Help Young Expat Hit with Stage 4 Cancer

[suzannegoh]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

What makes you believe that would cover him for a pre-existing condition?

Theoretically a US citizen could assume residence somewhere in the US and get coverage under an ACA (Obamacare) policy within a month of applying.  You can get one of those policies regardless of pre-existing conditions.  However that can be difficult to do if you've been abroad for a long time since you need to have money to move back and you might not have any connection to any particular place in the US anymore. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by suzannegoh

[suzannegoh]

If the story is legit at all, it’s probably the immuno drug that they are talking about is most of the cost and it's not an FDA-approved treatment.  There are cancer clinics in Thailand, similar to ones in Tijuana, that charge thousands of dollars per week for cures that “the government doesn’t want you to know about”.  Some of those treatments are legit drugs that are under clinical trials elsewhere in the world but in many cases they are offering things like Vitamin C infusions and Coffee Enemas for even more money than what chemotherapy would cost in the West.  Few insurance policies, Thai or Western, will cover any of that. 

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by suzannegoh

[SamDavis]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:42 AM, TooMuchTime said:

Chipped in.

Thank you!

[elektrified]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:15 PM, Sheryl said:

This is absolutely untrue.

 

Almost all do. Mine certainly does.

 

Many TV members have had their cancer care costs fully paid by their insurers.

 

Coverage for specific types of treatments, especially very new or experimental ones, may not be covered but I don't think i have ever seen an insurance policy with a blanket exclusion on cancer.

Hi Sheryl, I've never had any cancer coverage on any of my policies over 15 years here?

 

And as far as the Thai SS coverage, we witnessed a young (25-30 y/o) Thai woman (colleague of my wife) with Ovarian cancer die at a Chiang Mai Hospital. They said she needed 2 million Baht of imported chemo drugs to save her which government insurance won't cover. They gave her Morphine until she passed.

Edited March 18, 2022 by elektrified

[KannikaP]

On 3/16/2022 at 6:09 PM, sateuk said:

Just fly home to the UK for treatment instead of begging for money 

He's American !

[suzannegoh]

12 minutes ago, elektrified said:

Hi Sheryl, I've never had any cancer coverage on any of my policies over 15 years here?

 

And as far as the Thai SS coverage, we witnessed a young (25-30 y/o) Thai woman (colleague of my wife) with Ovarian cancer die at a Chiang Mai Hospital. They said she needed 2 million Baht of imported chemo drugs to save her which government insurance won't cover. They gave her Morphine until she passed.

And that 2M Baht for the chemo drugs was probably at least 2X what they cost in the US.

[internationalism]

yes, people from around the world travel to the USA just to buy medicines and bring them back home for treatment. With airfare some $1k, visa and many other expenses it's still cheaper, than importing by official channels (which involves special permissions, VAT, duty tax and might take long time).

 

The picture in the article started to puzzle me now - how asymptomatic patient has to have oxygen tubes in his nose? Nebulisation involves cover for nose and mouth. Strange that.

Also stage 4 would have some symptoms for long already, as it develops over many years. How those symptoms were not checked early on, on onset?

Edited March 18, 2022 by internationalism

[JimTripper]

 

On 3/15/2022 at 9:02 PM, smedly said:

why does he not go to his home country for treatment

 

I do feel for the guy but he needs to go home and deal with this

He probably can't afford it. It's cheaper in Thailand!

[Sheryl]

53 minutes ago, elektrified said:

Hi Sheryl, I've never had any cancer coverage on any of my policies over 15 years here?

 

And as far as the Thai SS coverage, we witnessed a young (25-30 y/o) Thai woman (colleague of my wife) with Ovarian cancer die at a Chiang Mai Hospital. They said she needed 2 million Baht of imported chemo drugs to save her which government insurance won't cover. They gave her Morphine until she passed.

 

As I said, I have never seen a policy with a blanket exclusion on all cancer treatment. What were these policies you had that you say had such exclusion?

 

SS does cover chemo but with standard line therapies.  And of course it covers surgery which is the first line of approach for ovarian cancer unless the cancer is already metastasized.

 

I suspect your  wife's colleague had advanced cancer and either did not respond to standard chemo or was already past the stage where it could help. Also suspect that the imported drugs referred to were actually targeted therapies not ordinary chemotherapy (which SS does pay for). These might (at great expense)  might have bought her some time but would almost certainly not have "saved" her, if she was given that impression it was a serious miscommunication.

 

Ovarian cancer has a very poor prognosis, anywhere in the world, because it is usually not detected until it has already spread.

 

The Thai public health system, like public health systems anywhere else, prioritizes how it spends its budget so as to do the greatest good for the greatest number. Expensive drugs that add just  months to the life of patients with terminal cancer do not meet that criteria.