Hospital Stay For Olders

[Stranski]

Hello,

maybe someone have an answer to my question.

a few friends told me that public hospitals are free of charge for Thai-people older than 60 years.

Is that true? Maybe someone know more detailed.

Thank you in advance.

Best Regards

[sinbin]

Government hospital are free to all Thais, of any age, as long as they use the hospital they are registered at. Using a different government hospital will result in them being charged. The idea is to stop Thais migrating to other government hospitals where they may get better treatment than the one they're registered at.

Edited January 9, 2012 by sinbin

[Stranski]

Government hospital are free to all Thais, of any age, as long as they use the hospital they are registered at. Using a different government hospital will result in them being charged. The idea is to stop Thais migrating to other government hospitals where they may get better treatment than the one they're registered at.

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

[sinbin]

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore. Edited January 9, 2012 by sinbin

[Stranski]

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore.

Hi, thanks.

and is there a registration fee?

[connda]

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore.

Hi, thanks.

and is there a registration fee?

If you are not Thai, it's not free. That doesn't mean you can't go to the hospitals, but you will pay. But with that said, the government hospitals, in at least the larger cities, are not a bad option for someone on a budget. I routinely go the local hospital in the Ampur that I live in in Lamphun province for out-patient care. Also, I had a hernia operation at Maharaj government hospital in Chiang Mai. Total cost of the operation and three days in a private room was 18K baht or about $600 US. Private hospitals were quoting around 80K baht for the same operation. And the same operation in the US -- well, let's just say I'm glad I live in Thailand.

[Stranski]

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore.

Hi, thanks.

and is there a registration fee?

If you are not Thai, it's not free. That doesn't mean you can't go to the hospitals, but you will pay. But with that said, the government hospitals, in at least the larger cities, are not a bad option for someone on a budget. I routinely go the local hospital in the Ampur that I live in in Lamphun province for out-patient care. Also, I had a hernia operation at Maharaj government hospital in Chiang Mai. Total cost of the operation and three days in a private room was 18K baht or about $600 US. Private hospitals were quoting around 80K baht for the same operation. And the same operation in the US -- well, let's just say I'm glad I live in Thailand.

Thanks for your perfect explanation.

regarding Thai people, do they need to pay a registration fee?

[geriatrickid]

If I understand:

you mean a farmer 79 years old can go to a public hospital near his living village?

Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore.

In respect to medicines, my understanding is that only those medications covered on the schedule of products are included. These are heavily weighted to locally sourced generics. Off schedule drugs are not covered. For example, some proprietary cancer drugs cost extra. I do not believe that some free generic drugs provide the same efficacy of proprietary drugs. Although the recipe might be the same, the inert and filler ingredients often are not. As well, there are differences in manufacturing. These can influence the effect of the drug. Sometimes it is insignificant, but in other cases, it can influence treatment outcomes.

Conflict of Interest statement: I receive no compensation from proprietary pharmaceutical companies, nor do I benefit from their activities.

[TerryLH]

"Correct. As long he is registered to that particular hospital his treatment, and medicines, will be free. There is no '30 Baht scheme' anymore."

Misleading info there. At the very least, incomplete.

The system originally known as the '30 baht' or 'Gold Card' scheme still exists, but with a different name. The last government did away with the 30 baht co-pay, so a name change was called for.

The 'registration' noted in the above quote makes it sound like you register wherever you want to. When you apply for the scheme, by whatever name, you are given which hospital/clinic you are supposed to use. No fee for doing this.

When you first use a place, hospital or wherever, that facility will have you give them information and then issue you with a patient card that has you patient number that gives them the ability to track/keep your records.

People can register at as many places as they want/need to, but that doesn't mean that services will be free at all of them.

If the place you are given as your care provider can't provide the care or medicine that you need, they can give you a referral to another place that can. You take that letter to the other place and get whatever specific care you need from them. A good example of this is Srinakarin Hospital in KKC. It's a regional hospital that provides service to many who were referred there from some of the surrounding provinces.

As someone else mentioned, not all services/medicines are covered under this program. There was a whole lot of whining about that when the program first got under way. I think a lot of medicines not originally covered have been added over the years.

I think I read, recently, that the government is thinking about going back to a small co-pay to help defray the costs.

Terry

[sinbin]

If you are not Thai, it's not free. That doesn't mean you can't go to the hospitals, but you will pay.

I'm not Thai. I have a Thai medical card and I don't pay for medicines, or treatment, at the hospital I'm registered at. Edited January 10, 2012 by sinbin

[connda]

If you are not Thai, it's not free. That doesn't mean you can't go to the hospitals, but you will pay.

I'm not Thai. I have a Thai medical card and I don't pay for medicines, or treatment, at the hospital I'm registered at.

Really? Wow, then I was totally misinformed. I live in my wife's Mooban. If I can get a Thai Medical Card without being a permanent resident or a citizen, please do share how I would go about obtaining one. I'm sure Stranski would love to know too!

[InterestedObserver]

If you are not Thai, it's not free. That doesn't mean you can't go to the hospitals, but you will pay.

I'm not Thai. I have a Thai medical card and I don't pay for medicines, or treatment, at the hospital I'm registered at.

Really? Wow, then I was totally misinformed. I live in my wife's Mooban. If I can get a Thai Medical Card without being a permanent resident or a citizen, please do share how I would go about obtaining one. I'm sure Stranski would love to know too!

Just get registered in the Thai Social Security system, usually through your employer.

[sinbin]

You get the 'Yellow Book', then go along to your local government hospital and ask for the card. Some hospitals will give it, some won't.

Edited January 11, 2012 by sinbin

[connda]

You get the 'Yellow Book', then go along to your local government hospital and ask for the card. Some hospitals will give it, some won't.

Thanks sinbin! I've been asking my wife to help me get my Yellow House Book for about a year now. Now that I'm almost 60, if thats all I need to maybe get a hospital card - Wow - I'll give it a try. Truthfully I'd like to become a Thai citizen, but I think my age is going to rule that out. Too bad though...I believe I have a lot to offer in the way of education. I've taugh English and I've taugh Computer Technology. But pushing 60, I find I have real difficulty remember and learning the Thai language. I speak some, I read (although I don't alway understand what I'm reading but I know the sounds), and I write nitnoi.