Is it a rip off?

[Phuketshrew]

Next time go to Mission hospital. A proper hospital with no pretence and no rip off prices. You'll likely see the same doctors/specialists too,  as many do the rounds. Mission also has a superb dental facility at reasonable prices. You did not mention whether you have insurance. Presenting a health insurance card to some of these hospitals and they think they have license to charge exorbitant prices and pad the bill out. 

[Badrabbit]

Just now, Phuketshrew said:

Next time go to Mission hospital. A proper hospital with no pretence and no rip off prices. You'll likely see the same doctors/specialists too,  as many do the rounds. Mission also has a superb dental facility at reasonable prices. You did not mention whether you have insurance. Presenting a health insurance card to some of these hospitals and they think they have license to charge exorbitant prices and pad the bill out. 

Yes I have Insurance and yes I think you are right.

I have used Mission before but I live a longish drive away from Mission, I was in alot of pain and needed to get somewhere quickly.

[steven100]

CT scan is around  18,000 ( it's the most expensive item )    all the other incl' medicines is around 6,000 .

I know,  I had the same.    so 24,000  is the price.

28,000 is mid ....   30,000  is on the high side.  Also,  try and get that done at Bumrungrad, price would have been 48k.

 

The folks that say you were ripped off, haven't a clue.  They are just guessing.

 

[steven100]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Done up like a kipper

try getting a CT scan anywhere for under 18,000  baht ....  ?

or are you just waffling on  ?    Lol

[scubascuba3]

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

try getting a CT scan anywhere for under 18,000  baht ....  ?

or are you just waffling on  ?    Lol

3,000 baht for meds is almost certainly a rip off or haven't you read any threads on the subject?

[Badrabbit]

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

try getting a CT scan anywhere for under 18,000  baht ....  ?

or are you just waffling on  ?    Lol

Well I was charged 13,000 with contrast after saying no to 28,000.

[steven100]

37 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Too much bevvy? Sounds like a stone in there.

thank you Dr ........       I should have seen you sooner.   What time do you open ?

[Badrabbit]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

3,000 baht for meds is almost certainly a rip off or haven't you read any threads on the subject?

As I have already stated I was in big pain, I did not check the bill untill I got home.

[steven100]

2 minutes ago, Badrabbit said:

Well I was charged 13,000 with contrast after saying no to 28,000.

so the CT scan was how much  ?

[Badrabbit]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

3,000 baht for meds is almost certainly a rip off or haven't you read any threads on the subject?

Yes I know 3000 for 20 tablets and a small tube of Counter pain is definitely a rip off.

[LongTimeLurker]

1 hour ago, Badrabbit said:

I told the miserable girl that I had CT scan before for 15,000bht, the bill shows they charged 13,000bht obviously trying it on, I'm just gobsmacked at the medicine charge!!

You must have been paying on insurance.

[scubascuba3]

9 minutes ago, Badrabbit said:

As I have already stated I was in big pain, I did not check the bill untill I got home.

yes we know, not sure why you're repeating yourself

[steven100]

If you were paying by insurance then sure they would have 'padded' the bill.

The CT scan should be around 16,000-18,000 

The x-rays, Ultrasound and medicine would be around 6,000 baht. 

[LongTimeLurker]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

Sorry I can not cite the source but I remember reading this past year that prices in Bangkok's leading private hospitals had increased by more than 100% in the past 10 years.

But for what reason? Besides pure profit?

[Badrabbit]

3 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

But for what reason? Besides pure profit?

I thought I would post my experience it's obviously a hot topic.

[LongTimeLurker]

8 minutes ago, steven100 said:

If you were paying by insurance then sure they would have 'padded' the bill.

The CT scan should be around 16,000-18,000 

The x-rays, Ultrasound and medicine would be around 6,000 baht. 

I saw a documentary one time about US insurance companies and their policy on payments for treatments.

 

Basically, in each area they have 3 no. hospitals that they have treatment cost scales from and if the hospital you are treated in is higher than those costs they will decline the payment. Then after a lot of arguing to-and-fro, if the patient actually bothers to argue, they will pay out the amount of their standard scales, not what you were actually charged.

 

Their reasoning? Once the hospital knows you are insured they will overcharge.

Edited August 23, 2021 by LongTimeLurker

[big dendrobenaes]

2 hours ago, internationalism said:

had ct scan for part of spine for 10k. That was 6 years ago, prices went up

my ct scan cost 21500 in jan 2012 T BKK pattaya hospital!!!

[LongTimeLurker]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

Too much bevvy? Sounds like a stone in there.

If by bevvy you mean beer, that won't cause a kidney stone.

 

But if you mean Orange Juice, then you could be right.

[NONG CHOK]

Farangs should understand that the Thai private hospitals charges are all to rip off health insurance companies. In my 20 years living here unless you have private hospital insurance you need to give private hospitals here a big miss. Just an example maybe 10 years ago I paid 1,100 baht for my BP meds, even yesterday in the country I paid 210 baht. Thais with health insurance are treated the same as us, that's why the majority choose Government hospitals.

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

That sounds incredibly cheap.....is a CT scan the same as an MRI scan? 

 

I paid a small fortune for the MRI.

They are not the same.

 

CT uses X-Rays which is ionizing radiation and shouldn't be done too much if it can be avoided. It can cause damage to the DNA and create cancer. The chance is low but it's there. You can think of it as a 3D X-Ray.

 

MRI on the other hand uses (strong) magnetic fields and a bit of non-ionizing radiation. They are preferable to CTs from a health point of view but take longer and are more expensive. Can be an issue if there is metal parts in the body.

 

If you want to know if you had an MRI or CT then think how long it took and if there was noise. An MRI can take 20-40 min and is quite loud.

[steven100]

1 hour ago, Badrabbit said:

Yes I have Insurance and yes I think you are right.

I have used Mission before but I live a longish drive away from Mission, I was in alot of pain and needed to get somewhere quickly.

I had pain in lower right abdomen .....  anyway, long story short,  doc came and seen me in the hospital bed next morning and asked ...... how you feel now,   I said I got a sharp pain again about 10 minutes ago    !!    

he said .... that's strange ...      !!     I said the nurse just came in and gave me the bill 

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by steven100

[Will B Good]

51 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

They are not the same.

 

CT uses X-Rays which is ionizing radiation and shouldn't be done too much if it can be avoided. It can cause damage to the DNA and create cancer. The chance is low but it's there. You can think of it as a 3D X-Ray.

 

MRI on the other hand uses (strong) magnetic fields and a bit of non-ionizing radiation. They are preferable to CTs from a health point of view but take longer and are more expensive. Can be an issue if there is metal parts in the body.

 

If you want to know if you had an MRI or CT then think how long it took and if there was noise. An MRI can take 20-40 min and is quite loud.

Definitely MRI then, 90 mins. I thought it would be a breeze, just lie back and relax, but I had various dies injected and had to hold my arms above my head for about 30 mins. Towards the end I was really struggling.

[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, Badrabbit said:

Yes I.know you can say NO, I was in big pain and scared, I had the girl pushing the clipboard at me saying "this price okay" I did say "no not okay, I.paid 15k before" that must of worked.

After all the tests they found nothing wrong, the Doctor then suggested "we will admit you for further tests" I said "no you just said there is nothing wrong with me" we paid and left, the problem has not returned so far.

Can I suggest you "invest" in some private hospital cover, that way you won't have to worry, in fact you could be the one insisting on every test possible, but make sure you read the policy as most cover for emergency treatments and an emergency is a stay of 24 hours, so enjoy the private room and if you get lucky maybe one of the pretty nurses can sing you a lullaby when it's sleep time.

 

putting 200 baht a day aside shouldn't be that hard for peace of mine in the LOS, some would say that stands for Land of Sharks ????

 

Hope the pain doesn't come back and that you don't have any underlying condition. 

[MrJ2U]

It can be expensive here for sure.

 

At the same time it can be incredibly cheap depending the procedures.

 

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, Badrabbit said:

After all the tests they found nothing wrong, the Doctor then suggested "we will admit you for further tests" I said "no you just said there is nothing wrong with me" we paid and left, the problem has not returned so far.

Doc didn't "just say there was nothing wrong with you." "They" said they found nothing wrong during that visit.

 

Whether your purported "nothing wrong" was cured by the thought of the bill and then also by taking your B3000 pills remains to be seen. One may hope. If not, then you've learned about billing at Bangkok Phuket. Perhaps the problem was somehow owing to more of the flatulence that's distressed a number of our other members.

[BritManToo]

17 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Doc didn't "just say there was nothing wrong with you." "They" said they found nothing wrong during that visit.

 

Whether your purported "nothing wrong" was cured by the thought of the bill and then also by taking your B3000 pills remains to be seen. One may hope. If not, then you've learned about billing at Bangkok Phuket. Perhaps the problem was somehow owing to more of the flatulence that's distressed a number of our other members.

I've always viewed most CT/MRI as an expensive scam.

The results are nearly always iffy/unclear, I'm not sure if it's because the Thai doctors can't read the results.

 

X-ray 100bht, Ultrasound 300bht seem to be much more effective as diagnostic tools.

Edited August 23, 2021 by BritManToo

[1FinickyOne]

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I guess they told you something like: Now we will make a CT scan. And you could have asked if that is necessary and how much it cost.

yes. That is what happened. A doctor came in and wanted me to have a CT scan and I said no.... 

 

That's when another doc came in to offer me a 2nd opinion... 

[Sheryl]

CT with contrast always costs more than plain CTR and, most impirtantly, is nto really safe to do at an imaging center here (risk of rare but potentially life threatening reaction to contrast media)

 

CT with contrast does cost about 26k these days at the top end "international" hospitals e.g. Bumrungrad. Can be had for about 18-22k at less expensive hospitals

 

I can't figure out form your post what the final CT cost was, but  28,000bht total for "CT, X Ray's, Ultra sound plus blood and Urine tests" and presumably also doctor consultation, is not at all high for a Thai private hospital these days.

 

Not knowing all the clinical details, I can't comment on the necessity of the various test.

[Badrabbit]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

CT with contrast always costs more than plain CTR and, most impirtantly, is nto really safe to do at an imaging center here (risk of rare but potentially life threatening reaction to contrast media)

 

CT with contrast does cost about 26k these days at the top end "international" hospitals e.g. Bumrungrad. Can be had for about 18-22k at less expensive hospitals

 

I can't figure out form your post what the final CT cost was, but  28,000bht total for "CT, X Ray's, Ultra sound plus blood and Urine tests" and presumably also doctor consultation, is not at all high for a Thai private hospital these days.

 

Not knowing all the clinical details, I can't comment on the necessity of the various test.

Cost for CT scan with contrast was 13000bht total cost of everything was 28000bht. 

That is very worrying about CT contrast they said nothing about the risks involved.

The treatment I received was excellent but the girl with the clip board was very miserable and blunt when asking "are you okay with 28k for CT Scan., I was not happy as 2yrs previously I had CT Scan with contrast for 15k which I told her, guess that worked.

Whatever the pain was it has now gone, they gave me Norgesic(Orphenadrine 35mg) plus Counter pain cream, I'm happy with the service overall.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Badrabbit

[mvdf]

1 hour ago, Badrabbit said:

I'm happy with the service overall.

Yes, the safest comment. Just remember the guy who posted something acidic on Tripadvisor about a certain hotel. Quite remorseful after what ensued. Best to just say you're ecstatically jumping for joy after seeing the bill.