soi41 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 (edited) Was contacted this morning by one of the administrators of one of the better hospitals around here. They had a farang patient, brought in intoxicated 5 days ago and ready to be released today. Bill 150k, yes they are good at charging, and Mr Farang has no money. Asked my hospitalfriend why they admitted him in the first place and got the answer, that he had been a patient before and paid without any problems. The hospital has been in contact with: immigration-valid visa nothing we can do, family in homecountry- had enough, embassy-don't want to touch it. The guy is living on a very small pension = 35.000baht/month. (how he managed to get a retirementvisa, is another thread). How do you solve a situation like this ? What will happen if the patient just walks out the door, <Snip!> you ! ? Or will the best solution be to negotiate the bill downwards and have the paint pay it of slowly ? Leaves him with the freedom to drink himself to death ! I do not side with either the hospital or the drunk. Was contacted because I speak the patients language. Edited March 23, 2012 by metisdead Profanity removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudolus Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 If it is one of the better hospitals, then someone there will speak English. I think you should stay well away from this and leave it to the guy to sort out. Sounds harsh, but that's life. I guess he will just walk out; and if he gets out without the guards / police getting him, to pay it back over time or get a flight back to his home country. If you don't actually know the guy though, just walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payboy Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 brought in intoxicated 5 days ago and ready to be released today. Bill 150k A bit steep to cure a hangover, no? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eff1n2ret Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Failing any prospect of reimbursement, they might be justified in restoring him to the condition in which he was admitted and booting him out into the street. Sorry, not very helpful I know, but it's difficult to feel much sympathy for such inadequates. The hospital is obviously exploring the nice ways to get what they are owed. What stronger means they have of enforcing a civil debt will no doubt be revealed in due course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strollling Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Tell them you charge 10% of monies recuperated and then visit him with a bolt cutters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss1960 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Well, I would say for the benefit of both parties, trying to lower the bill and then fix a payment schedule would be the best If the hospital informs police, immigration will be on it immediately, farang sent home, no money ever seen by hospital. So both would profit, i.e. hospital sees some money (they anyway overcharge massively) and farang can maybe keep his Visa for the time being... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Hi ‘soi41’. May I ask why you were contacted? Are you part of an official organization that helps ….A sort of go between? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soi41 Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Tonto21. My wife and the hospitaladministrator studied law together, as simple as that. And the language ofcorse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDrinker Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I'd tell them to contact this bloke's Embassy and have nothing more to do with it. Good Samaritans tend to find themselves getting dragged into whatever mire they are trying to help in here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post h90 Posted March 23, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2012 Solution is simple. Hospital makes a correct invoice and the farang most probably has the 15.000 Baht. If they overprice 10x they won't get the money. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP25 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 5 days and 150k, I hope they replaced his liver while he was in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 the bill will be written off at the end of the end of the tax year i know this from experience because my friend was ina bad accident and stayed in hospital 3 months his insurance refused to pay up because of a loophole in the policy about motorcycles he was critical so they couldnt just dump him outside finally ,he was better ,but had no money since his job was lost and savings depleted he signed a agreement to pay back 20k a month for x amount of months but left thailand to have a follow up surgery in europe he returned to the hospital 2 years later with 140,000 in a bag and presented it to the cashier they refused to accept it as the bill was already written off a year ago and they couldnt process an unrecorded payment before everyone says it didnt happen ,it happened ,it happened in bangkok ,thailand and i will swear it on my life and the lives of my children Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Another angle - why go to the so called 5 star hospitals, there are many good quality Thai government hospitals with board certified specialists who in most cases speak excellent English. Good care and overall costs, including medications at just a small fraction of the cost of the so called 5 star places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Another angle - why go to the so called 5 star hospitals, there are many good quality Thai government hospitals with board certified specialists who in most cases speak excellent English. Good care and overall costs, including medications at just a small fraction of the cost of the so called 5 star places. As the OP said………“brought in intoxicated 5 days ago” I don’t think the guy who was wasted had a lot of say in where he was going. Being a westerner the people bringing him in did so because it was assumed is had money maybe. As for Thai general hospitals, I’ve heard some great stories, for the good and some scary one’s …..For the bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuestHouse Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 his insurance refused to pay up because of a loophole in the policy about motorcycles It's known as an "exclusion" though often referredt to by the feckless after the fact as a "loop hole". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilgore Trout Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 (edited) My sympathies, back home my father was the administrator of a hospital and we had problems with a couple of alien orientals doing the same thing. In the end just had to eat the cost. Hope it works out for you. Edited March 23, 2012 by Kilgore Trout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 the bill will be written off at the end of the end of the tax year i know this from experience because my friend was ina bad accident and stayed in hospital 3 months his insurance refused to pay up because of a loophole in the policy about motorcycles he was critical so they couldnt just dump him outside finally ,he was better ,but had no money since his job was lost and savings depleted he signed a agreement to pay back 20k a month for x amount of months but left thailand to have a follow up surgery in europe he returned to the hospital 2 years later with 140,000 in a bag and presented it to the cashier they refused to accept it as the bill was already written off a year ago and they couldnt process an unrecorded payment before everyone says it didnt happen ,it happened ,it happened in bangkok ,thailand and i will swear it on my life and the lives of my children Are you sure….Mmmmm? Would you like to phone a friend? Only kidding ‘wanna’ nothing really surprises me about this world….Even Thailand. If you want to see bureaucracy in S E Asia come to Thailand and yes……..I know there are lots of honest people here in Thailand. You don’t need to sell what you’ve written; people will judge what you have written on their own experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 the bill will be written off at the end of the end of the tax year i know this from experience because my friend was ina bad accident and stayed in hospital 3 months his insurance refused to pay up because of a loophole in the policy about motorcycles he was critical so they couldnt just dump him outside finally ,he was better ,but had no money since his job was lost and savings depleted he signed a agreement to pay back 20k a month for x amount of months but left thailand to have a follow up surgery in europe he returned to the hospital 2 years later with 140,000 in a bag and presented it to the cashier they refused to accept it as the bill was already written off a year ago and they couldnt process an unrecorded payment before everyone says it didnt happen ,it happened ,it happened in bangkok ,thailand and i will swear it on my life and the lives of my children Are you sure….Mmmmm? Would you like to phone a friend? Only kidding ‘wanna’ nothing really surprises me about this world….Even Thailand. If you want to see bureaucracy in S E Asia come to Thailand and yes……..I know there are lots of honest people here in Thailand. You don’t need to sell what you’ve written; people will judge what you have written on their own experience. it sounds ridiculous,i would hardly of believed it had i not witnessd it ,standing at a counter in thailand with 160,000 cash in a bag and being told we cannot accept your money now because your bill has expired amazing thailand ,eh ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDrinker Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 it sounds ridiculous,i would hardly of believed it had i not witnessd it ,standing at a counter in thailand with 160,000 cash in a bag and being told we cannot accept your money now because your bill has expired Hmmmm...it was 140,000 in the bag earlier.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 it sounds ridiculous,i would hardly of believed it had i not witnessd it ,standing at a counter in thailand with 160,000 cash in a bag and being told we cannot accept your money now because your bill has expired Hmmmm...it was 140,000 in the bag earlier.... sorry ,i misquoted it wasnt my bill,my money and it was a few years ago etc but i thought it could help answer the op 's question of what will happen to the bill the farang cant afford to pay ....... thats what happens to it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmine Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 brought in intoxicated 5 days ago and ready to be released today. Bill 150k A bit steep to cure a hangover, no? exactly, and i hope he tells them to get screwed or put a reasonable bill infront of him. Som nom na If he had minor brain surgery during his stay then i take it all back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payboy Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 brought in intoxicated 5 days ago and ready to be released today. Bill 150k A bit steep to cure a hangover, no? exactly, and i hope he tells them to get screwed or put a reasonable bill infront of him. Som nom na If he had minor brain surgery during his stay then i take it all back. Not brain surgery, but I'm thinking the hospital ran all kinds of expensive tests on him to diagnose that he was really drunk, then they prescribed 5 days bed rest as the treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDrinker Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I've been in some "conditions" in my time, even so bad as to have to take the occasional "sickie" yet I never been so bad as to require 5 days in hospital; indeed by 4 PM the following day I'm usually back to mid-season form as it were. Surely if this were just drunkenness, this chap would have woken in the morning and either paid up or pegged it? I don't think Soi41 has been told the full tale here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtjforyou Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Private hospitals are thieves, I would just escape during the night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 a private hospital close to victory monument charged me 18,000 thb for an x-ray and tape up a a fracture to stop it separating ,oho and some paracetamols (and that was the reduced price becauze i wasnt paying by insurance ) after that i said ,never again i had surgery in a government hospital to remove shrapnel under the skin and it costed about 1200 thb private hopsitals are a money making enterprise ,i talked to a guy who broke his ankle in a road crash and his bill was over 200k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BookMan Posted March 23, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2012 Brought in intoxicated? Was the hospitalisation because of the intoxication? most likely... Personally I have little time for drunks. In general they no responsibility for their actions when drunk, then expect good Samaritans like the OP to run about and clean up their mess. Bloke should take responsibility for his own life , let him sort it out however he can or wants to.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetCowboy Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 (edited) I've been in some "conditions" in my time, even so bad as to have to take the occasional "sickie" yet I never been so bad as to require 5 days in hospital; indeed by 4 PM the following day I'm usually back to mid-season form as it were. Surely if this were just drunkenness, this chap would have woken in the morning and either paid up or pegged it? I don't think Soi41 has been told the full tale here... Perhaps it was liver failure. Or bleeding stomach haemorage. I doubt it was the consequence of casual drinking of a Saturday night, taking one for the road and finding it a longer road than first thought... There's some people suffer much worse from drink than you or I SC EDIT: You might get more constructive help on this sub-forum http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/98-i-drink-too-much-forum/ though the problem seems more of a hospital bill problem than a drink problem, and the mention of the drink only causes people to lose sympathy and display prejudice. Edited March 23, 2012 by StreetCowboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccastime Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I've been in some "conditions" in my time, even so bad as to have to take the occasional "sickie" yet I never been so bad as to require 5 days in hospital; indeed by 4 PM the following day I'm usually back to mid-season form as it were. Surely if this were just drunkenness, this chap would have woken in the morning and either paid up or pegged it? I don't think Soi41 has been told the full tale here... Perhaps it was liver failure. Or bleeding stomach haemorage. I doubt it was the consequence of casual drinking of a Saturday night, taking one for the road and finding it a longer road than first thought... There's some people suffer much worse from drink than you or I SC EDIT: You might get more constructive help on this sub-forum http://www.thaivisa....too-much-forum/ though the problem seems more of a hospital bill problem than a drink problem, and the mention of the drink only causes people to lose sympathy and display prejudice. Having worked for many years in a large Sydney Hospital,for the staff to put up with drunken male and females mostly friday & Saturday nights,it is not for the faint hearted,i can assure you,the abuse you cop,the spitting etc,Most of the doctors are so fed up with the antics,they organise medication and quickly knock them out till they sober up.But back to this issue,does seem a very high price,lets hope it can be sorted for all parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudolus Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Another angle - why go to the so called 5 star hospitals, there are many good quality Thai government hospitals with board certified specialists who in most cases speak excellent English. Good care and overall costs, including medications at just a small fraction of the cost of the so called 5 star places. As the OP said………“brought in intoxicated 5 days ago” I don’t think the guy who was wasted had a lot of say in where he was going. Being a westerner the people bringing him in did so because it was assumed is had money maybe. As for Thai general hospitals, I’ve heard some great stories, for the good and some scary one’s …..For the bad. So are we to assume that like tuktuk and taxi drivers, the ambulance drivers get a back hander when they bring a farang to the hospital then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Another angle - why go to the so called 5 star hospitals, there are many good quality Thai government hospitals with board certified specialists who in most cases speak excellent English. Good care and overall costs, including medications at just a small fraction of the cost of the so called 5 star places. As the OP said………“brought in intoxicated 5 days ago” I don’t think the guy who was wasted had a lot of say in where he was going. Being a westerner the people bringing him in did so because it was assumed is had money maybe. As for Thai general hospitals, I’ve heard some great stories, for the good and some scary one’s …..For the bad. So are we to assume that like tuktuk and taxi drivers, the ambulance drivers get a back hander when they bring a farang to the hospital then? Who knows ‘Pseudolus’ I don’t think a tuktuk driver would make any money from said deal, (not in this case) I was told a story by a guy, (his own tail) that he had been hit by a pick-up on the moat Rd Chiangmai a few years ago. He recalls himself being in and out of conciseness in the back of an ambulance and had it confirmed later he was taken around a few private hospitals and being turned away…Ended up in state run hospital. Why they turned him away……He never found out, but he says he owes his life to the good care he was given at the state hospital, (and yes he had good insurance) I think as a westerner you will automatically be taken to a private hospital….If Thai a state one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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