Are hospitals required by law to provide cost estimate to patients before surgery ?

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, shackleton said:

If your insurance company  is paying not a problem 

Usually has to be cleared first with them and the hospital ???? 

Unless a emergency 

If you are personally paying I would have asked first who knows what they could charge ????

What they charge and what they get are two different things.

[gt162]

4 hours ago, nickmondo said:

to say you got ripped off is an understatement

3 weeks ago i had inguinal hernia repair at Hua Hin Government hospital.

I was in for 2 nights, VIP single room, food, meds, nurses, everything...........19,000 baht.

I had open repair.

I shopped around big time before choosing which hospital

all the private hospitals would give me an estimation, then ask me to sign a disclaimer stating, but if this, but if that.........etc..........i walked away each time......could see through them easily.

nearest quote i could get was 100k, but if, bla bla bla

 

Since you shopped around, how much private hospitals such as San Paulo and Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin wanted?

Edited October 14, 2023 by gt162

[CMBob]

1 hour ago, keithkarmann said:

Is it too much to ask you how much you paid for the hernia op?

Nope.  Sent by PM.

 

[ujayujay]

On 10/13/2023 at 11:10 AM, Searat7 said:

I recently had a very bad experience at a private hospital in Bangkok. I needed laparoscopic surgery to repair a hernia and a small adjacent area. The nurse assured me I would receive estimate in advance but this did not happen. The morning after surgery ( I got back to my room at 2 am) 2 people arrived and told me I needed to sign estimate which I did because I was under influence of morphine. The amount was over 600,000 b and I had no choice but to pay to get out of there. Three weeks ago I met with a manager who told me she would look into my claim ( I want 50% back) but it would take time to investigate and go before a committee. This experience would never happen to a Thai person. Is it a law here that hospital must get patient to sign off on cost estimate IN ADVANCE ?

Obviously you are not Thai, so you dont go under the Thai health care scheme! So it is common practice to have to confirm a cost estimate! Without this there is no treatment! I'm guessing you don't have health insurance, am I right? It would have been smarter to get some estimates first! I always had a good ride with the Government Hospital!

Edited October 14, 2023 by ujayujay

[Gottfrid]

4 hours ago, kennw said:

I asked a major private hospital one time for an estimate of cost for appendix operation, the nurse took 20 mins to come back to me with the answer, "it is up to the doctor" 

Of course it is. Look again at what you replied to. You do not find any little bit of sarcasm in that post?

[cracker1]

I can't imagine why the should ?

No reason you should not ask for a quote though.

[ujayujay]

On 10/13/2023 at 11:40 AM, terryq said:

On what basis do you allege this?

 

Some private hospitals will try to rip off anybody Thai of Foreign. Plenty of reports.

 

 

lm sure, you have a link to this rip off reports

[TimeMachine]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

Even if it was an emergency?

Yep , but I do extrapolate. Years ago, news article stated an ambulance was sent away and guy died on the way to another hospital. But it's not debatable. The hospital is setup as a money making machine which is why public hospitals should only exist. But we could debate this morality all day. Humans suck basically.

[Mike Lister]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

Even if it was an emergency?

No, thats bar stool gossip!

 

Google the newspaper that may not be quoted, google "hospitals must treat emergencies without cost".

 

 

[Mike Lister]

4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I have an estimate of 200k/300k to remove a cancerous thyroid, at Bangkok hospital, I also have an option to have it done at Suan Dok/Maharaj but I don't have a figure for that yet. The surgeon works out of Sriphat which is the semi private arm of Suan Dok, can anyone confirm whether the Suan Dok option is definitely cheaper?

bump....

 

@Sheryl Are you able to provide guidance on this?

[Sheryl]

19 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

bump....

 

@Sheryl Are you able to provide guidance on this?

Suan Dok is just the informal term for the general area of the city which includes  both Sripat and Maharaj Nakorn, the government hospital. Actually Sripath is a sort of private wing of Maharaj.

 

Surgery at Maharaj Nakhorn itself would be less expensive but there might be a long wait and you would probably not be able to choose your doctor..and the actual surgery might be done by a resident in training.

 

 

[Mike Lister]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Suan Dok is just the informal term for the general area of the city which includes  both Sripat and Maharaj Nakorn, the government hospital. Actaully Sripath is a sort of provate woing of Maharaj.

 

Surgery at Maharaj Nakhorn itself would be less expensive but there might be a long wait and you would probably not be able to choose your doctor..and the actual surgery might be done by a resident in training.

 

 

Yes, the large downtown hospital is actually called Maharaj which is located near to Suan Dok Gate on the moat, for many years it was known as Suan Dok as a result. Both Maharaj and Sriphat are on the CMU campus and yes again, Sriphat is the private wing. Sriphat relies on Maharaj for many of its diagnostic facilities. The rooms at Sriphat are much more modern and appealing than at Maharaj but the English speaking reception and customer handling part of Sriphat is what most foreigners will find appealing. It is not clear to me whether Sriphat has its own operating theatres etc but since it has its own ICU CCU, presumably it does. My options must therefore be, Sriphat or Maharaj with the latter presumably being somewhat cheaper because of room cost etc.

 

Nakorn Ping is the government District hospital which is located some way out of the town to the North, this is not an option for me. 

[kingstonkid]

On 10/13/2023 at 11:10 AM, Searat7 said:

I recently had a very bad experience at a private hospital in Bangkok. I needed laparoscopic surgery to repair a hernia and a small adjacent area. The nurse assured me I would receive estimate in advance but this did not happen. The morning after surgery ( I got back to my room at 2 am) 2 people arrived and told me I needed to sign estimate which I did because I was under influence of morphine. The amount was over 600,000 b and I had no choice but to pay to get out of there. Three weeks ago I met with a manager who told me she would look into my claim ( I want 50% back) but it would take time to investigate and go before a committee. This experience would never happen to a Thai person. Is it a law here that hospital must get patient to sign off on cost estimate IN ADVANCE ?

I deal with 2 different hospitals 1 is 5 star in Bangkok near St Joe's school.  The other in the lower tier in Pathum Thani.  In both cases, I have been provided full estimates before being admitted or getting any "expensive" treatment.  They are both aware that I have insurance that reimburses me so I have to ensure authorization.  I have also seen the hospitals provide the same administrative service to other patients.

 

Even when I was n emergency they wanted to make sure that my CC or wallet could cover the charges.

 

[Cardinalblue1958]

That’s 50% more than my brain transplant 

[Paris333]

Laparoscopic surgery in women is much cheaper in Greece if you are treated in a private clinic.You can see the official list of charges where the first column is the cost in public hospitals and the second in private hospitals. Doctors in Thailand overcharge. 

Source: (page2)

INVOICE OF THE GYNAECOLOGICAL SECTOR

https://www.asklipios-clinic.gr/pdf/timokatalogos.pdf

The new Thai Prime Minister we hope will correct the kleptocracy of medical care in Thailand for foreigners from Europe and America.

 

[Deserted]

On 10/13/2023 at 6:23 AM, Gottfrid said:

Yes, especially when they have to wake up an unconscious one and ask them if they agree ????

Yes, and if you die during an operation or in the hospital bed thereafter, just to get out of paying, they will beat the crap out of you whilst you are dead.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Deserted