Need Help Selecting My Health Insurance

[floflo]

i'm having a hard time choosing the best suitable medical insurance for myself.

i'm on a budget, so i don't mind ditching luxuries. i'm a student at a university in Bangkok. and i just want to be insured if i become involved in an accident, get cancer, become diabetic, break a leg, that kind of thing

hospitalwise, i don't need any private hospitals, and i don't mind sleeping in a shared room.

right now i'm trying to get the prices and packages on bupa, but it asks me my preference for things i don't know or understand.

it asks me for the Maximum benefit per day for room and board (2000+) but i don't know the average price Thai hospitals charge for that? what should be suitable for me?

and i guess it is best to opt for full covery of surgery, but still it's good to know, how much would a serious surgery cost? and an ambulance and intensive care?

it also talks about inhospital care and outhospital care, but in case of some diseases, like diabetis for example, you need a life long medication/treatment: do i need outhospital care for that?

or is it better for me (since i'm looking only for coverage that will not make me bankrupt, whatever happens) not to insure things like medicine or a broken leg, since it's cheap in Thailand?

MANY thanks!

Edited October 18, 2010 by floflo

[ThaivisaInsurance]

The best rule of thumb for medical insurance is to buy as much as one can sensibly afford so rather than try and look for different options why not set a figure and look for the different plans costing that amount ? We at Thai Visa Brokers can offer you all the different plans available for your budget so may we suggest you go Here for the many options ?

[floflo]

I will, but first i need these questions answered

[thrilled]

what i'd like to know,can't one maybe find out what the average prices are without filling out A form?

[mrgreg]

Good questions. Unfortunately as any broker, Thaivisainsurance is probably not willing to answer or assist; they just want to sell!

2000+ maximum benefit per day for room and board seems very little; I would say you should look for at least 5000.

I signed up with LMG. I think it's a pretty good coverage for the money.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

what i'd like to know,can't one maybe find out what the average prices are without filling out A form?

The only way you will find the answers is to go to the hospital in your local which you are most likely to use and ask. Any figures anyone quotes are pretty meaningless as we all have aspirations of different levels of hospitals/care - plus the costs vary from town to town.

[aussiebebe]

what i'd like to know,can't one maybe find out what the average prices are without filling out A form?

The only way you will find the answers is to go to the hospital in your local which you are most likely to use and ask. Any figures anyone quotes are pretty meaningless as we all have aspirations of different levels of hospitals/care - plus the costs vary from town to town.

That's what I would have suggested; you are more likely to use hopsitals in your local vacinity, and all hospitals have English-speaking staff on the information desk who will let you know prices for rooms and surgery, plus options avaliable. In fact, going to ask will give you a feel for whether you'd like to be treated there if you fell ill or had an accident. After these visits, you can choose a policy with the appropriate level of coverage.

Insurance is all about managing risk, as you recieve no benefit if you never claim, just peace of mind. If the OP is a young student at a university (as opposed to a mature student) then you'd be less likely to need a policy with OPD, which will slash premiums considerably.

A further thought is that as the OP is a student, presumably travelling to and from Thailand throughout the course, buying a travel insurance policy from their home country may be a better solution than a policy with a local company. Travel insurance would at least cover repatriation which, if you trawl through TV New clippings, would can see is quite high. There was the case of an uninsured Brit a few months back who faced a 2MTB repatriation bill following a scooter accident in Chiang Mai.Theoretically, even a health insurance policy bought in Thailand may have paid out less than half, as the accident involved motorcycles.

[floflo]

so can anybody tell me then what inpatient care involves? is it only when you stay in the hospital, or does it include medicine, cancer treatment, etc?

the thing is, i don't need insurance for doctor visits, diagnosing and tests, which is probably outpatient care, but i do need covery for treatment.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

so can anybody tell me then what inpatient care involves? is it only when you stay in the hospital, or does it include medicine, cancer treatment, etc?

the thing is, i don't need insurance for doctor visits, diagnosing and tests, which is probably outpatient care, but i do need covery for treatment.

IPD covers you for when you have to stay in the hospital - usually overnight or in some case more than 6 hours (varies from company to company). It will cover you for the 'general' expenses, room and surgery depending on your benefits - plus OPD follow up for (example) 30 days, again depending on company.

IPD is the most cost effective cover whereas to include OPD tends to be a luxury.

[Suradit]

The terms "medical insurance" and "health insurance" are rather misleading when looking at insurance available in Thailand ... at least from anything I've seen on offer. BUPA and others primarily offer "hospital insurance" that covers charges related to treatment that requires a hospital stay only, possibly including follow-up out-patient expenses.

Adding outpatient coverage is virtually pointless since what you pay the insurance company annually for that additional coverage is about the maximum they will agree to payout. In other words, if you add B10,000 to the premium, B10,000 is about the most they'll payout for outpatient care during the year... and anything they can claim relates to a pre-existing condition gets nada.