Are you prepared for emergency illness

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

The equipment looks pretty much state of the art. 

 

Actually, a couple years ago I also had a brain PET scan at Sikarin (a private hospital recommended by Sheryl) and I do not remember the price, but it was not significant, certainly less than US$1,000. The equipment did not look to be significantly newer, or of a higher quality than at Chula. Less plenty of parking, no waiting, and nicer amenities. At Chula I book the next one a year in advance, and if I miss the appointment, it can take months to reschedule. 

 

You can get a PET scan in the US for less than US$1,500

Houston, TX PET Scan Cost Average (newchoicehealth.com)

 

 

 

 

I had a PET scan in Australia, cost AUD 1200, state of the art. My private health insurance paid for everything.

[The Fugitive]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I had good Thai insurance, but after I stopped it for a year I couldn't have got back on as too old, though had I kept paying I could have stayed on longer. Went up from 60,000 to 70,000 in one year.

£140 per month sounds great. However, no doubt they would have increased your premiums or cancelled cover following any claim. Also, from what you say, sounds like there was an upper age limit.

[Yellowtail]

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I had a PET scan in Australia, cost AUD 1200, state of the art. My private health insurance paid for everything.

So? You claimed it would have costed USD 15,000 in Bangkok, I said it looked like you added a zero, as it was on $500 at Chula, and about $1,500 in the US. 

 

You said no, that you checked websites in Thailand and the cheapest was USD 15,000.00. 

 

You are claiming a PET scan in Thailand costs ten-times as much as in both Australia, and the United States. 

 

Are you standing by that claim? 

[mokwit]

30 minutes ago, streetlite said:

My quality of life after radiation and chemo is worse than crap. Don't do it. Doctors will lie if it brings in the cash. never again.

I have been hit with extreme fatigue which i suspect is chemo related, even though I finished my 8 sessions months ago. Spent days in bed unable to do anything.

 

Wiki: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Post Exertion Malaise.

[HauptmannUK]

45 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

Some documentary proof of that is clearly needed. You can't just rock up and say I'm back and want too to stay a while!

My actual experience from the case I mentioned in 2018 is that if you are seriously ill then NHS treatment is quick and free - no questions asked.

After a couple of weeks two ladies from the 'overseas patients team' turned up at his bedside. Once they knew the guy was renting a bedsit then no more questions.... 

[Ralf001]

Have no desire to live past 70 so if I make to there reasonably unscathed great.... Then I'll either balcony bounce or inject lead into my skull.

[SiSePuede419]

My plan is to get treatment at a government hospital.

 

They can handle everything.

 

I really don't understand why you want insurance. 

 

Expensive, low or no payouts.

 

And private hospitals cost 10-100 x as much!

 

Pay in cash.

 

BTW, half of 90 year old don't have prostate cancer.

Edited April 5, 2023 by SiSePuede419

[Tedly]

 I watched this happen to a guy from UK, he had lung cancer, no insurance, could have paid for hospital stuff but decided to let nature take it's course, so he only lived a few months. I also have no insurance, going back to America wouldn't help any because of not having insurance there either. We all know how expensive health care is in America anyway. So I bicycle about 250 KM a week and try to stay healthy (so far it's working and I'm 62). If I were to come down with cancer I too would most likely let nature take it's course as I've seen too many people go through treatments and get so sick from the treatments and have no quality of life, so basically just suffer and  then die anyway in a short time, why not cut out that sickness from the treatments and maybe last longer without them. At least that's my thoughts maybe I'd change my mind if it happens.

[rwill]

Being from the United States a lot of the insurance offered doesn't cover me there (worldwide except for US).  Also because of exclusions a lot of what could kill me isn't covered anyway.  Like strokes, heartattack, etc.  So despite having insurance I'm still having to make sure I have money saved to cover potential medical expenses.

[mokwit]

9 minutes ago, Tedly said:

So I bicycle about 250 KM a week and try to stay healthy (so far it's working and I'm 62).

I did similar.

 

9 minutes ago, Tedly said:

why not cut out that sickness from the treatments and maybe last longer without them. At least that's my thoughts maybe I'd change my mind if it happens.

It won't be an easy decision, even though,. either way it ends the same way.

[Tropposurfer]

On 4/3/2023 at 4:30 PM, Lacessit said:

The public health system in Australia is a train wreck. My daughter-in-law has been waiting 6 months for an initial consultation for a bung knee with a specialist, she may be waiting another year for the actual surgery.

I have top level private health cover in Australia. I had a PET scan within two weeks of landing, free of charge. In Thailand, the cheapest quote I could find was USD 15,000.

Your opinions are way off the mark.

Correct Lace. It is a train wreck now. Neglected and underfunded for successive Federal governments and so now it is truly cr@p. Almost to the point the NHS finds itself in now.

It was a world class great public health system once but no more.

 

In Oz it costs about $300 a month for any sort of decent comprehensive coverage even for those in their 30's and the longer you move towards 60 premiums goes up and up.

Waiting times for surgeries like knees and hips is literally years now NSW, Vic, QLD (except in WA, and if you live remotely then it can be under 6 months).

Unless you have held coverage in Oz, consistently, for decades, once you hit the 50's you are penalised (which makes sense to stop people taking out coverage then as soon as the 'waiting/incubation period' is done getting full coverage and then dropping coverage).

A simple, basic 30 minute amalgam filling (no anaesthesia) may see you still paying a $250 + bill to the dentist after claiming on insurance!

 

I read a lot of the posts and from my experience, lots of these stories don't reflect mine, or others I know, experiences of medical insurance experiences here in LOS in the slightest.

 

I am fortunate and can afford and have top level world coverage insurance (except for the insanely expensive and mad US medical system) in LOS and pay zero for any medical services beyond my premium payments.

I pay almost 6K AUD a year for my coverage, I'm 66.5, took coverage out at 57, and have till death coverage with no guaranteed exponential hike in premiums, although I expect increases as the years go by.

NOTE: All underwriters raise their premiums periodically over time as a matter of normal course to keep pace with costs, inflationary changes etc. around the globe. These are to be expected. 

 

I have claimed for glasses, some medicines, skin cancer treatments throughout each year every year for me including minor surgeries a few times a year, varicose vein surgery, colonoscopy, eye surgery.

Claimed for a ski fracture in continental Europe a while back and ALL these claims went without any hitches.

I am covered for anything and everything by underwriters that have a stellar reputation for paying immediately. 

 

NOTE: One must be extremely careful who they take policies out with as some underwriters deliberately construct their policies to hold clauses that exclude paying out. 

Or as some do create policies that lapse at e.g. age 75 or 80.

One must do solid research and check with an insurance specialist to go through the policies very carefully and to check if hospitals in LOS, and else where worldwide are seen as safe/reputable underwriters to deal with.

The top top flight underwriters e.g. AXA BUPA similar to my underwriter do not have such sneaky clauses and are viewed by LOS, European, and Australian hospitals and specialists as AAA.

 

It's absolutely possible to find and secure coverage for ANY cancer treatment, with multiple payouts per year, year after year to the tune of millions of dollars, and for other major issues such as heart surgeries - multiples if needed, you name it. Some even cover pre-existing cancer.

 

I even have a 'repatriation clause' in case 'unique specialist treatment is indicated' (which includes natural disaster evacuation e.g. tsunami) in a medically purpose-built private plane and can if need be be medically returned to any nation I (or my spouse choses for me) for treatment.

 

The stories I hear of people being refused payouts may be due to being insured by weak underwriters, having a level of premium that excludes types of illnesses, or not being insured for illnesses or treatment regimes.

 

The moral of the story in short-hand is don't live in ANY foreign country without really good, reliable, reputable medical insurance no matter how fit, young, healthy, and strong you think you are, OR are wealthy enough to be able to pay cash.

Look at the young English lads who is now laying in a bed in LOS with an unpaid bill in excess of $150K Pounds if you need further evidences to do so.

  

 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Tropposurfer

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

So? You claimed it would have costed USD 15,000 in Bangkok, I said it looked like you added a zero, as it was on $500 at Chula, and about $1,500 in the US. 

 

You said no, that you checked websites in Thailand and the cheapest was USD 15,000.00. 

 

You are claiming a PET scan in Thailand costs ten-times as much as in both Australia, and the United States. 

 

Are you standing by that claim? 

Check the medical websites yourself. Perhaps they are the ones adding on the extra zero, I'm not.

[georgegeorgia]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

I had a PET scan in Australia, cost AUD 1200, state of the art. My private health insurance paid for everything.

I got mine FREE !

When I walked into the reception at the scan clinic on Sydney a few days ago she said $530 please ,then looked at the referral and said 

"Your doctor has put Bulk Billing on it ,are you on a pension or unemployed ?

I said No I'm working!

She said your doctor has wrote Bulk Billing to be charged to the government!

I said thankyou very very much. ..????

 

..I stopping using bulk billing GP doctors though,they rush you in & out because the pittance the government is paying them under Medicare so they are not as good as "paying " GP doctors .

 

Anything like a medical certificate I just go to a bulk billing doctor but if it's serious I go to a paying the bill doctor 

 

But.. I'm glad she wrote " bulk billing " on my scan x-ray referral ,saved $530,though I believe I would of got back around $240 from the government Medicare 

 

 

????

Edited April 5, 2023 by georgegeorgia

[Lacessit]

Just now, georgegeorgia said:

I got mine FREE !

When I walked into the reception at the scan clinic on Sydney a few days ago she said $530 please ,then looked at the referral and said 

"Your doctor has put Bulk Billing on it ,are you on a pension or unemployed ?

I said No I'm working!

She said your doctor has wrote Bulk Billing to be charged to the government!

I said thankyou very very much ????

You were lucky, many doctors are abandoning bulk billing in Australia.

Why would a doctor bulk bill, with all the administrative BS, when they can charge more as a private practitioner?

One example: One specialist bulk bills, I think she gets $80 for a consultation. OTOH, a hernia surgeon charged me $280, of which I got refunded $37 by Medicare.

In my area, there are 6 medical clinics. 5 of them do not bulk bill, the sixth is not accepting new patients.

[georgegeorgia]

Yes many medical clinics are abandoning bulk billing ( free under government Medicare) and charging private fees.

 

I have 2 medical centres in my area ,the bulk billing (free under Medicare) is not good as it's foreign doctors who rush you in & out in minutes.

 

The paying one ($105) $65 after Medicare rebate actually keep you in for like 10 minutes and I guess pretend to care 

Edited April 5, 2023 by georgegeorgia

[The Fugitive]

22 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

Correct Lace. It is a train wreck now. Neglected and underfunded for successive Federal governments and so now it is truly cr@p. Almost to the point the NHS finds itself in now.

It was a world class great public health system once but no more.

 

In Oz it costs about $300 a month for any sort of decent comprehensive coverage even for those in their 30's and the longer you move towards 60 premiums goes up and up.

Waiting times for surgeries like knees and hips is literally years now NSW, Vic, QLD (except in WA, and if you live remotely then it can be under 6 months).

Unless you have held coverage in Oz, consistently, for decades, once you hit the 50's you are penalised (which makes sense to stop people taking out coverage then as soon as the 'waiting/incubation period' is done getting full coverage and then dropping coverage).

A simple, basic 30 minute amalgam filling (no anaesthesia) may see you still paying a $250 + bill to the dentist after claiming on insurance!

 

I read a lot of the posts and from my experience, lots of these stories don't reflect mine, or others I know, experiences of medical insurance experiences here in LOS in the slightest.

 

I am fortunate and can afford and have top level world coverage insurance (except for the insanely expensive and mad US medical system) in LOS and pay zero for any medical services beyond my premium payments.

I pay almost 6K AUD a year for my coverage, I'm 66.5, took coverage out at 57, and have till death coverage with no guaranteed exponential hike in premiums, although I expect increases as the years go by.

NOTE: All underwriters raise their premiums periodically over time as a matter of normal course to keep pace with costs, inflationary changes etc. around the globe. These are to be expected. 

 

I have claimed for glasses, some medicines, skin cancer treatments throughout each year every year for me including minor surgeries a few times a year, varicose vein surgery, colonoscopy, eye surgery.

Claimed for a ski fracture in continental Europe a while back and ALL these claims went without any hitches.

I am covered for anything and everything by underwriters that have a stellar reputation for paying immediately. 

 

NOTE: One must be extremely careful who they take policies out with as some underwriters deliberately construct their policies to hold clauses that exclude paying out. 

Or as some do create policies that lapse at e.g. age 75 or 80.

One must do solid research and check with an insurance specialist to go through the policies very carefully and to check if hospitals in LOS, and else where worldwide are seen as safe/reputable underwriters to deal with.

The top top flight underwriters e.g. AXA BUPA similar to my underwriter do not have such sneaky clauses and are viewed by LOS, European, and Australian hospitals and specialists as AAA.

 

It's absolutely possible to find and secure coverage for ANY cancer treatment, with multiple payouts per year, year after year to the tune of millions of dollars, and for other major issues such as heart surgeries - multiples if needed, you name it. Some even cover pre-existing cancer.

 

I even have a 'repatriation clause' in case 'unique specialist treatment is indicated' (which includes natural disaster evacuation e.g. tsunami) in a medically purpose-built private plane and can if need be be medically returned to any nation I (or my spouse choses for me) for treatment.

 

The stories I hear of people being refused payouts may be due to being insured by weak underwriters, having a level of premium that excludes types of illnesses, or not being insured for illnesses or treatment regimes.

 

The moral of the story in short-hand is don't live in ANY foreign country without really good, reliable, reputable medical insurance no matter how fit, young, healthy, and strong you think you are, OR are wealthy enough to be able to pay cash.

Look at the young English lads who is now laying in a bed in LOS with an unpaid bill in excess of $150K Pounds if you need further evidences to do so.

Shrewd and timely selection of policy! May I ask whether you had any pre-existing conditions and/or were prescribed regular medication prior to taking out this policy? 

[HauptmannUK]

34 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

I am fortunate and can afford and have top level world coverage insurance (except for the insanely expensive and mad US medical system) in LOS and pay zero for any medical services beyond my premium payments.

I pay almost 6K AUD a year for my coverage, I'm 66.5, took coverage out at 57, and have till death coverage with no guaranteed exponential hike in premiums, although I expect increases as the years go by.

NOTE: All underwriters raise their premiums periodically over time as a matter of normal course to keep pace with costs, inflationary changes etc. around the globe. These are to be expected. 

 

I have claimed for glasses, some medicines, skin cancer treatments throughout each year every year for me including minor surgeries a few times a year, varicose vein surgery, colonoscopy, eye surgery.

Claimed for a ski fracture in continental Europe a while back and ALL these claims went without any hitches.

I am covered for anything and everything by underwriters that have a stellar reputation for paying immediately.

  

 

 

The seems good coverage at 66 Y.O. for AUS$6k a year. What company/policy is it?

[Pdavies99]

In the UK, any emergency illness would be immediately seen and treated.

 

As to costs, it depends on whether you state you have returned permanently to live in the UK, then no cost. 

 

Or as a UK visitor, potentially pay as you go!

[Don Chance]

I would go home for treatment or if that took too long i would go to India. I think India has the best doctors and prices, when you treat 1 billion people you tend to be on top of your game.

[scubascuba3]

10 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

I would go home for treatment or if that took too long i would go to India. I think India has the best doctors and prices, when you treat 1 billion people you tend to be on top of your game.

it's certainly worth a scouting mission to India, we just need someone to go 555

[wwest5829]

On 4/2/2023 at 10:46 PM, hotandsticky said:

 

 

If you were fit to fly.........................

True dat! Heart attack in 2015 ... plane was not an option.

[wwest5829]

USA, mixed results on the healthcare. On an )-A Visa for Retirement for over a decade. Retirement got me a BC/BS Seniors Policy that will pay up to $5K annually overseas. Required O-A Retirement with a 200K deductible and excluding pre-existing conditions meant that was basically an unusable tax to maintain my Extension. just switched to an O Visa Marriage. Same basically self insured but saved the unusable 11,500 baht annual insurance. Yes, if I can get on the plane Medicare is an option but ... co-pays? Deductibles? Just slip me a pill for a peaceful transition ...

[swm59nj]

That is why you need proper health insurance.  When  retired living in Bangkok I was fortunate enough that my health insurance from my previous job covered me.  And after age 65 covered me 100%.  If I didn’t have proper medical coverage I would have never considered moving here. 
You either would have to take your chances at a government hospital or fly home. 
 

[The Fugitive]

5 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

If I didn’t have proper medical coverage I would have never considered moving here. 
You either would have to take your chances at a government hospital or fly home. 

Hit the nail on the head! Many retirees lured by warmth, sea and lower cost of living etc. They hope it'll never happen.

[BritManToo]

29 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Hit the nail on the head! Many retirees lured by warmth, sea and lower cost of living etc. They hope it'll never happen.

Or maybe they don't really care if it happens or not?

I'd prefer 2 years of sun, sea and sex to 20 years of living alone in a cold, damp UK bedsit.

[LosLobo]

On 4/3/2023 at 4:00 PM, Lacessit said:

The public health system in Australia is a train wreck. My daughter-in-law has been waiting 6 months for an initial consultation for a bung knee with a specialist, she may be waiting another year for the actual surgery.

I have top level private health cover in Australia. I had a PET scan within two weeks of landing, free of charge. In Thailand, the cheapest quote I could find was USD 15,000.

Your opinions are way off the mark.

I had a PET PSMA scan which although I have top health cover in Oz I had to pay full price for!

[Yellowtail]

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Check the medical websites yourself. Perhaps they are the ones adding on the extra zero, I'm not.

 

 

Pet Scan Cost In Thailand | Pet Scan in Thailand (vaidam.com)

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, Don Chance said:

I would go home for treatment or if that took too long i would go to India. I think India has the best doctors and prices, when you treat 1 billion people you tend to be on top of your game.

The most of the best Indian doctors don't stay in India. 

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, swm59nj said:

You either would have to take your chances at a government hospital or fly home. 
 

If you have money or a credit card you can use any hospital you like. 

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

 

Pet Scan Cost In Thailand | Pet Scan in Thailand (vaidam.com)

https://us-uk.bookimed.com/clinics/country=thailand/procedure=pet-ct/