UAE embassy forced to find alternative hospitals for Emiratis in Bangkok

Emirati cancer patients and the elderly among those evicted from hospital in Bangkok

By Abdulla Rasheed, Abu Dhabi Editor, and Dina El Shammaa, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor

Abu Dhabi: -- A renowned international hospital in Bangkok discharged against their will 10 Emirati patients who were in critical condition and still receiving treatment, Gulf News has learnt.

According to a source at the UAE Embassy in Bangkok, the embassy had to have all 10 patients admitted to other hospitals in Bangkok, on Monday.

The patients had originally been admitted by the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre (BMC) suffering with conditions including cancer, heart problems, paralysis and old age.

The patients' expulsion followed a financial dispute. The hospital says it discharged the patients because of overdue, unpaid bills. However, the UAE Embassy in Bangkok said the hospital had been overcharging patients, so it decided to stop its bill payments to the BMC as a result while the issue was resolved.

The UAE Embassy source said: "After we found out that the BMC has been overcharging our patients in the past three years, we employed a consultancy firm to revise the hospital bills thoroughly, who again confirmed that the hospital bills were inaccurate and exaggerated".

"We then decided to stop our payments to the BMC till the matter is clarified and resolved."

The Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre receives more than 10,000 patients from the UAE each year. Fees are usually either settled by individual patients, or are covered by authorities such as the armed forces, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority and the UAE Embassy.

Emiratis or Thiqa health insurance card holders are only covered by their health insurance scheme in the UAE and GCC region, and not elsewhere.

‘Overdue accounts'

A spokesman for the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre's management said: "We only faced overdue accounts from the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), Dubai Health Authority, and the UAE Embassy, who have accumulated bills that have reached Dh20 million. For that reason, and for the first time in the hospital's history, we asked patients who are sponsored from those parties to leave the hospital, since their designated authorities have not been paying us".

Explaining the situation, the source from the hospital said: "As much as we feel bad for the patients, who were mostly admitted to our intensive care unit, we are now financially relieved. We never had any problems from countries like Qatar and Kuwait, and it's disappointing for us to have one with the UAE".

The UAE embassy denied the hospital's allegations, and insisted that the BMC had been overcharging their patients.

Dr Ali Obaid Al Ali, Director of Health Regulation Division at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) said: "HAAD didn't receive any complaints from its delegated patients on any of their treatment cessation, nor did we receive any notifications from the Military Attache Office (the office responsible from all delegated patients by HAAD), on any issues between the office and Bangkok hospital".

"After receiving some media enquiries, HAAD contacted the Military Attache Office and enquired about the issue and was informed about a dispute over old invoices between the office and hospital which is being resolved.

Meanwhile, HAAD has instructed the Military Attache Office to transfer all HAAD delegated patients to other hospitals in Thailand to ensure the continuity of their treatment," Dr Al Ali said.

Patient shares content

Before asking the patients to leave due to unpaid bills, the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre (BMC) said it sent each patient a letter. One Emirati heart patient, who was among the 10 patients asked to leave, confirmed they received the letter, and shared its contents with Gulf News.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Mr Abdullah Al Qaydi,

The BMC financial offices and hospital leadership have been in negotiations with your payer to settle their long overdue account. Many conversations and communications have taken place in an attempt to resolve non-payment.

After many fruitless discussions our final reminder was delivered to your payer with a request to settle their overdue account by paying the outstanding balance by 8 September 2010. If our request is ignored and we have not received the payment by 8 September, we regret to inform you that you will be held responsible, since the payer for your medical costs is no longer meeting their obligations.

We can no longer accept a guarantee of payment from your payer and consequently, it is necessary for us to hold you accountable for all medical expenses and hospital charges that you incur effective 9 September 2010.

Furthermore, in the event that former invoices for your treatment that have been billed to your payer are not paid within standard credit terms, the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center reserves the right to collect the unpaid hospital expenses directly from you.

Please let us know how we can help you meet this responsibility.

Respectfully,

Chief Financial Officer

Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre

Source: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/uae-embassy-forced-to-find-alternative-hospitals-for-emiratis-in-bangkok-1.679541

GULFNEWS.COM

-- 2010-09-10

Hmmm.. This is the same hospital that charged my wife around 1000 baht for a 150 baht bottle of pills that had a Bangkok Hospital sticker placed over the original products label to make it look like it was something other than generic stock from superdrug.

This is also the hospital that asks you to sign a waver when you undergo any medical treatment which indemnifies the hospital, staff and doctors from any legal action in future, even if their actions are criminal.

I know who I believe in this story.

Hmmm.. This is the same hospital that charged my wife around 1000 baht for a 150 baht bottle of pills that had a Bangkok Hospital sticker placed over the original products label to make it look like it was something other than generic stock from superdrug.

This is also the hospital that asks you to sign a waver when you undergo any medical treatment which indemnifies the hospital, staff and doctors from any legal action in future, even if their actions are criminal.

I know who I believe in this story.

I second this--STAY away from Bangkok Hospital--I have lived here 45 years-- ************ Caveat Emptor!!

We were Charged 50 bht for the lint to cover the needle hole after drawing blood for analysis.!

Ridiculous!

Partial Quote from Article:

Explaining the situation, the source from the hospital said: "As much as we feel bad for the patients, who were mostly admitted to our intensive care unit, we are now financially relieved. We never had any problems from countries like Qatar and Kuwait, and it's disappointing for us to have one with the UAE".

End Quote.

Well, I'm sure glad the hospital is now feeling relieved. Guess money is their prescribed medicine.

A spokesman for the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre's management said: "We only faced overdue accounts from the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), Dubai Health Authority, and the UAE Embassy, who have accumulated bills that have reached Dh20 million

That's 168 Million Baht which averages to nearly 17 Million Baht per patient

Bangkok Hospital Medical Center

2 Soi Soonvijai 7 New Petchburi Rd. Bangkok, Thailand 10310

We were Charged 50 bht for the lint to cover the needle hole after drawing blood for analysis.!

Ridiculous!

For 100 baht, a bag of 140 of them can be bought online.

http://international.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=163199&catid=26522&trx=PLST-0-CAT&trxp1=26522&trxp2=163199&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-CAT

If the hospital did so, they could make 7,000 baht on a bag.

Last time I was there (Phuket Bangkok Hospital, about three years ago) I asked the cashier for an explanation of the "Hospital Fee 200 Baht". The only reply I got "Sorry, no understand" and when I asked for the clarification in Thai she just grabbed my money and said nothing at all. Never again

Guess all Thai hospitals, especially those who are used to treat international clients are known for heavily overcharging, just ask any random staff of an insurance company about the shameless behavior of Thai hospitals. Really they became like the red haired 'bababobo' section of the professional bargirls who are crazy for easy money, dump all good morals and respectful behaviour just to gain as much as profit as you can by the most easy and fast way. Brutal stealing from foreign patients and even more, charging huge amounts to the insurance companies (who really complain about this) with the knows results: health insurance becomes unaffordable.

Disgusting, and where is the government ?

They are overcharging. My medication (same brands and packages)

is more than three times the price in Bangkok General than in

a regular and also very good hospital. This is the same for vaccines.

Guess someone has to pay for all the real estate and the shareholders but it ain't me.

What everyone needs to remember is that these private hospitals are a business first and that they only make you better after they have made money. They would not be here if they did not make money.

Bangkok Samui Hospital is the best equipped hospital on the island, and the most expensive. It is famous for 'scaring' patients into having unnecessary tests. The price for a paracetamol is outrageous there.

However, one good thing that it did do was to set up a database of ex-pat blood donors on the island. When they need blood for an emergency, they give the appropriate blood type donor a call. There are quite a few people going around now with my O RH neg Singha in them.

Edited 'cos I couldn't spell the first time.

???????????????I have worked/ lived in the Emirates. They have state of the art hospitals with good financial support (and socialized medicine). I often wonder why so many of the Emiratis go through the expense and time to fly all the way to Thailand for medical care. (Could it be that the doctors of various nationalities working in their modern hospitals in the Emirates are not qualified? ) ???????

Hmmm.. This is the same hospital that charged my wife around 1000 baht for a 150 baht bottle of pills that had a Bangkok Hospital sticker placed over the original products label to make it look like it was something other than generic stock from superdrug.

This is also the hospital that asks you to sign a waver when you undergo any medical treatment which indemnifies the hospital, staff and doctors from any legal action in future, even if their actions are criminal.

I know who I believe in this story.

I've used them 3 times and don't have any real complaints, but probably did pay too much for some medicine. I don't know why, but for all the money that's in that region, it's not unusual for companies to have problems collecting their payments. Maybe they just don't need the problem anymore.

Thank you all for the information and the input regarding Bangkok Hospital. I am glad to know that. There is another Bangkok Hospital being built in Hua-Hin, we will be sure to advise our friends to stay away from it.

I think all international hospitals in Thailand only goes after the money especially from foreigners, not native Thais with average income. There are other good government hospitals,if you are willing to wait all day to

receive treatment or to see a doctor. We have been using a local private hospital in our area, and the cost is quite reasonable, and doctors on staff seem to be very knowledgable about medical treatments.

The part that I dont get is that some patients were suffering from "old age". Is that a sickness, and should it be treated at BKK Hospital? Why were so many patients from the UAE? Im sure they didnt become sick while visiting Thailand, so the UAE must have made a financial agreement to treat these patients, so of course we dont know what that agreement was.

I know that BKK Hospital is outrageously expensive, and I will avoid it in the future, but......... is the UAE so poor, that it must send patients here to be treated? Maybe they thought BKK Hospital would give free treatment. I dont think this was the first time they have been billed for patients, so they must have an idea of the cost. Of course the patients are caught in the middle of this.

As a farang living here, I know that if I have an accident, I will be taken to BKK Hospital, just because I look like I have money. But when they realize I'm not a rich farang, I will be put on a baht bus and sent on my way. TIT

The part that I dont get is that some patients were suffering from "old age". Is that a sickness?

Well, its like terminal when you get it you never recover.

it's more difficult to build a hospital with staff than a mosque with immam and muezzin and ayatollah and mollah.

Emiratis, real problem-makers.

To play devil's advocate, surely these patients and Emirate gov't knew the costs as these patients had been there for a while. Why didn't they just move the patients a while ago when the bills started piling up. It's a bit late after 3 years to complain about billing procedures.

Last time I was there (Phuket Bangkok Hospital, about three years ago) I asked the cashier for an explanation of the "Hospital Fee 200 Baht".

That's most probably the fee for asking for an explanation as to what the " Hospital Fee 200 Baht " is.

Don't get too outraged about this happening in Thailand because charging foreign patients elevated rates is almost universal in most countries including the USA, UK, and Europe.

I come from Boston in the US where the hospital business is a major industry: Massachusetts General Hosp., Brigham and Women's Hosp., Lahey Clinic and Dana Farber Cancer Center; just to name a few of the major players.

Before 9/11, Patients subsidized by Middle Eastern Governments such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided the largest segment of these hospitals yearly income.

It was well known in the industry that these governments were charged "enhanced" rates for virtually every aspect of treatment, rates far above what domestic insurance providers paid for the same services.

The extent of all this became evident after 9/11 when visas became much more difficult for Middle Eastern patients to receive. The hospitals suddenly found themselves with 40%++ income shortfalls resulting in a lot of consolidations and mergers. Many of those patients now come to Thailand and India.

Hospitals in Great Britain and Europe had the same problem.

Last time I was there (Phuket Bangkok Hospital, about three years ago) I asked the cashier for an explanation of the "Hospital Fee 200 Baht". The only reply I got "Sorry, no understand" and when I asked for the clarification in Thai she just grabbed my money and said nothing at all. Never again

Wondering why you're waisting your time because of 200 baht. Sorry, no understand. :jap:

A friend of a friend is a nurse at Bangkok Hospital. He always have interesting stories at parties. Even if he admitted that he feels bad some times as he know how much the hospital overcharge for everything towards the patients...

As a farang living here, I know that if I have an accident, I will be taken to BKK Hospital, just because I look like I have money. But when they realize I'm not a rich farang, I will be put on a baht bus and sent on my way. TIT

Hopefully, you don't end up like this person with the Pattaya affiliate of Bangkok Hospital as reported by Pattaya People paper:

Friends of the deceased wrote to us complaining about the whole procedure of how Thai people handle this kind of case. A British friend of Mr. Hayes stated: “I’ve been told he was taken to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital still alive, but they would not accept him because he was not carrying any ID, so he was put in the back of a pick-up truck and sent all the way to Chonburi and died of internal bleeding on the way. If they would have accepted him at BKK Pattaya then maybe he would still be alive

http://bangkokgirls.wordpress.com/2007/05/07/speeding-truck-driver-kills-american-motorcyclist/

Last time I was there (Phuket Bangkok Hospital, about three years ago) I asked the cashier for an explanation of the "Hospital Fee 200 Baht". The only reply I got "Sorry, no understand" and when I asked for the clarification in Thai she just grabbed my money and said nothing at all. Never again

Wondering why you're waisting your time because of 200 baht. Sorry, no understand. :jap:

As hospital bills here tend to have pages of items I would also like to know what each of them stands for. When my wife had a appendectomy in PhayaThai1 I had three pages ! Took maybe half an hour to get only a global idea and somewhat satisfied I signed.

What everyone needs to remember is that these private hospitals are a business first and that they only make you better after they have made money. They would not be here if they did not make money.

Bangkok Samui Hospital is the best equipped hospital on the island, and the most expensive. It is famous for 'scaring' patients into having unnecessary tests. The price for a paracetamol is outrageous there.

However, one good thing that it did do was to set up a database of ex-pat blood donors on the island. When they need blood for an emergency, they give the appropriate blood type donor a call. There are quite a few people going around now with my O RH neg Singha in them.

Edited 'cos I couldn't spell the first time.

And how much did the patient pay for the alchahol transfusion per litre.

I too have had nothing but problems with Bangkok Hospital and will now never ever go to them.

I think their number one priority to to operate on your wallet, and do as little as possible to care for your illness or condition.

Absolutely disgusting place.  Stay away.

"Bangkok Hospital Discharged Severely Ill Patients After UAE Government Refuses To Pay The Bills". To get back at the Saudi who interfere with police promotion? Maybe, maybe not.

I had a recent check up at hospital in pattaya. I do it every year, but somehow this year the price had a difference of 2,000.- baht. so i kindly as the cashier and i could not believe what she said on the phone when asking the laboratory "what?, why did you not tell me that he knew what the prices are!!!" after wards she gave me a new receive indicating the correct price.

they even have a price difference in insured and uninsured patients, for example (a CT scan) uninsured price 12,000.- baht / insured price 17,500.- baht.

This is all over thailand so....

The patients had originally been admitted by the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre (BMC) suffering with conditions including cancer, heart problems, paralysis and old age.

I'm missing something. If you have those things, you need to go home to get treatment.

I don't blame the hospital one bit.

I was asked to assist a young Brit tourist who was being severely overcharged for repairs to a rented bike. He had come to a complete stop and simply fallen over as he entered his bungalow complex and the operator/owner/bike renter insisted on calling an ambulance even though the rider had only a minor graze. When he refused to get in the ambulance (a pick-up) he was given an injection against his will.

Woke up in BKK Samui with a bill for a CAT scan, plus room, plus nursing services, plus, plus, plus deemed necessary because he had fallen off a bike while not wearing a helmet. He was also told that his health insurance was void because he was drunk at the time. The bungalow operator had given BKK Samui his passport, which they refused to return until payment in full.

Took him nearly 2 weeks to raise money to pay hospital. Bungalow owner wanted B7000 to repair bike (Mio) under standard rental contract, and became enraged when I informed him that all parts to be replaced would be required by the renter, if further damaged would not be paid for. As an example, the whole floor pan was to be replaced for a scratch less than 1cm.

When his money came through, he paid the hospital on condition they returned his passport, and skipped town owing for bike repairs and room. Got one of the best laughs of my life when the bungalow guy asked me to pay his bill.