Terminate your policy tomorrow. Don't wait. Those numbers are stupid. Health care here is reasonable. And the medical mafia is obnoxious. Tell them to shove that policy where the sun don't shine and enjoy your life. 

 

 

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

I usually live in Myanmar and Laos, with very poor medical care.  I have medical insurance, but if I had a major accident or medical event, then I'd probably be dead long before decent medical care arrives.

 

I accept this situation.  I try to mitigate this by leading a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy foods, walking 5km every day, riding my motorbike slowly and wearing a crash helmet.  I had an ECG/heart stress test in Thailand a few months ago - everything was squeaky clean 🙂.  I try to have general bloodwork tests every 6 months.

 

In your situation, I would drop the medical insurance if you can't afford the premiums and it's stressing you out.  Visit your local government hospital and register with them now to minimise paperwork delays, should you need their medical help in the future.

 

This may come as a bit of a surprise , but at 75 years of age I have to say that for as long as I can remember I have had and still have a blood pressure thats within a normal range , Ive never really thought about my diet , just eating what ever I like. I have never been into physical activities apart from walking about. I am a bit overweight for my hight . I have a hospital blood test every 6 months , and the results have always generally been with in a normal range for some one of my age , apart for the last blood test which indicated a slight increase in my cholesterol . I have never been seriously sick or had an overnight hospital stay . Its a mystery to me as to why I seem to have been so lucky health wise , the only thing I can come up with is some sort of family genetics answer .

 

 

40 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Yeah dream on with that, if you expect gold to drop you should be more worried about pension funds collapsing next to the housing market and the stock market all in the same time. You think gold is up a lot? Maybe you forgot the USD supply doubled during covid alone. Bitcoin from that perspective in reality is still only at 50-60K today.

 

Your dream is almost perfect if you forget that all gold can be seized like Bitcoin.

You are naive if you are convinced that governments want to lose control of the currency.

This will never happen.

1 hour ago, Canoodler said:

 

This may come as a bit of a surprise , but at 75 years of age I have to say that for as long as I can remember I have had and still have a blood pressure thats within a normal range , Ive never really thought about my diet , just eating what ever I like. I have never been into physical activities apart from walking about. I am a bit overweight for my hight . I have a hospital blood test every 6 months , and the results have always generally been with in a normal range for some one of my age , apart for the last blood test which indicated a slight increase in my cholesterol . I have never been seriously sick or had an overnight hospital stay . Its a mystery to me as to why I seem to have been so lucky health wise , the only thing I can come up with is some sort of family genetics answer .

 

 

Yep same here.  I'm younger than you (66), but normal blood pressure, most other things normal , never had to take sick leave apart from a few days.  I'm of the attitude that I should get on with my life, try to stay healthy, and hope that when I die, it's quick and painless, 'cos I don't want to hang around in hospital...  If you know of a cure for mortality then I'm all ears 🙂

I use MTL via K Bank for my insurance and the policy covers me to age 90 with a much lower premium and good coverage.  There were no 'pre-existing conditions' either.  May be worth trying K Bank?

55 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Yep same here.  I'm younger than you (66), but normal blood pressure, most other things normal , never had to take sick leave apart from a few days.  I'm of the attitude that I should get on with my life, try to stay healthy, and hope that when I die, it's quick and painless, 'cos I don't want to hang around in hospital...  If you know of a cure for mortality then I'm all ears 🙂

 

When the time comes and the Grim Reaper comes knocking at my door , I will only have one last request. I want to pass away during the night after I have gone to sleep .So when my wife finds me laying there in the morning stone cold dead with a smile on my face , she may wonder why is he smiling..

 

My other concern is what is going to happen to me when I kick the bucket, is there an afterlife where I will be reborn a rich and hansom man , or will I just cease to exist . The one thing I’m sure about is that  after I have shed this mortal coil , at some point someone will speak my name for the very last time.
 

10 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I use MTL via K Bank for my insurance and the policy covers me to age 90 with a much lower premium and good coverage.  There were no 'pre-existing conditions' either.  May be worth trying K Bank?

Thanks for that , is K Bank insurance for health cover .

On 9/20/2025 at 10:33 AM, Dan O said:

health insurance cost here compared to the coverage you get is very expensive for the aged expat.

No, that's not true

5 hours ago, Kinnock said:

I use MTL via K Bank for my insurance and the policy covers me to age 90 with a much lower premium and good coverage.  There were no 'pre-existing conditions' either.  May be worth trying K Bank?

it may cover to age 90 but I doubt it can be newly issued at OP's age of 75.

6 hours ago, Canoodler said:

Thanks for that , is K Bank insurance for health cover .

Yes ..... it's basic life insurance with an 'Elite Health' additional policy.  I think the bank likes to add a finacial product on top of the MTL insurance to make some extra commission, but the life insurance costs was minimal.

47 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

it may cover to age 90 but I doubt it can be newly issued at OP's age of 75.

Probably .... but I took put the policy when I was over 60 - so worth a try.  

 

If they can offer a lower premium for similar cover, it may help?

11 hours ago, Canoodler said:

 

Ive just checked my Cigna policy paper work and its showing that its the Close Care option

 

If using a visa agent is too risky , the only other safer option I can see apart from self insuring , seems to be changing from my current retirement visa ( 800,000.00 Baht ) to the married visa option ( 400,000.00 Baht ) which would then make 400,000.00 Baht available to use.  The new Cigna monthly payment of 18,500.00 Baht , works out to 222,000,00 Baht per year , so in theory if I terminated my Cigna health insurance policy , I would be saving 222,000,00 Baht , which means that if I needed any inpatient medical hospital treatment , that saving of 222,000,00 Baht , could be used to pay for or in part for any inpatient medical hospital treatment required.

 

I’m still not 100% sure which course of action to take , I suppose I could just carry on paying the ever increasing Cigna health insurance monthly payments , over the coming years ,  until my savings of 2 Million Baht reaches a critical low point . 

 

I have had an email from Cigna about ways to reduce the monthly payment cost and this was their reply shown below 

 (Start)  This would change the renewal price 

 

£2000 deductible = £389.36 per month.

£5000 deductible = £345.15 per month.

£6650 deductible = £307.70 per month.

 

Converted to Thai Baht shown below 

 

 £2000 deductible ( 85,935.86 Thai Baht )

 

£5000 deductible ( 214,839.65 Thai Baht )

 

£6650 deductible ( 285, 736.73 Thai Baht )

 

There are 2 other options to reduce cost and that is how the premium is paid over the policy year. If you pay quarterly, it adds a 3% discount. And then if paid annually it’s a 10% discount. ( End ) 

All the above Cigna options don’t seem to make a great difference .

 

This whole Cigna health insurance / my financial situation is stressing me out to a point where its constantly playing on my mind. 
 

 

 

If my math is correct, the 2000 pound deductible will pay for itself if you average less than 1 claim each 4 years. Seems worth it, the higher deductibles, at your age, not. 

 

And the 10% savings by paying annually is also surely worth it.  Looks to me like you'd save at least 3K a month with those 2 measures, which, if you have been living on just 11K a month, would surely be a help.

 

I would also definitely change to extension on grounds of retirement, freeing up another 400 k. in savings. 

 

You seem to be thinking that you must either keep paying the premiums out of your monthly income, or pay it entirely from your savings, but surely the most sensible course would be a mixture of both. Figure out what you can reasonably live on, put the rest aside towards your annual insurance premium and make up the difference out of savings. If for example you can live on an average of 20k a month, then put 10k aside each month for 120k annually, and take the rest (about   another 60k if my math is right) from your savings each year, which at that point will be 2.4 million (400k saved by doing marriage rather than retirement extension).  60k a year from your savings will last a good while, even keeping in mind the need not to dip below 400k for visa purposes, have another 86k or so set aside for your deductible and then some safety margin.  Pick a minimum savings amount number that you are comfortable with , say 1 million, as the point at which to seriously rethink things.  That will still be  about more than 15  years hence. You may not even be alive then (aged 90 !), if you are, odds are that you will have had reason to be glad of the insurance in the interval and that will alter your thinking on this enormously. You are putting too much stock on past experience rather than what not only may, but almost surely does,  lie ahead.   Your state of health up to age 75, and your state of health from 75 onward, very, very different matters even in best case scenario.

 

The other option of course is to spend the full 30k each month, drop the insurance, and live knowing your savings (even the amount needed for visa purposes) could be wiped out at any time. Some people do exactly that, just assuming it just won't happen or deciding nto to worry until it does.  But someone who is fretting as much as you are now over this, doesn't seem like that sort of person. 

 

The other thing to consider is how you will feel about having to use only government hospitals for anything not very minor, with the 6 AM queueing, long waits, red tape,  crowds, care provided by medical students/interns  etc. etc. Bothers some people more than others.  Makes a difference to outcomes more in some situations than others. 

 

For me personally, the assurrance of being able to get the best available care, provided by experienced specialists of my choosing, and not having to worry about money when already stressed with a major illness or accident, is worth quite  lot.  I have had the experience of being at least as healthy as you are only to have a sudden major accident  (unpreventable by me) leading to over 600k in hospital bills.  And then to develop spinal problems (age related so actually long in the making but I had no idea, you don't until it reaches a certain tipping point and then the pain suddenly strikes) -- another close to 1 million in bills (2 separate surgeries - fully successful, I'm now fully active and pain free) etc. So I know firsthand that "past performance is not an indication of future returns".  And I have had a close friend who suddenly needed major cardiac surgery, the wait list at government hospitals was 6 months and he would nto have lived that long. 1.4 million bill at private hospital (with ultimately excellent outcome).  He, too, had "never been sick".  It happens and the older you are, the more likely it is to happen.

 

And in my years on this board, I have also seen a lot of foreigners having to repatriate  because medical bills wiped out their savings.  Not a good scenario. 

14 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Get up to speed, the agents aren't providing false documents for new expat accounts, they are simply greasing the wheels and is a much quicker process, of course the 800k in and out could be stopped one day but people have been saying that for 20 years

I am but you may not be. I clearly was speaking about agents falsifying the funds in an account to get the stamp. The OP stated thats what what he was thinking about doing to save the 800k and what I was addressing 

1 hour ago, Dan O said:

I am but you may not be. I clearly was speaking about agents falsifying the funds in an account to get the stamp. The OP stated thats what what he was thinking about doing to save the 800k and what I was addressing

No, you really weren't. The OP was contemplating switching from retirement to marriage to release 400,000 currently tied up. He then mentioned going the agent route for financials. You stated; 'Using an agent would be the last thing as banks are shutting down fake acct from scammers and the agent option will become difficult and potentially impossible in the future as those acct\documents are related.   In your situation I wouldnt gamble with agents providing false documents as if it stops you're behind as you cant produce the proper paperwork and could lose your permission to stay'.

I would certainly listen to Sheryl, she knows better than most of us what can be expected health wise as we get older.

 

Besides, if you are nervous now, think about how you would feel every time you sneeze if you drop your coverage.

On 9/20/2025 at 2:15 PM, NoDisplayName said:

 

Retirement IS possible to combine, although may depend on office.  Some may be problematic.

Does anybody know if Jomtien allows this?

19 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

No, you really weren't. The OP was contemplating switching from retirement to marriage to release 400,000 currently tied up. He then mentioned going the agent route for financials. You stated; 'Using an agent would be the last thing as banks are shutting down fake acct from scammers and the agent option will become difficult and potentially impossible in the future as those acct\documents are related.   In your situation I wouldnt gamble with agents providing false documents as if it stops you're behind as you cant produce the proper paperwork and could lose your permission to stay'.

I stand by what I wrote. Read the whole thread as I'm one of the people that originally suggested to switch from o retirement  at 800k to marriage and free up 400 k to him. He then mentioned using an agent for the funding. I then wrote the recommendation you quoted rather than use an agent. Try to keep up 

On 9/19/2025 at 11:59 PM, Canoodler said:

 

From what I understand if I return back to the UK and seek medical attention using the British NHS , to comply to access medical treatment , I may have to reside in the UK for a previous 6 months. The other thorn in my side would be locating accommodation in the UK ( all my family have passed away ) and paying for accommodation could be expensive 
 

Interesting that the UK has a time limit on this thing. For comparison I mention the following.  I am an American on Medicare still in the USA.  Medicare would be useless in Thailand.  I could stop Medicare if I moved to Thailand.  If I returned to the USA with the intention of starting Medicare again, the rules are a bit vague.  One agent says I could re start Medicare immediately upon returning to the USA but only if I had been out of the USA for 12 months.  Another agent said nothing about any waiting period or away period.  Also, a US citizen is charged a 10 % fee on the Medicare premiums for every year they do not start Medicare at the mandatory age of 65.  It is not clear, but I assume they would also be charged 10% for each year they did not have Medicare even if they had originally started it, then stopped it.  

There are solutions.

If your health is stable and you are not using the health coverage, treat it as a catastrophic care plan, an option that will respond if you suffer a terrible injury that is expensive to treat. This means considering a deductible. If you cancel your coverage you will be self insured. Well, if you go to a high deductible option, it will be like being self insured but having an option that will keep you from losing your life savings if seriously ill. Talk to your insurer about a 100,000 + baht deductible option. They exist.

Your agent may not  be happy and may say it does not exist because agent commission is reduced, but insurers can and will offer high deductibles. It's a win win for everyone.

Having health insurance helps you too.  You won't be a financial burden to your wife. Hospitals also charge health insurers less because there are agreed upon rates and discounts offered. Also, the health insurer looks at the hospital charges and often catches billing errors or over charges. My  feeling is that Hospitals treat uninsured and insured patients differently. Sometimes the uninsured patients who are not wealthy are neglected because the hospital does not want to incur costs that it feels may not be paid.

 

Do not listen to those telling you to cancel coverage. They will not be there to pay for your healthcare when a tragedy arises, 

Keep the coverage as long as you can, but manage it like an asset. 

 

In respect to your savings, don't leave it in a low interest  savings account. As others have pointed out, there are safe bank investments. A fixed term investment will pay a much higher interest rate. If you lock in for a year, the rate is even high. You can  put a portion aside into a cashable bank investment so that you have access to funds if you have an emergency. leave the high interest schemes alone. At your age, you want a guaranteed access to the money, and that means a Guaranteed Investment certificate from the bank.

 

 

On 9/22/2025 at 2:02 AM, Dan O said:

I stand by what I wrote. Read the whole thread as I'm one of the people that originally suggested to switch from o retirement  at 800k to marriage and free up 400 k to him. He then mentioned using an agent for the funding. I then wrote the recommendation you quoted rather than use an agent. Try to keep up

You are confused. What have banks closing accounts got to do with what we are discussing? There would be no 'fake account by a scammer' or 'agents providing false documents'. Therefore, why do you scaremonger with 'lose permission to stay?' Your statements are irrelevant and, as regards agents satisfying funding requirements, incorrect.

On 9/21/2025 at 7:51 AM, Canoodler said:

If only I could turn back the clock and do things differently .

 

well,  if you do get reborn ............. listen to what rumak said ten years ago,  and few times since ( only to get the usual bashing about how stupid it is to "self insure" ) .

Always increasing premiums....... more exemptions...... not to mention the STRESS of getting them to pay out .  

I have saved a few million baht by putting those "premiums"  into my bank account over the last 20 years .  Being active, not fat, and eating real food is all it takes for many people to stay healthy .       I also stay off the many meds that allopathic doctors want to get you on . 

Its always the ones that are constantly sick that tell me how lucky they are to have a great doctor and pills for all that ails. 

 

 

3 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

You are confused. What have banks closing accounts got to do with what we are discussing? There would be no 'fake account by a scammer' or 'agents providing false documents'. Therefore, why do you scaremonger with 'lose permission to stay?' Your statements are irrelevant and, as regards agents satisfying funding requirements, incorrect.

it a known fact the BOT is pressing banks to shut down scam, fake and mule accounts. You see it in the news every week, now almost every day with account being locked. If you use an agent to provide the money to meet permission to stay requirements that is a fake account transaction with faked documents. Those are getting caught in the same net as mule accounts and agents are becoming impacted. If Imm discovers that YOU used faked documents, then you can not renew permission to stay and lose because YOU dont meet the requirements of money in your account for the correct period of time. My statements are correct and until you can prove otherwise there is no reason to think otherwise.  use your brain dude

5 minutes ago, Dan O said:

it a known fact the BOT is pressing banks to shut down scam, fake and mule accounts. You see it in the news every week, now almost every day with account being locked. If you use an agent to provide the money to meet permission to stay requirements that is a fake account transaction with faked documents. Those are getting caught in the same net as mule accounts and agents are becoming impacted. If Imm discovers that YOU used faked documents, then you can not renew permission to stay and lose because YOU dont meet the requirements of money in your account for the correct period of time. My statements are correct and until you can prove otherwise there is no reason to think otherwise.  use your brain dude

You are full of BS, are you aware Immigration fully understand the documents provided by agents and their source? and the same person usually signs them off? maybe you are new in Thailand

12 hours ago, rumak said:

Being active, not fat, and eating real food is all it takes for many people to stay healthy

 

You are self insured?

It does take a fair amount of discipline to stay healthy, which most people don't have.

You can't be in the bars drinking every day. Daily alcohol alone will cause problems.

 

 

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You are full of BS, are you aware Immigration fully understand the documents provided by agents and their source? and the same person usually signs them off? maybe you are new in Thailand

 

 

There are too many fingers in that particular pie for anything to seriously change.

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

 

You are self insured?

It does take a fair amount of discipline to stay healthy, which most people don't have.

You can't be in the bars drinking every day. Daily alcohol alone will cause problems.

 

 

Self control should be taught at school, so many people don't have it

1 minute ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

There are too many fingers in that particular pie for anything to seriously change.

Maybe, maybe not, the net seems to be closing in on money laundering and the banking system is tightening up, it may just stop one day

10 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Self control should be taught at school, so many people don't have it

 

AN is a school of sorts.

It's being taught now. 

 

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

 

AN is a school of sorts.

It's being taught now. 

 

You won't learn self control on here

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

Maybe, maybe not, the net seems to be closing in on money laundering and the banking system is tightening up, it may just stop one day

 

 

Personally I doubt it. Some of those fingers are from high up the ladder.

 

 

.....and there are few better places than Thailand for finding a work-round of pesky rules/laws.