Bangkok Pattaya Hospital

[Michigan]

Hello,

Last March I was admitted to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for food poisoning.

Arrived Friday evening and was discharged Monday afternoon after four pm.

The room was absolutely fabulous and I haven't seen anything like it in Canada or in the USA.

Flat screen TV, refrigerator, Microwave, safe, couch, breakfast nook and a great view.....

My wife spend a month at the University of Michigan Hospital and her room couldn't even compare and at times she had to share with another patient.

The Nurses at BPH were very professional, maybe even a little too professional as they weren't too friendly, but maybe that's the way they were expected to behave !

Food was excellent, no complains there either !

The only problem I encountered was with the payment of the services.

I had to guarantee the hospital bill with my credit card otherwise I might still be there. (grin)

Total cost for my 3 day stay was $ 1600,00 which is really inexpensive if you compare it with US hospital prices.

My wife just got her insurance hospital bill for her stay at the U of M hospital which was $ 225.000,00

The Insurance company was really slow paying BPH, so BPH charged my credit card the 1600,00 which send my debit card in the red a couple of times <G>

Lesson learned: do not just take debit cards with you; take at least 1 regular credit card with a high limit !

Question:

I understand that not everybody has a US health Insurer and I also understand that not everybody ends up at the tenth floor at BPH, so what kind insurance is available in Pattaya for health care, what does it cost, and what kind of care can you expect from it ?

What hospital do regular Thai people attend ?

I have read about an insurance that you have to start before you are 59 and was wondering if it would make sense for me to consider it.

Kind regards,

Nick from Michigan

[Smile4u]

Hello,

Last March I was admitted to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for food poisoning.

Arrived Friday evening and was discharged Monday afternoon after four pm.

The room was absolutely fabulous and I haven't seen anything like it in Canada or in the USA.

Flat screen TV, refrigerator, Microwave, safe, couch, breakfast nook and a great view.....

My wife spend a month at the University of Michigan Hospital and her room couldn't even compare and at times she had to share with another patient.

The Nurses at BPH were very professional, maybe even a little too professional as they weren't too friendly, but maybe that's the way they were expected to behave !

Food was excellent, no complains there either !

The only problem I encountered was with the payment of the services.

I had to guarantee the hospital bill with my credit card otherwise I might still be there. (grin)

Total cost for my 3 day stay was $ 1600,00 which is really inexpensive if you compare it with US hospital prices.

My wife just got her insurance hospital bill for her stay at the U of M hospital which was $ 225.000,00

The Insurance company was really slow paying BPH, so BPH charged my credit card the 1600,00 which send my debit card in the red a couple of times <G>

Lesson learned: do not just take debit cards with you; take at least 1 regular credit card with a high limit !

Question:

I understand that not everybody has a US health Insurer and I also understand that not everybody ends up at the tenth floor at BPH, so what kind insurance is available in Pattaya for health care, what does it cost, and what kind of care can you expect from it ?

What hospital do regular Thai people attend ?

I have read about an insurance that you have to start before you are 59 and was wondering if it would make sense for me to consider it.

Kind regards,

Nick from Michigan

Search for bupa thailand and you can see example of different coverage.

They have short time insurance plans for 1-6 months too, i think the name was "sun care" or similar. And their office in Pattaya is just before BPH, near intersection Sukhumvit/ Pattaya Nua.

Yearly premium (dont know your age or what coverage you want) from USD 400 - USD 1.500 +

Thais go to Banglamung hospital, you and I wouldnt survive one night there, Have good doctors there, but share room with 4-8 people, no aircon, lack of nurses, 20 's of family visiting etc. You get the idea.

Many expats use army hopital in Sattahip, much cheaper than BPH.

Search the "health, body and medicine" forum here, many good advice and all kind of experiences.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Smile4u

[longball53098]

For insurance needs check out Thaivisa insurance here on the forum. They have an office in Pattaya.

Also visit the expat clubs on Sunday mornings in Pattaya and they have group health plans that have pretty decent coverage.

[Smile4u]

The expats club health plan u s e d to be cheap. This year the premium skyrocketing, because of many old member been sick and used their expat insurance. Now n o t cheap for anyone.

In my case, same coverage as the expatclub, going direct to Bupa I saved 6.000 baht (USD 180) for premium year 2009-2010.

Why use a agent?

I asked the agent the previous poster recommend, they could not beat Bupa premium, when we compared all other insurance companies with similar coverage plan. Again, why use a agent?

Edited June 15, 2009 by Smile4u

[barryofthailand]

Hello,

Last March I was admitted to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for food poisoning.

Arrived Friday evening and was discharged Monday afternoon after four pm.

The room was absolutely fabulous and I haven't seen anything like it in Canada or in the USA.

Flat screen TV, refrigerator, Microwave, safe, couch, breakfast nook and a great view.....

My wife spend a month at the University of Michigan Hospital and her room couldn't even compare and at times she had to share with another patient.

The Nurses at BPH were very professional, maybe even a little too professional as they weren't too friendly, but maybe that's the way they were expected to behave !

Food was excellent, no complains there either !

The only problem I encountered was with the payment of the services.

I had to guarantee the hospital bill with my credit card otherwise I might still be there. (grin)

Total cost for my 3 day stay was $ 1600,00 which is really inexpensive if you compare it with US hospital prices.

My wife just got her insurance hospital bill for her stay at the U of M hospital which was $ 225.000,00

The Insurance company was really slow paying BPH, so BPH charged my credit card the 1600,00 which send my debit card in the red a couple of times <G>

Lesson learned: do not just take debit cards with you; take at least 1 regular credit card with a high limit !

Question:

I understand that not everybody has a US health Insurer and I also understand that not everybody ends up at the tenth floor at BPH, so what kind insurance is available in Pattaya for health care, what does it cost, and what kind of care can you expect from it ?

What hospital do regular Thai people attend ?

I have read about an insurance that you have to start before you are 59 and was wondering if it would make sense for me to consider it.

Kind regards,

Nick from Michigan

If you live in Thailand, you can insure with bupa by age 59 and they will insure you for life. Another company is LMG,but a bit more expensive, but still an excellent company.

Barry

[ThaivisaInsurance]

Hello,

Last March I was admitted to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for food poisoning.

Arrived Friday evening and was discharged Monday afternoon after four pm.

The room was absolutely fabulous and I haven't seen anything like it in Canada or in the USA.

Flat screen TV, refrigerator, Microwave, safe, couch, breakfast nook and a great view.....

My wife spend a month at the University of Michigan Hospital and her room couldn't even compare and at times she had to share with another patient.

The Nurses at BPH were very professional, maybe even a little too professional as they weren't too friendly, but maybe that's the way they were expected to behave !

Food was excellent, no complains there either !

The only problem I encountered was with the payment of the services.

I had to guarantee the hospital bill with my credit card otherwise I might still be there. (grin)

Total cost for my 3 day stay was $ 1600,00 which is really inexpensive if you compare it with US hospital prices.

My wife just got her insurance hospital bill for her stay at the U of M hospital which was $ 225.000,00

The Insurance company was really slow paying BPH, so BPH charged my credit card the 1600,00 which send my debit card in the red a couple of times <G>

Lesson learned: do not just take debit cards with you; take at least 1 regular credit card with a high limit !

Question:

I understand that not everybody has a US health Insurer and I also understand that not everybody ends up at the tenth floor at BPH, so what kind insurance is available in Pattaya for health care, what does it cost, and what kind of care can you expect from it ?

What hospital do regular Thai people attend ?

I have read about an insurance that you have to start before you are 59 and was wondering if it would make sense for me to consider it.

Kind regards,

Nick from Michigan

As you are a member of Thai Visa the obvious answer is to use Thai Visa Insurance

Please send an email to [email protected] for all the available companies / plans.

[Michigan]

Search for bupa thailand and you can see example of different coverage.

They have short time insurance plans for 1-6 months too, i think the name was "sun care" or similar. And their office in Pattaya is just before BPH, near intersection Sukhumvit/ Pattaya Nua.

Yearly premium (dont know your age or what coverage you want) from USD 400 - USD 1.500 +

Thais go to Banglamung hospital, you and I wouldnt survive one night there, Have good doctors there, but share room with 4-8 people, no aircon, lack of nurses, 20 's of family visiting etc. You get the idea.

Many expats use army hopital in Sattahip, much cheaper than BPH.

Search the "health, body and medicine" forum here, many good advice and all kind of experiences.

Thanks for your reply,

I checked the short term Bupa insurance which run for about $ 900,00

I assume that is for the 6 month duration.

They might have a 70 year old limit on that policy, I am not sure.

Will have to check out more websites.

When you say expats are using the army hospital, does that mean they don't have any insurance or that their insurance doesn't cover a stay at e.g. BPH ?

I noticed that insurance companies offer a cafeteria style health plan, which is difficult to assess if you don't know what the going rate is for a doctor's visit or for open heart surgery ?

Nick in Michigan

[longball53098]

I don't know of any Army hospital in Sattahip but there is a Navy operated government hospital named Queen Sirikit that many farangs go to. It is located on the west side of Utapao.

The staff there are all Navy personnel and they do a good job. I use the place regularly. It is much les expensive than BPH but you do not get the glamorous personal service either.

They do accept insurance plans as well as pay as you go.

Anyone can go there and register and get an admittance card. For farangs we need to show a passport to get the card. Once registered I never show my ID anymore.

The system there is for Thais. All information and directional signs are in Thai. Most of the staff speaks very limited English. The doctors I deal with speak English but if my wife is with me they talk through her mostly. Highly recommend taking a Thai with you.