Health Insurance - Prerequisites In Thailand?

[phormio]

My family(wife and daughter included) are emigrating to Thailand in December and we wanted to find out how health insurance is regulated in Thailand.

If we wanted to buy health insurance, is a physical exam required?

What are legal limitations on refusing to insure based on preexisting conditions?

If one gets sick, is the insurance company permitted to deny you coverage later?

In the US if you have coverage and you move to a new company, the new company cannot deny you coverage if your new coverage starts within 60 days of your old coverage ending. There are other regulations of health insurance companies and policies. What's in like in Thailand with regard to these

types of issues?

Thanks for your comments.

[taxexile]

most health insurance policies have a two year moratorium on pre existing conditions.

check the websites for sun alliance thailand and bupa.

physical exam not usually required but you have to declare any health problems you have had .

[Sulaphat]

Most health insurance policies issued in Thailand for individuals and families will exclude pre-existing conditions. There are no Thai domiciled insurance companies, to my knowledge, that will waive the pre-existing condition exclusion for persons changing insurers. Few, if any, will cover pre-existing conditions after a waiting period.

Local health insurers do not normally require medical exams. You will be required to complete a questionnaire in which you will be asked to disclose prior conditions and treatments. Failure to provide full disclosure gives insurers the right to void coverage. There are no legal limitations on refusing to insure someone on underwriting grounds, such as age and current health status.

Since insurance policies are issued on an annual basis, insurers may refuse to renew the policy at its anniversary date. It would be unlikely that they would cancel coverage mid-term unless for non-payment of premium or non-disclosure.

Compared with western countries, Thailand has relatively few protections for consumers when it comes to insurance, so selecting a reputable insurer is very important.

Coverage is also limited to illnesses and accidents (as opposed to medically necessary treatment as is customary in the US). This means no cover for elective treatments, fertility treatment, treatment of congenital defects, etc.

[ProThaiExpat]

The big difficulty you will face here in Thailand, in my view, regarding health insurance, is to imagine yourself in the Wild West at the turn of the century. Regulations, even if present, are virtually unenforceable by a farang.

International companies, in making difficult coverage questions, are governed in part by the legal climate in the country in question.

Those who have posted in this forum regarding health insurance have not suffered anything near a very serious injury, although I think there was a heart by-pass report, but insurance wasn't discussed.

I am self insured, as the only inusrance company who would insure someone over 60 (SunAlliance) said no insurance over 70. It is so easy to deny coverage due to a pre-esisting condition, that you are at their mercy in Thailand.

Example: Heart attack, any arteroclerosis, of course, everyone has some, pre-existing condition, deny. Etc.

If you and your family are reasonably healthy, you may explore the premiums that are being asked and then see how much you would be able to accumulate in a health savings account over a year to cover medical expenses here in Thailand. which are very reasonable, by paying the asked premium into your health account.

In my case, they wanted 12kBaht a month. In the last three years since my arrival in Thailand, I have saved 432K and with a private room rate of 900 Baht a day and a heart bypass costing under 200K, I think I am in good shape. My projection is that serious illnes will not hit me for another five to ten years and then I will have accumulated more than a million baht to cover that expense. Of course, I have no choice, so the decision was easy. Keep in mind that insurance is sold on the fear factor.

As for healthy kids, a broken arm wouldn't cost more than 10k Baht with followup treatment from an Orthopod, in my view.

You might check with Brumregard(sp) Hospital, they may have a pre-paid plan that might work for you.

[phormio]

Thanks for the information,

it really helps.