Health Insurance

[deejah]

health insurance

thai social security, BUPA, or both?

if someone is employed and covered by thai social security

what benefits are they entitled to?

what if, at the same job, they are offered BUPA in-patient coverage plan a,b or c?

is it a good idea to buy one of those plans as well?

how would that work, having two insurance plans?

ss for govt hospitals, and BUPA for private?

doesnt SS cover emergencies in a private hospital?

what are the advantages and disadvantages of having both or either?

in my mind it makes sense to have as much coverage as possible (both)

but i could be wrong and dont know enough

would one cancel the other out?

can one cover some expense and the other cover the rest?

if i end up in the hospital, should i call ss first and see if i am covered, then call bupa, or vice versa?

how can i be best informed about both programs being an english speaker and not very good with thai?

i am currently reading some other threads here to get up to speed

but any information, redundant or not, is most welcome

[TerryLH]

Thai Social Security covers quite a bit.

in and outpatient visits, surgeries, medicines, etc.

There are some limitations. You will be assigned a hospital to use. Depending on where you are you might be offered a choice. If there are choices in your area, you can change hospitals once a year, Dec-Jan, I think.

Your choices could be either private or government hospitals.

They do allow emergency treatment away from your assigned hospital. They also allow referrals to other hospitals when yours doesn't offer something you need.

With this you don't have to pay anything when getting service. An exception to that might be when you recieve emergency treatment from a different hospital.

There is another topic talking about soc sec a few lines below this topic.

[deejah]

i think i will play it safe and pay for the extra bupa

it isnt that much money for inpatient coverage for one year

probably will never use either but better to be safe than sorry

i read many threads here

very helpful and useful

my head is spinning

information overload

great news about keeping ss after you work

is this correct:

i dont have to pay ss for up to 6 months after i work?

but i am still covered?

and then must register and pay every month only 400-500 baht?

I HAD NO IDEA

and probably no one would ever tell me

it really pays to read thaivisa and research online

information is power

thanks

[TerryLH]

"great news about keeping ss after you work

is this correct:

i dont have to pay ss for up to 6 months after i work?

but i am still covered?

and then must register and pay every month only 400-500 baht?"

Yes, that is correct. You are automatically covered for 6 months after you stop paying through work.

You can sign up to pay on your own. 432฿ per month. You need to sign up within the 6 months after stopping paying through a job.

A lot about soc sec is not common knowledge. I think that's because many try to dismiss it as not worth anything.

[neverdie]

^Does anyone have a link to this SS healthcare website or something, that explains a bit about it, thai is okay?

[stiggy]

My own experience with Bupa Thailand is your better of spending your money elsewhere.

We have a small business in 5 years we made two claims both refused, so we voted with our feet and now register 20 staff with ANZ.

Bupa didnt return calls, took an age to answer anything they where just good at selling the coverage and chasing cash at renewal time.

Last claim was refused (two nigts in hospital for dengue ) as bupa said she had a History of the illness she was claiming for ! She admitted to having had Dengue fever as a child.How a vector bourne virus can be classed as ongoing to creat a history is beyond me.

Edited February 19, 2010 by stiggy

[TerryLH]

Take a look here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Government-H...ce-t206183.html

[neverdie]

Thankyou TerryLH

[barryofthailand]

My own experience with Bupa Thailand is your better of spending your money elsewhere.

We have a small business in 5 years we made two claims both refused, so we voted with our feet and now register 20 staff with ANZ.

Bupa didnt return calls, took an age to answer anything they where just good at selling the coverage and chasing cash at renewal time.

Last claim was refused (two nigts in hospital for dengue ) as bupa said she had a History of the illness she was claiming for ! She admitted to having had Dengue fever as a child.How a vector bourne virus can be classed as ongoing to creat a history is beyond me.

I don't know what Bupa office you are dealing with, but if you are not satisfied with their decisions, you can call the head office in Bangkok. For pre existing illnesses, they usually will cover after two or three years of no recurrences.

Barry