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Thailand’s Medical Insurance Rules Confuse Tourists


webfact

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10 hours ago, webfact said:

Under the impression that the Thai government offered free medical treatment to foreigners

Not sure what gave him this impression as I have not seen it advertised anywhere. The UK and the EU may give free treatment to emergency cases but those are exceptions.

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1 hour ago, ChrisKC said:

The first reason for wearing a helmet is not because of the law.

 

it is the responsibility of the rider to protect against the possibility of a serious accident involving his head!!

 

Sure, but in this post the insurance was important and the reason why they didn't pay. Ok?

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8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

300,000bht seems a little expensive for a broken arm and some cuts.

Not really. I just finished paying a Phuket hospital 4,500 for a doctor to look at an ingrown toenail and show me how to apply a tape to pull the skin away from the toenail.  This was a non-emergency dermatologist with me having made an appointment.  I now expect a broken arm treated in Phuket should be around 1m baht, without pain medication.  

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Everyone is missing the point of this topic. It's not an insurance company that will not pay out its the

 

 "Thai government does provide coverage under the Health Insurance for Non-Thais (HINT) scheme".

 

I have no idea what this is, anyone?

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11 hours ago, webfact said:

Though the Thai government does provide coverage under the Health Insurance for Non-Thais (HINT) scheme, specifics seem to elude many.

What is this HINT. Never heard about it. Can one apply?

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49 minutes ago, jimn said:

Everyone is missing the point of this topic. It's not an insurance company that will not pay out its the

 

 "Thai government does provide coverage under the Health Insurance for Non-Thais (HINT) scheme".

 

I have no idea what this is, anyone?

 

It is for stateless people and ethnic minorities (think hill tribes) who live in Thailand but aren't considered Thai citizens.

 

https://washingtondc.thaiembassy.org/en/content/thailand-extends-health-coverage-to-non-citizens

Edited by Etaoin Shrdlu
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Let's be clear, this "insurance cover" was implemented by the Thai Government, and most likely forced upon the Insurance Companies, I think it is just a money making scam and truly not designed to assist tourists in need, rather a pocket filler!

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44 minutes ago, kuzmabruk said:

Not really. I just finished paying a Phuket hospital 4,500 for a doctor to look at an ingrown toenail and show me how to apply a tape to pull the skin away from the toenail.  This was a non-emergency dermatologist with me having made an appointment.  I now expect a broken arm treated in Phuket should be around 1m baht, without pain medication.  

What Currency? Lao Kip, Myanmar Kyat or Bangladeshi Taka. Broken arm treatment 1 million what.....don't tell fairy tales here. I paid 89k Baht for that on Samui last year, joker......

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No helmet and I bet no license to ride a scooter or motor bike these two items should be the number one priority of the owner of the rental company and if the renter cannot fulfil the requirement then he should not of been allowed to hire the machine !

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Just as the Swiss, the French or the Germans are often over insured with multiple coverages....many other nationals do not have any coverage at all for accidents or illness.

 

It's a rule of the thumb that you must have proper coverage from your home country in the first place.

 

At worst, for the broke Sports Pub blokes from Birmingham or Manchester, there are specific insurance coverages for travel that cover illness/accident for a few months. The UK social healthcare system with the American system are one of the worse coverages in the world, where only the rich can affort proper healthcare. It is due to such people that all falangs get a bad image in Thailand and rules worsed from day to day. Wish him a prompt recovery nevertheless and sorry for his mishap.

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9 hours ago, quake said:

Shock , Horror, Amazement.

Oh, hold on it's an insurance company.

Calm down, Clam down, situation normal, all round the world. :coffee1:

 

Just the normal Insurance Scam, Look and Find Any Excuse Not yo pay out a claim.

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Some time ago I needed surgery to remove a plate and screws from my wrist.
Went to a large (private) hospital. Was talking to the "finance" people. Lady made a call to find out what all would be needed.
Cost of operation - check.
3 nights in hospital (day before, day of, day after) - 500 baht/day - check.
This, that and the other thing - check.

Then as I watched, she crossed out the 500/day and wrote in 5,000/day ! The max amount my insurance covers per day of stay.
The 500/day was the "Thai" rate - when paying cash. She then amended some of the other "standard" prices.
Total cost for the operation - 180,000 baht.

I went to another private hospital. Smaller than the first one, but the rooms seemed just as good and the staff seemed just as competent.
And they charged me 90,000 baht for the SAME operation.

Yeah, my insurance covers it - and then guess what happens ? My rates go UP as the insurance company tries to recoup the money they had to shell out - even if I've given them twice that amount in premiums over the previous years. Awesome. You get screwed coming here, get screwed at the hospital and then get screwed again because you used the insurance you paid through the nose for.

Remember the story about what, 6-8 months ago about the Thai woman who went to the media to complain because she thought her hospital bill was too high ?
The hospital ADMITTED they overcharged her - because they thought she was SWISS, not Thai !

And then they agreed to knock 100,000 baht off her bill !!

The gov't claims to want tourists to come here - and then outright discriminates against them, treats them like crap and tries to gouge them at every turn. 

If this was South Africa the world would be shunning them and their racist policies. But because the "West" wants Thailand to stay "friendly" so they turn a blind eye to it.


 

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