Yanhee Hospital (Private) Charges Hidden Foreinger Fee

[kirk0233]

Yesterday my wife (Thai) and I went to Yanhee hospital in to get our teeth cleaned. Yanhee is a private hospital and I have had good dental care there in the past. When we left to pay for the teeth cleaning my wife was charged 900 baht and I was charged 1,100 baht. The clerk indicated that the extra 200 baht for my cleaning was a foreigner fee. I asked to speak to someone in charge and after 10 minutes a pleasant woman explained that i would not have been charged the 200 extra baht if they had known I had a Thai wife. I asked her if Yanhee was a private hospital and she replied that it was. I said that if the hospital is going to charge foreigners more than Thai for the same treatment they should place a sign on the wall indicating so. The receipt you receive makes no mention of this charge. The woman refunded my 200 baht and showed me a list of all the procedures in the dental department with charges for Thai and the corresponding higher charge for non-Thai. I told her I did not believe this was proper for a private hospital and she agreed, but said it was policy. I would have never known I was being charged more than a Thai if my wife and I had not gone to the hospital at the same time for the same procedure. I will not go to this hospital again and in the future I will ask any private hospital if they charge a foreigner fee.

[Sheryl]

The majority of hospitals do this in one form or another. usually by a far greater margin than what you encountered.

Some hospitals have a 3 tier stricture: Thai, foreigner living in Thailand and foreign visitor. However cashiers in these often just "assume" all foreigners are tourists and one needs to take the initiative to get the lower resident expat rate (forget about getting the Thai rate, in most places not going to happen!).

[kirk0233]

The majority of hospitals do this in one form or another. usually by a far greater margin than what you encountered.

Some hospitals have a 3 tier stricture: Thai, foreigner living in Thailand and foreign visitor. However cashiers in these often just "assume" all foreigners are tourists and one needs to take the initiative to get the lower resident expat rate (forget about getting the Thai rate, in most places not going to happen!).

I got the Thai rate after complaining to the administration; so it is possible.

[MUSTYJACK]

with a yellow book (TABIEN BAAN) you can register at your government hospital and join the 30bht health scheme.

[473geo]

I uaually leave a tip if the treatment is fast and effective, perhaps you could make comment on the teeth cleaning, good?

[TerryLH]

"I told her I did not believe this was proper for a private hospital..."

Where is it, in your opinion, proper?

"with a yellow book (TABIEN BAAN) you can register at your government hospital and join the 30bht health scheme."

Even if that were true, people have to join first, then they are assigned a hospital/clinic.

It is my understanding that the law does not actually allow that, and in the cases where a foreigner got into the system, it was an error on the card issuers part.

[Sheryl]

"with a yellow book (TABIEN BAAN) you can register at your government hospital and join the 30bht health scheme."

Even if that were true, people have to join first, then they are assigned a hospital/clinic.

It is my understanding that the law does not actually allow that, and in the cases where a foreigner got into the system, it was an error on the card issuers part.

Correct. Foreigners are eligible for the social security system if they are employed (and can retain this after leaving employment if they continue to pay the small fees). They are not eligible for the universal health care (AKA "30 baht") scheme. Some hospitals have apparently issued cards to foreigners, but most will not and a simple call to the NHSO will confirm that the policy is solely for Thai citizens (and ? permanent residents, I am not sure on that category).

In some cases where a foreigner was issued a "gold card" by their local hospital ,when it later proved necessary to go to a higher level of care for more complex treatment it was discovered that they could not as they had not, in fact, been registered in the system.

Nobody should live here without health insurance. The social Security system is the least expensive way to get that, although it will not provide as wide a range of choice in hospitals as private insurance will (and of course, you have to be legally employed to get into the system).

[Gherndon]

When getting procedures dont at Yanhee International Hospital, patients should consider the "foreigner" price as the standard price. Thai nationals are given a discount for many factors including nationality and average income. The foreigner price is still roughly 50 to 60% cheaper than Western countires.

[Suradit69]

"I told her I did not believe this was proper for a private hospital..."

Where is it, in your opinion, proper?

Aren't UK Nationals and foreigners charged differently by the NHS? Fairly certain that foreigners in Canada are treated differently (financially speaking) than Canadians when seeking medical attention.

[Soutpeel]

"I told her I did not believe this was proper for a private hospital..."

Where is it, in your opinion, proper?

Aren't UK Nationals and foreigners charged differently by the NHS? Fairly certain that foreigners in Canada are treated differently (financially speaking) than Canadians when seeking medical attention.

Well not quite...if you are entitled to the NHS...you dont pay anything so hardly a fair comparison

Edited February 10, 2012 by Soutpeel