sure, so feel free to correct me, but I think the intent is for the vaccine to be free. I don't think vaccination can work any other way. Be grateful that there IS a vaccine, and that we live in an era where the science exists to have produced and distributed a vaccine in record time, as much as 10 times as fast as in previous health crises. 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Jonathan Swift
correction

[Jonathan Swift]

2 hours ago, phitsanulokjohn said:

And that's why I believe Thailand's figures to be highly inacurrate,as compared to the size of their population,hardly anyone has been tested and at 1500 Baht for the ordinary Thai,are unlikely to be either.

No matter what any of you, or we, may think about the Thai government, I do not believe that ordinary Thai citizens who cannot afford 1500 baht have been denied tests. The tracking of cases that has taken place would not have been possible if testing were thus limited by cost. it's just logic. As to figures and statistics, the methods used and the accuracy of reporting are simply not standardized nor is there much central management of information. And then there is an inherent inaccuracy to be found in any story that passes through several layers of translation and editorial interpretation. Some news sources are more dependable in their details than others. A lot of their writers are not as educated nor as motivated as others. But the bottom line is, Thailand remains one of the safest countries in the world, and that is no accident. And therefore, regardless of any criticism, we are more likely to all be OK in the end than citizens of other countries. We are in the home stretch, the end is in sight. Let's focus on that, shall we? Count our blessings.

[ChrisKC]

I am 76, Am I a high risk case? If so (or not) what is my position and those in similar age group (and foreigner)

[nahkit]

On 4/10/2021 at 3:17 PM, sandyf said:

Different tests, the OP was referring to RT-PCR test and the 600 baht was for rapid test which would be antigen test.

The OP did say rapid tests would be cheaper.

 

"Other tests can be cheaper but will need to be followed up with RT-PCR if the patient is positive."

Thanks, I wasn't aware that there were different types of tests. I'd mistakenly thought that the "rapid" part referred to the turnaround time to get the results.

 

 

[nahkit]

On 4/10/2021 at 3:49 PM, stigar said:

Governour in Korat said today this is not true,its a misunderstanding.

The governor in Korat said that the reports of having to quarantine for 14 days were a misunderstanding, nothing to do with the cost of the test which is what I was referring to in the report.

[herfiehandbag]

On 4/11/2021 at 4:09 AM, cedel said:

and going to the moon also !

I thought that one was on hold until they found some long enough bamboo?

[Jonathan Swift]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:06 AM, herfiehandbag said:

What is incorrect about my post then? The estimate of peoples income? The expectation that they will be unable to spend that much money? 

 

It was opinions not information. Don't presume to tell me and others what we can and can't post!

My my we certainly are touchy about criticism aren't we? The person was being helpful in discouraging misinformation. That you couldn't see that says a lot about the caliber of person you are. Post away, there's no law against ignorance, no law against being an ill tempered cuss. 

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

My my we certainly are touchy about criticism aren't we? The person was being helpful in discouraging misinformation. That you couldn't see that says a lot about the caliber of person you are. Post away, there's no law against ignorance, no law against being an ill tempered cuss. 

There is also no law which says that people can demand that others do not post opinions and comments ( not facts mind you, opinions) which they regard as wrong. He did not criticise, he demanded that I did not post something he disagreed with and/or considered wrong. That was the whole point of my response, not a reaction to criticism.

 

I'm not really one for collecting "likes" but it seems that a significant number of people agreed with me.

 

If you had read the whole exchange you may have realised that I subsequently made an effort to umh, reduce the abruptness off my response, an effort which was, it seems recognised by the original protagonist.

 

It is, perhaps, somewhat superficial to make a public judgement on the calibre of an individual, their ignorance or "cussedness" based upon one exchange, but there is of course "no law against" superficial judgements!

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by herfiehandbag