Hospital Bills

[ManOnTheRoad]

a friend went to a private hospital (vejthani) to do a pregnancy check up with her farang husband , upon registering the registration clerk showed them delivery packages in english. Even though my friend wife is Thai but she clearly doesnt look thai as she is a mixed thai -luk krueng .

the counter girls gave them the package which is in english. then the wife asked them for a thai version package, and to their surprise both packages are in different prices obviously the packages printed in thai is much more cheaper by 30% to 40%

my friend wife begin speaking in thai and the clerk was suprise she even showed them her thai ID Card. according to the thai clerk they have 2 prices 1 caters for foreigner/tourist and the other for local thai and residents

my question is , is this a normal practice for having foreign and local prices in hospital ?

I am in Bangkok under O Visa will i be charge for foreign tourist price too ? confuse

[Wavefloater]

Yes, it is!

Yes, you will.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Wavefloater

[ManOnTheRoad]

got my health insurance card today i went to the hospital myself and did a check up told the doctor i do not want to exceed the 2000 baht per visit limit and he said dont worry , ill be under local/resident price not tourist price.

the reason some foreigner they got tourist price is because they need assistance in english, arab or japanese language and the extras are for translation since im with my thai wife so its normal price

[AyG]

At Vejthani they have a team of nurses (mostly Filipino) who speak English and will meet the patient on arrival, escort him/her where needed, and explain what's happening as necessary. (Some of the doctors at Vejthani don't have brilliant English.) However, in my experience, the nurses don't translate what the doctor says. This probably accounts for the extra cost.

Incidentally, I had a bad experience at Vejthani where the final bill was almost double the initial quote thanks to an error in their pricing for four small metal clips. It wasn't much fun trying to argue my case whilst still heavily sedated. I did get the cost down in the end, but I won't be going back there.

[californiabeachboy]

I have friend who is a Thai nurse in a hospital in Bangkok. I asked her about the different prices for farangs vs. locals. She said about 30% higher for farangs. She also said that her hospital was trying to increase the number of farang patients because of the 30% "farang profit". Nothing sinister about it, just economics.

[dddave]

Two-tier pricing is not unique to Thailand, it is almost universal in the worldwide medical industry.

My home city of Boston (USA) has a large concentration of hospitals that cater to international patients. Before 9/11, many middle eastern countries sent almost all of their surgical patients to these hospitals and were charged rates that were 30% to 40% higher than the rate charged domestic patients for the same procedures.

When the stringent visa restrictions imposed after 9/11 reduced the flow of middle eastern patients to a trickle, many of these hospitals went into deep financial crisis.

Go to England, Switzerland, India:...any foreign country for medical treatment and you will pay more than the locals; it's a fact of medical life.

[Sheryl]

This does vary by hospital.

In those which do have different prices, there is often a three tier structure, one for Thais, one for foreign residents of Thailand and one for tourists, with the last of course being the highest price. I've been told this is the case ta for example Bangkok Pattaya Hosp. Matters get confused tho as many cashiers/admin staff automatically assume all westerners are tourists, so it is necessary to make explicit that you are a long time resident of Thailand. Sometimes necessary to talk with staff in the billing dept.

I suspect the same 3 tier structure exists in some other hospitals and also that the problem of staff either being unaware that foreigners who live in Thailand have a lower fee than foreign tourists, or not taking the time to figure out which category someone is in, is not unusual.

Not all hospitals have this, though. Bumrungrad has a single price for all (high across the board). Government hospitals will charge you the full standard fee but no more than that.

[fire and ice]

the reason some foreigner they got tourist price is because they need assistance in english, arab or japanese language and the extras are for translation since im with my thai wife so its normal price

Absolute nonsense!! Total utter garbage!

It's just a raving rip off - plain and simple.

Pretty sure they will actually charge Thais a higher price if they think they can afford it. I think the prices hospitals charge are virtually made up on the spot after they sus you out, but foreigners are an easy target. Best to always get a price upfront, if they quote a Thai a price on the phone and you go in and they try to bill more, then (assuming the Thai who called is with you) they can counter and get the bill reduced tot he quoted price.

[maxme]

It happens all the time esp. in Phuket and Khaolak. Thais don't see this as a rip off. It's stuck in Their heads that farangs are all rich so farangs need to pay more!!!!!

[beano2274]

If you have a Social Security number you can register at the Hospital and get a card, I paid Thai Government prices for a Vasectomy reversal. Am registered at Chula, another hospital on Rama 6 and Yanhee (as per my social security card), as I worked close to it before, and every time I want to change the hospitals have already reached their quotas.