Health Insurance: Do You Include Your Children?

[hotandhumid]

Being an expat, I am one of the 'sensible' ones who has global health insurance and have done for 3 years. I have 2 kids with a Thai woman and include them as well, which obviously costs more.

I was wondering if this was what most others do, as they are of course Thai nationals (and British) so therefore obviously not expats, so to save money would it be fine to leave them at the mercy of the thai hospitals if they need to be admitted or should I bite the bite the bullet and pay the extra bread?

No idea what other farangs here do, would be be interesting for me to hear what the general consensus is.

Thanks.

[dave111223]

Global expat health insurance plans (purchased outside of Thailand) are often quite cheap to add children to the plan. For example a plan that cost $500 per parent might only cost $100 extra per kid. So as expats we are lucky to have this option and i think should be utilized.

The opposite seems to be true for Thai health packages; where the childrens packages can cost twice as much as the same thing for an adult!

[hotandhumid]

Global expat health insurance plans (purchased outside of Thailand) are often quite cheap to add children to the plan. For example a plan that cost $500 per parent might only cost $100 extra per kid. So as expats we are lucky to have this option and i think should be utilized.

The opposite seems to be true for Thai health packages; where the childrens packages can cost twice as much as the same thing for an adult!

You are 100% correct. I was shocked today to find that out with BUPA, I think my kids were 2-3 x more expensive than me. I am currently with William Russell and their insurance is much less than mine.

But I guess my point is do they need insurance if they are Thai nationals (I appreciate it's global health insurance but they are here 99% of the time) I'm just thinking if I was in my own country I wouldn't have insurance, but I guess that the govt hospitals here aren't that good.

[Kananga]

I have two kids and they are both under a private healthcare plan. No way would I leave the most important things in my life to the mercy of the government medical system for the sake of a few thousand dollars.

[hotandhumid]

I have two kids and they are both under a private healthcare plan. No way would I leave the most important things in my life to the mercy of the government medical system for the sake of a few thousand dollars.

Yea, I here what you are saying.

But many here don't do it do they?

[SlyAnimal]

Having insurance, or not, simply depends on whether you're a betting man or not.

Since if you never get sick, it'd be better to not have insurance and save some money.

If you get sick a lot, or very badly sick, you're better off with insurance.

If you aren't willing to gamble with your own health by not buying insurance. How can you gamble with your children's health?

As you at least have a certain amount of control over your own actions, to ensure you don't need hospital care. But you can't control the actions of your children to the same degree.

And as with all gambling, you should only ever gamble if you can afford to lose. So if you can't afford to pay for private healthcare yourself/your kids, then you should definitely have health insurance for yourself and your kids. Because you can't afford to lose. However, if money isn't a problem, then it's simply a gamble on which will save/cost you the most money in the longterm.

Edit: And I would definitely never want to trust either my own healthcare, or my children's, to the government hospitals. From everything I've seen, the quality is simply too variable, with misdiagnosises and non diagnosises reasonably common from the stories I've heard (Both on the forums and from friends).

Edited July 19, 2012 by SlyAnimal

[JimmyTheMook]

I use AXA for myself and offspring.

[hotandhumid]

Having insurance, or not, simply depends on whether you're a betting man or not.

Since if you never get sick, it'd be better to not have insurance and save some money.

If you get sick a lot, or very badly sick, you're better off with insurance.

If you aren't willing to gamble with your own health by not buying insurance. How can you gamble with your children's health?

As you at least have a certain amount of control over your own actions, to ensure you don't need hospital care. But you can't control the actions of your children to the same degree.

And as with all gambling, you should only ever gamble if you can afford to lose. So if you can't afford to pay for private healthcare yourself/your kids, then you should definitely have health insurance for yourself and your kids. Because you can't afford to lose. However, if money isn't a problem, then it's simply a gamble on which will save/cost you the most money in the longterm.

Edit: And I would definitely never want to trust either my own healthcare, or my children's, to the government hospitals. From everything I've seen, the quality is simply too variable, with misdiagnosises and non diagnosises reasonably common from the stories I've heard (Both on the forums and from friends).

Very good post that. I make you right, but we all know there are many many 'expats' here who do not have health insurance AND do not have any money either if the end up hospitalised, and many of them have children too. They are playing russian roulette.

[DP25]

You seem to have made up your mind about insurance and government hospitals before you started the thread, and just want to have a bash on people who use them or have less money than you.

[samsiam]

Depends if you think you deserve it more than your own children.

Mine and missus have the same as me, international..

It is also not just about health and getting sick...for healthy children....it is more about an accident and if you drive here, or take taxis, or buses or anything...there is an accident waiting to happen

I would like to know that if in the event that both my wife and I were unable to make a decision because of an accident, then the kids also in the accident would be taken for the best possible emergency care.

Edited July 19, 2012 by samsiam

[hotandhumid]

You seem to have made up your mind about insurance and government hospitals before you started the thread, and just want to have a bash on people who use them or have less money than you.

Oh dear.