Friend (US Citizen) in ICU, no savings or insurance - don't know what to do for the best

[JoseThailand]

On 1/2/2023 at 10:16 PM, Northstar1 said:

rather than checking for overstayers, perhaps they should be checking for insurance, if none then send them home!

 

You think insurance would pay for that?

[lopburi3]

6 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

You think insurance would pay for that?

Why would it not?  Mine sure would.  But the issue with required insurance is there is little or no way to fairly judge them.

[JoseThailand]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Why would it not?  Mine sure would.  But the issue with required insurance is there is little or no way to fairly judge them.

Even if they did, they would most likely require you to pay the bills out of pocket first, and then reimburse you after checking the evidence.

[The Fugitive]

8 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

But will a government  hospital  accept him?

They are not stupid, they know he will have been transferred  there because he's broke!!

Already happened (see earlier posts).

[Sheryl]

Off topic posts have been removed

[jimmiejackson]

Again, thanks for the input everyone.

 

I'll keep updating this thread. Maybe someone will have some further input that will be useful and it could help someone out in the future.

 

I think it needs to be kept in mind that my info mainly comes from Thai Doctors>his Thai friend>me. So over and above the cultural differences in communication between Doctors and patients/friends of patients, there's translation issues too I'm sure.

 

So after some time at the Chest Institute they ran into a new issue, he had an obstruction in his colon (? I think) which meant he couldn't digest food, he wasn't clearing his bowels and they ended up having to suck out a lot of liquid food that wasn't being digested.

 

So the Chest Institute arranged for him to be moved to Ratchvidhi Hospital for emergency surgery. The surgery was performed and apparently it was a success and it was just some minor tissue obstruction.

 

So now he is in ICU at Ratchvidhi Hospital and won't be transferred back to the Chest Institute. 

 

It seems like there really wasn't a full transfer of documentation from one hospital to another and so tests were repeated, his Thai friend had to explain a lot of things to the Doctors and nurses.

 

They tried to take him off the ventilator and he was able to breathe on his own for a few hours but then got so panicked they had to put it back.

 

So at the moment I'm not too sure what the status is of anything, I hope to get more information soon.

 

We were able to raise some money but it is fast running out, probably in the next few days. After that I don't know what we can do as everyone who is able or willing to donate has already done so.

 

As an aside, I walked through the Emergency Department of Rachvidhi Hospital and while I'm sure the staff are doing their best the sight of seemingly endless patients waiting in hallways on stretchers is something to behold. Nobody likes paying for insurance but if your backup is "I've got Thai Social Fund" I implore you to rethink it.

[jimmiejackson]

As a final update on this one, unfortunately he passed away on Friday.

 

I feel confident we did the best that could be done with the circumstances that were presented.

 

That being said, the final bill for everything will probably approach half a million Baht and that was with us doing everything possible to keep prices down.

 

So as sad as it is I hope someone learns a lesson on how important it is to have good insurance, for the people you love as much as for yourself.

 

Thanks again to anyone who took their time to give us input and help. 

[internationalism]

did he have any underlying condition, aids/hiv?

how can be diangosed with an advanced TB if there suppose to be yearly health check ups, to extend work contract? Advanced desease develops over a long time, probably years. 

I had TB vax in europe some 8 years ago. They don't have it in thailand for adults, only for kids. I was hoping sometimes for a booster, but they have only antibody tests. That test might be a good idea to have, if some strange lungs symptoms or inconclusive x-ray.

 

But there are pneumonia vaxes - prevnar 1 for 2400b and year later pneumovax 23 for 1300b, they protect only partially, but increase chances of survival. He had a chance to get them after TH diagnisis. Ultimately it was pneumonia which killed him.

 

sorry for his loss

Edited February 7, 2023 by internationalism

[Sheryl]

My condolences. You were a very  good friend to him. 

[Salerno]

1 hour ago, jimmiejackson said:

As a final update on this one, unfortunately he passed away on Friday.

My condolences, good for you for trying your best and being there for him to the end.

[3NUMBAS]

how damned true..... like living in slab city with no insurance

 

On 1/2/2023 at 3:05 PM, Northstar1 said:

Should have never happened!

thailand is no place for older people with no insurance 

no pity from me!

we’ll be reading another similar story tomorrow