Retiree =? XXX Tourists (Where are they anyway)?

[actonion]

15 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

If you are at fault they will not cover you because without a licence you should not have been driving.

Driving un-licenced is the same as driving drunk............The insurance in invalid.

Who is at fault  is determined by the police & the Insurance assessors    i think, in my case both of them, along with all the others  in their jobs  have Zero knowledge  of the Highway code, i have been smashed into  more than once, the last time  i was blamed for being hit from my rear end of my pick up, i was accused of stopping too quickly, in an emergency braking situation. i had to pay for my own damage...95,000b   ..work that one out......Regarding your other point    "insurance invalid if un licenced", my Thai wife's Neice, 11 years old,  there fore unlicenced hits a truck  while riding the family Honda bike to school , the neice, and the bike were damaged, the insurance paid out ....when i asked why, i was told its the bike thats insured no matter the rider/driver

Edited April 26, 2021 by ubonjoe
moved reply to quoted text

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, PGSan said:

For some of us, no foresight is needed since we know now what we are paying at such ages.  

State of health makes no difference to the premium levels.

I'm 65, I expect to die before I'm 70 (everyone else in my family did) ......

Price of insurance 10 years after I'm dead isn't an important consideration for me.

 

Although I had 2 pals die just after age 70, all my other friends didn't even make it to 60.

You chaps planning for when you're 80 are very optimistic.

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, PGSan said:

What is this worse?

Compulsory Health insurance even for those on a retirement 'visa'.  At 78 I have come to the conclusion I am uninsurable - my UK State pension of £360 a month means I cannot afford a coffin.

[mikebell]

On 4/25/2021 at 7:57 AM, DrJack54 said:

Wonder what the insurance requirements are in Vietnam.

Spain and Thailand I assume similar cost of living?

I suspect Spain may be more expensive tho' the quality of life may be better.  I am loathe to junk 16 years of Thai language acquisition and begin again with Vietnamese as at 78,  retention of new knowledge is difficult.

[Tony125]

18 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Will posters commenting on bills they have received, please let us know if it was from a private hospital or government hospital involved. Thanks.

OK, 2015  had a heart attack. 1 angioplaty and 1 stent. Went to emergency room at Vibavadi Hospital. Went in Friday night left Monday afternoon. They were going to let me go home Sunday afternoon but I told them run more tests. Total cost $8,000 USD. My US Gov insurance (not Medicare/Medicaid) paid $7,000  I paid $1,000.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Tony125

[DrJack54]

37 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Compulsory Health insurance even for those on a retirement 'visa'.  At 78 I have come to the conclusion I am uninsurable - my UK State pension of £360 a month means I cannot afford a coffin.

I'm not being a smart ###, are you saying that you live on 16k bath a month!!

[Moonlover]

15 hours ago, itsari said:

On 4/25/2021 at 8:52 AM, Whale said:

 

I had a bill for 2 million, and I have had various other bills over 200K, my meds bill is about 50k every 3 months. One never knows what tomorrow may bring or what the cost of staying alive could be. Enjoy your health to the utmost whilst you have it.

 

15 hours ago, itsari said:

Showing why health insurance is so expensive here in Thailand . 

If you have good health why bother. Life is a game of chance. Some are gamblers and some are not.

I've debated this topic many times over the years. I remember a friend back in Egypt who said one evening:

 

 'Optimists live long healthy happy lives with no worries. And if they don't, so what? Pessimists buy health insurance'. 

 

We drank another beer to that and we're both still living long healthy happy lives.

[BritManToo]

On 4/25/2021 at 7:57 AM, DrJack54 said:

Wonder what the insurance requirements are in Vietnam.

 

There are none.

[The Fugitive]

4 hours ago, actonion said:

Who is at fault  is determined by the police & the Insurance assessors    i think, in my case both of them, along with all the others  in their jobs  have Zero knowledge  of the Highway code, i have been smashed into  more than once, the last time  i was blamed for being hit from my rear end of my pick up, i was accused of stopping too quickly, in an emergency braking situation. i had to pay for my own damage...95,000b   ..work that one out......Regarding your other point    "insurance invalid if un licenced", my Thai wife's Neice, 11 years old,  there fore unlicenced hits a truck  while riding the family Honda bike to school , the neice, and the bike were damaged, the insurance paid out ....when i asked why, i was told its the bike thats insured no matter the rider/driver

Very true. If no insurance involved obviously the police (only) decide who pays. My Thai niece, driving her car, was involved in a collision with a Thai girl riding her moto. Neither had  driving/riding licences. Car had the basic 700 baht insurance. It was, in fact, 100% the moto riders fault but the police ordered my niece to pay. She (we) paid in cash so didn't claim on insurance. We invited the police officer to our house for a meal as a 'thank you' for not prosecuting anyone.   

[NoshowJones]

On 4/24/2021 at 8:02 PM, BritManToo said:

There's no requirement to buy insurance, I've not had any in the past 12 years.

I don't have any (beyond government minimum vehicle). My most expensive medical bill was 3,500bht for 3 nights in government hospital with gall bladder infection. My pal's most expensive bill was 40,000bht in a government hospital, toppled off his m/c and broke his hip, fully paid for by government minimum m/c insurance.

Excellent post, but what if you come down with a very serious illness which could cost more for treatment than you can afford?

The hospital will make sure you have the means of paying, and if you don't, you will be left in a corridor without any treatment until you die. That is my biggest fear.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Excellent post, but what if you come down with a very serious illness which could cost more for treatment than you can afford?

The hospital will make sure you have the means of paying, and if you don't, you will be left in a corridor without any treatment until you die. That is my biggest fear.

I'm not sure such an event would be survivable, or that I would want to survive.

All the people I know that spent a fortune on treatment, didn't survive, or didn't survive in a way I found acceptable.

Edited April 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[The Fugitive]

26 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Excellent post, but what if you come down with a very serious illness which could cost more for treatment than you can afford?

The hospital will make sure you have the means of paying, and if you don't, you will be left in a corridor without any treatment until you die. That is my biggest fear.

Mine also. Not only that you have the means to pay but that you can actually transfer the money with immediate effect into the hospitals bank account. No good telling them you have to cash in a savings bond (for example) that can take 10-14 working days.  

Edited April 26, 2021 by The Fugitive

[gt162]

14 hours ago, Tony125 said:

OK, 2015  had a heart attack. 1 angioplaty and 1 stent. Went to emergency room at Vibavadi Hospital. Went in Friday night left Monday afternoon. They were going to let me go home Sunday afternoon but I told them run more tests. Total cost $8,000 USD. My US Gov insurance (not Medicare/Medicaid) paid $7,000  I paid $1,000.

 

Tricare paid $7000.? That's good. My Blue Cross only have paid $4000 and I would have to pay $4000 and try to get reimburse later on.

Edited April 26, 2021 by gt162

[GinBoy2]

Insuring yourself in Thailand as you age is a tough one.

 

In most countries, including my own USA, when you hit 65 socialized medicine kicks in and you don't worry.

 

Problem in Thailand is, you are never more than a long stay tourist, and we all know tourists pay big time for health insurance, and those premiums rise dramatically after 60.

 

So even companies like BUPA, or Cigna as it now is that guarantee  lifetime coverage after 5 years don't guarantee you will be able to afford it!

 

Tough choices to be sure

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I'm not being a smart ###, are you saying that you live on 16k bath a month!!

No; at 78 my UK State pension has been frozen for 13 years.  Thankfully I have other pensions which are index linked wherever you are in the world.  Britain treats its pensioners shamefully in this respect.  I pay for my own health treatment/fuel/water/travel/social care/housing - all benefits I could claim in UK - the cheek of it is, I am still being taxed there!

[Tony125]

10 hours ago, gt162 said:

 

Tricare paid $7000.? That's good. My Blue Cross only have paid $4000 and I would have to pay $4000 and try to get reimburse later on.

Not Tricare, I worked for the US Postal Service and we have BLus Cross as well as several other plans we can choose that even cover us if we live overseas and even have an overseas number to call.

[chuang]

On 4/25/2021 at 6:58 PM, BritManToo said:

I'm 65, I expect to die before I'm 70 (everyone else in my family did) ......

Price of insurance 10 years after I'm dead isn't an important consideration for me.

 

Although I had 2 pals die just after age 70, all my other friends didn't even make it to 60.

You chaps planning for when you're 80 are very optimistic.

Follow this moto " younger wife longer life "

[actonion]

1 hour ago, chuang said:

Follow this moto " younger wife longer life "

Cheer up,    My Father was one of  7 Boys, and  3 Girls , every  Male died before 55,  the Girls lived longer...  i asked my family Doctor if that should be a concern for me..    yes he agreed.... i decided to retire early in life at 55, & here  i am at 74  and my Brother  at 81 ...i believe we follow our grandparents genes , mine lived til 91...

[rickudon]

People live longer these days. None of my grandparents made it to 75. Out of my parents siblings, 3 didn't make 75 but 5 made it to 80, my mum to 93. Average age 79. As life expectancy has been increasing by 1 year per decade, I am more likely to see 80 than not (with healthcare).

 

When i planned to come to Thailand 14 years ago, health insurance looked affordable, but exchange rates, interest rates, stagnating pensions and spiralling premiums since then make the likelihood of still being able to pay at 80 very unlikely, i gave up paying anything 7 years ago. I have been lucky so far. My oldest friend here was on BUPA, he could pay 14 years ago, but could no longer do so after paying for 10 years and now lives at the mercy of the public Thai health system. Long term retirement in Thailand for foreigners is now a lottery except for the well off.

 

With pension payouts in the western world declining or stagnating, more and more will be forced to use socialised health care. Retiring in Thailand is no longer an easy choice for the average pensioner.

[lorbhaim]

I posted this post on the compulsion to have insurance from retirees in Thailand, who can pay for their MD bills - and why we all will be forced to leave after 75.

So I will not buy a condo or house in Thailand since I will have to leave. 

Bye Bye GFs...

Where this topic gone?... 

Edited April 29, 2021 by lorbhaim
Typing mistakes.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, lorbhaim said:

I posted this post on the compulsion to have insurance from retirees in Thailand, who can pay for their MD bills - and why we all will be forced to leave after 75.

So I will not buy a condo or house in Thailand since I will have to leave. 

Bye Bye GFs...

Where this topic gone?... 

 

The idea that all retirees in Thailand will be forced to have health insurance is speculation. That certainly might happen, but by no means certain. If it does, you would still have the option of using an agent who could make the insurance requirement go away.

[BritManToo]

On 4/27/2021 at 3:32 PM, rickudon said:

People live longer these days. None of my grandparents made it to 75. Out of my parents siblings, 3 didn't make 75 but 5 made it to 80, my mum to 93. Average age 79. As life expectancy has been increasing by 1 year per decade, I am more likely to see 80 than not (with healthcare).

I'm not seeing that, my grandparents born in the 1800s lived a lot longer than my parents born in the 1900s.

[scubascuba3]

20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not seeing that, my grandparents born in the 1800s lived a lot longer than my parents born in the 1900s.

anyway choosing an end date is fine by me, no need to worry about living to 90 and miserable just choose an end date, take control