Thai Restaurant Owner in Sweden Gets Partial Refund from Hospital After High Medical Bill

[webfact]

 

The hospital agrees to refund 100,000 Baht to the Thai restaurant owner in Sweden after an unexpected fever led to a staggering medical bill of 249,704 Baht.

 

The owner, Ms. Jamlong Nilakorn, 66 years old, fell ill with a severe flu and spent four days at a hospital in Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi province, Thailand. Bewildered by the exorbitant bill, she initially paid more than 200,000 Baht using international credit cards, reported Daily News.

 

On December 5, the news received a complaint about the perceived injustice. After four days, on December 6, hospital authorities contacted Ms. Nilakorn again. A 30-minute discussion ensued at the hospital, resulting in a satisfactory resolution.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

The hospital refunded 100,000 Baht, acknowledging errors on both sides—Ms. Nilakorn's failure to provide passport details for treatment and the hospital's failure to inquire.

 

The refunded amount was additional to the initial contact from the hospital. Ms. Nilakorn, now more understanding, expresses gratitude and vows to stay healthy to avoid future complications upon returning to Thailand. Many thanks to the hospital for their cooperation.

 

Top Picture: Daily News

 

-- ASEAN NOW 2023-12-07

 

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[webfact]

Thai woman mistaken for foreigner and charged 100,000 baht more by hospital
by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via DailyNews

 

A Thai woman asked a hospital located in the Pak Kret district of Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, to explain a 250,000 baht bill related to her four-day medical treatment. The hospital later returned 100,000 baht, acknowledging it had mistaken her for a foreigner.

 

The woman in question was 66 year old Jamlong Ninlakorn, the owner of a Thai restaurant in Sweden. She recently returned to Thailand to visit her son in Nonthaburi province. While in Thailand, she contracted influenza B, leading to her hospitalisation in the Pak Kret district from November 29 to December 2.

 

On her last day, she was charged 249,704 baht for treatment and four days in hospital. Jamlong settled the bill using her credit card but subsequently engaged in a discussion with her family due to concerns about the perceived high cost. According to the receipt shared by Jamlong with the public, each item on the list was articulated in technical terms that proved challenging for her and others lacking profound medical knowledge to comprehend.

All her family and friends advised her to contact the Consumer Protection Bureau, and the authorities agreed that the cost was too high. However, the authorities suggested she speak to the hospital first. If she could not reach an agreement with the hospital, the authorities would take legal steps to investigate the matter.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-12-07

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[Celsius]

I know the subject matrer is laughable and about "other" issue, but every mug who thinks healthcare in Thailand is reasonably priced needs to read this by clicking the link in the article

 

“I opened a restaurant in the US before I moved to Sweden to open another one. I have been treated and stayed in hospitals in both countries but the bills were never this high. I want the hospital to know why it is so expensive. I am willing to accept the price if the explanation is reasonable.”

[Gottfrid]

Squeezing the cream out of the foreigner. Welcome to Thailand!

[2baht]

Let's not beat about the bush, Xenophobic racists!

 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by 2baht

[rbkk]

So, visiting her country of birth and using that countries health service? I know that's a no-no for the UK's NHS. (Have to wait 3 years for returning residents.)

[Liverpool Lou]

2 minutes ago, rbkk said:

So, visiting her country of birth and using that countries health service?

Clearly. she didn't use Thailand's gold card B30 health service for their nationals.

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, rbkk said:

So, visiting her country of birth and using that countries health service? I know that's a no-no for the UK's NHS. (Have to wait 3 years for returning residents.)

Obviously if charged she was not using free health care - anyone can use public hospitals on a paying basis.  She was treated to the officially allowed foreigner charge for hospital service it seems - although there does not seem to be any mention of this being a government hospital in report.

[smedly]

9 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Have to wait 3 years for returning residents

not sure that is correct, if you are ordinarily resident (6 months) you can resume free NHS Healthcare, there are exceptions if you worked in the forces or police etc you never loose free treatment, and they seldom check anyway 

 

 

[rbkk]

3 minutes ago, smedly said:

15 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Have to wait 3 years for returning residents

not sure that is correct, if you are ordinarily resident (6 months) you can resume free NHS Healthcare, there are exceptions if you worked in the forces or police etc you never loose free treatment, and they seldom check anyway 

 

I  was under the assumption that if you were out of the country (UK) for over 6 months you cannot return to a free NHS. This was to stop the expats returning (after a cancer diagnosis, for example). You can use, but must pay a fee. This change to the NHS policy was since I arrived 20+ years ago. People previously would hop on a flight or have procedures done whilst on a holiday return visit to see family. The Thai lady in the article checked in to the private hospital with a foreign passport and paid using an overseas credit card. Why does she feel she has a right to the "Thai Price"? It appears to me that she is a Thai expatriate who is based overseas now; not paying Thai taxes. 

[smedly]

15 minutes ago, rbkk said:

I  was under the assumption that if you were out of the country (UK) for over 6 months you cannot return to a free NHS

ordinarily resident is living in the UK for 6 months - not ordinarily resident is out of the country for 6 months, exceptions exist like i mentioned above, they rarely check anything as they have no means to do so, if you have a NI number and a UK address then you are good to go

[steven100]

Lets call a spade a spade ..... 

 

they tried to rip her off because they thought she was a foreigner 

[NorthernRyland]

250k for 4 days in a hospital with a fever? What possible justification could there be for this? Event if you take off the 100k it's still a crazy price right?

[captnhoy]

Was she overheard to say "Thank You Buddha! I am NOT a foreigner!"

[Smokey and the Bandit]

9 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Lets call a spade a spade ..... 

 

they tried to rip her off because they thought she was a foreigner 

Yes, it seems all the private hospitals do this and its quite legal??

AMAZING THAILAND!!

[Straight8]

11 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Lets call a spade a spade ..... 

 

they tried to rip her off because they thought she was a foreigner 

Actually, they did rip her off, but not by as much if she was a foreigner

 

We really do get special treatment here.

 

[Card]

1 hour ago, rbkk said:

So, visiting her country of birth and using that countries health service? I know that's a no-no for the UK's NHS. (Have to wait 3 years for returning residents.)

Not true. You only need to provide proof you are returning to become a resident.

[nickmondo]

Oh come on.

the whole story is ridiculous

i know Thais are whimps regarding health issues, ie, go to hospital if they cough twice in a day...........but into hospital for a fever?  And a bill that size even if they did think she was foreign?

Absolute rubbish in my opinion.

 

[TheFishman1]

So, for sure foreigners pay twice as much as ties for hospital visits in a private hospital. TIT.

[kennw]

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

Squeezing the cream out of the foreigner. Welcome to Thailand!

Some time ago I asked a major hospital on Sukhumvit for an indicative price for an appendix operation, the answer, "Its up to the doctor" and you know what that means. TIT

[RedRoadRunner]

1 hour ago, rbkk said:

So, visiting her country of birth and using that countries health service? I know that's a no-no for the UK's NHS. (Have to wait 3 years for returning residents.)

No understand no huh ?

[Xonax]

That is a ridiculous amount for 4 days of hospitalization. I guess that half of it was useless medicine she was prescribed to take. What is the name of that hospital?

She should have been treated as a foreign resident and pay the bill, if she decided not to buy travel insurance ! Foreign expats in Thailand can not get free healthcare, if they travel back to our native country to visit friends and family.
 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Xonax

[Guderian]

As of 1st January next year, when we evil foreigners all have to start paying Thai income tax on our pensions and savings, I'm sure we'll get full access to the Thai 30 Baht medical care scheme!

[prakhonchai nick]

Some years ago, my dual nationaity daughter spent a night in a well know Pattaya hospital following a minor motorbike accident. No surgery, no x rays, just overnight monitoring. When I received the ridiculously high bill  the following morning, i took it up with the hospital management.  Same story  farang price!  When I produced her ID card , the bill was cut down to 30% of the original price

[mfd101]

So she's a Thai woman, Thai nationality, speaking (I assume) fluent Thai (which almost no non-Thais ever manage) ... and they thought she was a foreigner?

 

Doesn't make sense.

[sikishrory]

Shame move forward didn't get in and end the bulls**t code of silence surrounding things like this. Which hospital???

Edited December 7, 2023 by sikishrory

[charleskerins]

36 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

250k for 4 days in a hospital with a fever? What possible justification could there be for this? Event if you take off the 100k it's still a crazy price right?

7,000 USD for 4 days in a hospital is a bargain in the United States add another zero or two.

[peterpaintpot]

I am retired and have been a resident in Thailand for 17 years. In the Uk the last time I was in a hospita before I lived in Thailand I was 9 years old. During the 17 years here in Thailand I have often visited my family in the UK and twice I have been admitted to a National Health Service hospital, have been well treated and not paid any charges for my treatment.

The rules then were as a person that was registered with the NHS was allowed free treatment whilst on holiday in the UK, unless it was a medical situation that had been identified before making a trip back to the UK.

I think that rule is still used, but if you are interested you should check, maybe info available from the Bangkok Embassy.

[Jonathan Swift]

2 hours ago, Celsius said:

I know the subject matrer is laughable and about "other" issue, but every mug who thinks healthcare in Thailand is reasonably priced needs to read this by clicking the link in the article

 

“I opened a restaurant in the US before I moved to Sweden to open another one. I have been treated and stayed in hospitals in both countries but the bills were never this high. I want the hospital to know why it is so expensive. I am willing to accept the price if the explanation is reasonable.”

I'm one of those mugs. I've read the comments from all you whiners and complainers. I've been here 10 years. I have never paid more than $300 for any hospital care including emergency treatments, albeit they were all outpatient. They were all at Phaya Thai 1 hospital. I've also had satisfactory dental treatments. The only time I've paid more was for dental implants, which were still less than 1/3 of what they cost in the US. And I don't care nor am I the least concerned about Thai people paying less. It's their country, they are generally less well off than we are, and it really doesn't affect ANYONE'S quality of life. But don't let me stop anyone from complaining, I realize that the biggest reason you came here was for fresh new topics to complain about because you got sick of the same old subjects in your home countries, where complaining and arguing is a national contact sport on the level of football. Wahhhh. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Jonathan Swift

[Celsius]

1 minute ago, Jonathan Swift said:

I'm one of those mugs. I've read the comments from all you whiners and complainers. I've been here 10 years. I have never paid more than $300 for any hospital care including emergency treatments, albeit they were all outpatient. They were all at Phaya Thai 1 hospital. I've also had satisfactory dental treatments. The only time I've paid more was for dental implants, which were still less than 1/3 of what they cost in the US. But don't let me stop anyone from complaining, I realize that the biggest reason you came here was for fresh new topics to complain about because you got sick of the same old subjects in your home countries, where complaining and arguing is a national contact sport on the level of football. Wahhhh. 

 

Yes. You are a mug.