Swedish Proposition: Send The Elderly To Thailand – Services Are Cheaper

[MichaelShort]

The only thing to this is that we (Sweden) spend all tax money to help "refugees" from Somalia, Afghanistan, Irak etc -and Swedish leftwing think they all run away from being killed in their home country. That some of them are fugitives and criminals they don't seem to understand!

So thats why we don't have money to pay the eldery.

So we pay tax 33% that we ouerselves can not use becuase Swedish government rather spend it on so called "refugees" than take care their own people.. No I'm not bitter..

Edited February 13, 2013 by MichaelShort

[IsaanUSA]

Who pays to ship the dead bodies back to Sweden?

[fasteddie]

Wish the U.K. would consider this idea, what a great idea!

[ericthai]

The idea is a good idea. Europe is so expensive and so cold most of the year, not only in winter. My mother lived in a home for the elderly together with my father. He died 4 years ago and I know why: he had completely lost interest in life when he had to move out of his home in a mountain valley. Since the home was so full, my parents were unable to get a room together.He didn't want to live anymore and died one year after he left the beautiful home he had before. I can understand how he must have felt. My mother's pension went completely to the home which is a company just like any other geared for profit. Anything ... was horrendously expensive. Just imagine, 1 l of Coke was priced at CHF 5.50 (178 Baht!!) whereas in Thailand you pay maybe 25 Baht for 1.25 l. A coffee at the home's coffee shop was about the same price. I took her to Thailand end of July 2009 and she enjoyed her time very much here in our previous home in Pattaya and then later here in the Isaan. In fact she liked it so much, that she told us and her friends and family back in Switzerland that she had no desire whatsoever to ever return to Switzerland. Here she had all she wanted. She was with us for almost three years. In the middle of last year she left us, exactly 90 years old. Her heart simply gave up because of her advanced age. My mother had no problems here with the climate. When it got hot, she lived in an air conditioned environment. She always had excellent medical care, although she had no health insurance anymore after she left Switzerland.

Sending western people to Thailand is a good idea if the right conditions are set for the pensioner. Unfortunately, there are almost no homes for the elderly here, especially homes to accommodate westerners. I know only of a very few homes, one near Buriram, one in Chiang Mai and one in Hua Hin. The Hua Hin home is not within reach of the big masses because of its pricing. Surely there must be a couple more homes spread over Thailand, but not enough. There is need for many such homes here!

I think, the best is for Germans living already in Thailand to build pensioner's homes for German people, so the pensioners feel they are among their own people. Likewise for Swiss, Italians or French, Americans, etc.

SInce the day I visited the home for the elderly where my parents used to live, I dream about having a home here to accommodate Swiss people, be they from the German, French or Italian part. If my health permits, I'm sure my dream will become reality in about two or three years. Here in Thailand - under the right conditions - pensioners from Europe, America , Japan, etc. can enjoy their old age where they get value for money in a climate where they don't have to endure the terrible cold. My mother had succumbed nearly twice before she came here from two violent noro virus attacks. That was when I decided to take her to Thailand.

The problem remains health insurance, and quality of healthcare. Not even the most expensive hospitals and doctors can compete with the standard in Europe.

You may want to check again, Thailand has some very good hosptials which are just as good as Europe and the USA. If you dont know, there is already a Medical Tourist industry in Thailand were people from all over the world come to Thailand for care. Most of the doctors at these hospitals have been educated and certified in the USA and UK.

[endure]

Where do I sign up? I'm not Swedish but I can say 'hurdy gurdy' as often as necessary

[losworld]

"Okay Mr. Jones time for your dialysis"

"Do I have to?"

"Have happy ending"

"Okay let's do it!"

[brianP]

Don't send the old and ugly, all the western nations already do that. Send the young and beautiful,girls that is. Thailand needs some female replenishment's after us westerners have depleted all those Thai women.

[NeverSure]

I wish the US would make it an option. Where do I sign? Just pay my expenses, work out an arrangement with Thailand for health care, fly me back to the US a couple of times a year to see friends, give me a per diem food allowance, provide me with a car and a scooter and a pretty young caregiver.

Oh wait. Stop dreaming. I'll just have to do that for myself.

[Whidbeyboy]

"It would be essential that there is no compromise in the quality of services". There's the rub! Pretty much like the joke about how many "whatevers" does it take to change a light bulb! How many Thais does it take to provide "quality" care to an elderly farang?

Saw a show on 60 minutes about a guy that needed a triple bypass and the cost of $100,000 was going to bankrupt him into the poor house. So given a choice he decided to die with some dignity. After a year of suffering he found an ad about the Thai Hosptial that looks like a Grand hotel. He did his research and found the surgeon, from India, was trained in England and worked at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

He flew over and had a surgery for only $12,000 and was put up in a huge room, with only nurses helping him, no orderlies.

THIS is the FUTURE people. With the cost of healthcare in my country, this is where we are heading. And I say GOOD.

[Whidbeyboy]

Sounds like a good opportunity to rip off a lot of defenceless elderly people who have no idea what they are getting into.

Triple bypass in US=$100,000 plus

Triple Bypass in Thailand hospital = $12,000 for everything.

Who is getting ripped off and where? Plus the care they get in Thailand is Good and most docs competant as any in the US.

Now, for malpractice and lawsuits? I have not a clue, but the lack of them may be one reason it's cheaper. In the US they sue just cause they expect perfection after a life of being stupid toward thier bodies.

[Whidbeyboy]

Who pays to ship the dead bodies back to Sweden?

The USA is rated 72nd in overall health and has a terrible infant mortality record. Actually, I hope many do not come with your attitude in mind cause it will keep prices down. The doc I read about was trained in the west and worked at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I'm telling you, this is the future. With cost sky rocketing for insurance and crazy medical cost THIS is an option that will scare the hell out of the people here. I love it!

[phuketrichard]

a fantastic idea an i have thought about it for years,

YOu already have medical tourism so this is merely an extension of that, Phuket has world class hospitals and dr.'s trained in western countries

[Dario]

Who pays to ship the dead bodies back to Sweden?

Good question! To give you an answer: my mother was cremated at the temple of our small village. She told us before that she wanted to be cremated here. I am sure that my mum got an impressive funeral ( my wife spent around 10 grand in US currency) and the whole village and people from neighboring villages were at her funeral to pay their last respect to the 90 year old farang who had come to live in their village. For seven nights prior to her cremation lots of people attended evening prayers with 17 monks and there were always about 8-10 villagers sleeping beside her coffin during every night. In which western country would people bother so much like here? Why would people want to be repatriated to their home country? A decent cremation in Thailand is the logical answer.

PS: This doesn't mean, how much has to be spent for a foreigner's funeral in Thailand. Some spend much more than this. 10 Grand is about the price for flying a corpse back to Europe or America, it may not even be enough. Why not spend that money for a befitting funeral in Thailand?

Edited February 14, 2013 by Dario

[forumuser10]

It is fine discussing this from the Swedish point of view , or that of any other nationality . Thailand is not so happy to have foreigners come to live here .

Sweden would have to provide BT800,000 for the bank account , an adequate monthly pension , a health insurance to cover hospital fees , doctors and prescriptions .

There would have to be an accord with the Thai government . From a foreigners point of view it could be good , so long as the financial backing is good enough .

For the most part the cost of living is infinitely less in Thailand and the elderly are less at risk from health problems in a warm climate , than freezing winter conditions .

Don't Swedes have good retirement pensions? If so, forget about the need for 800K in the bank account. I think these retirees would be as welcome as any of us -- they bring money and jobs!

Nope, we are going downhill, fast!!

[JSixpack]

Sounds kinda like the scum politicians back in the US.

No, the scum politicians back in the USA could never conceive of such an intelligent, tax-saving idea as this--sad to say.

[TommoPhysicist]

Don't send the old and ugly, all the western nations already do that. Send the young and beautiful,girls that is.

They already sent those three over.

[Tanaka]

"It would be essential that there is no compromise in the quality of services". There's the rub! Pretty much like the joke about how many "whatevers" does it take to change a light bulb! How many Thais does it take to provide "quality" care to an elderly farang?

Actually one is enough to improve on what they can get in Sweden today.