Thai Health Ministry Considering Plan To Force Foreign Tourists To Buy Insurance

[bangkokheat]

boasting 30 million tourists by 2015, wouldnt you think that that many tourists would be pumping heaps of cash into this country, where is all the money going?, how about giving some back to the tourists in the form of at least a percentage of free medical benefits rather than sticking the knife in, i can see this country, my home, becoming more and more westernised to the point it becomes too expensive to live here

[Chao Lao Beach]

Just another excuses for a airport and bed tax.

[Pimay1]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

[Thai at Heart]

What about the Scandinavians who are covered under their government coverage?

I think this guy needs to do a bit more research.

Danish peoples are NOT covered in Thailand (outside EU actually) - living in Thailand You have to buy health insurance just as anybody else here... But there are a danish guy in Rayong right now, in government hospital, without proper insurance and no means to pay the bill, so actually not all that off track to look into the problem...

I do however agree that topping the airticket is a bit off, or hotel bills even, but when apply for a visa - either add on insurance or ask for prove that the applicant is insured would be OK to me...

.

Norwegians are covered

[BuddyPinkham]

They will do anything to get that extra baht out of a foreigner. They love us so much and want us to come here (tongue in cheek), but if you don't have enough money, please go home. Nothing in this country surprises me anymore. Of course, the gov't has to get more money to pay for all the promises they made to get elected!

[473geo]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

Recover the medical costs and push more into the rice subsidy, much better for Thailand, why should the Thai farmer loose out because foreigners are stripping the Thai treasury

Edited March 13, 2013 by 473geo

[Thai at Heart]

The funny thing is, they cover Thais for nothing, and the contribution for employees to contribute is low. Why don't they just levy 500 baht per month and expats are in the social system just like Thais?

[BuddyPinkham]

Yes the government could offer a medium cost insuranse to expats , they could pay either to go to the general Hospital or an extra premium for a privat one , this way we get a resnable costed insuranse the Thai government makes a bit and everyone is insured , simples.

That would mean they would have to actually THINK!

[EyesWideOpen]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

Recover the medical costs and push more into the rice subsidy, much better for Thailand, why should the Thai farmer loose out because foreigners are stripping the Thai treasury

Please please please tell me this post is irony.....

The treasury is being stripped all right, but certainly not by farangs. !!!!

[nami]

Makes sense for tourists and even for expats not having access to the public healthcare (if it's indeed true that there is such huge costs derived from treating not paying foreigners).

How about us working here and paying to social security fund every month? Can we feel ourselves covered? I don't really know what this covers, what if I got really sick and need a major operation and weeks or months of stay in an hospital?

[BuddyPinkham]

40 % of this hospital visits is made by expats living in the country. A higher fee on air fare and hotels does not effect the expats living in Thailand.

But if these fees are implemented does that mean as an expat living in the Kingdom we get free medical care?

Or will the next rule be: A proof of medical insurance when you apply for a visa?

As far as I'm aware, you can't get medical insurance in Thailand unless you are under 60 years old, so that would mean once expats reach 60 they will have to go back to their own countries as they won't get a visa to live here with no medical insurance. I don't think so, Thailand does not want us, but they want our money.

What would happen if all us old geezers where forced to leave Thailand because of health insurance issue's I wonder what would become of the wife's and families they support and many other spends and help they give the local economy I think if the government could calculate that(not easy) we would hear no more about how much we are costing the health service .

I am sure they come up with all these plans just to give us something to discuss on TV and of course like all government departments worldwide they need something to think about.

I for one just pick up sticks and ship out without a backward glance .

Well, you are right, kind of! You can't get health insurance after to BUT you can get it at 59! So why not take the plunge just to be covered? Once you have insurance, they CANNOT drop you when you turn 60.

[Jim walker]

It just shows the poor low class of visitor that visits
Thailand so scummy they can’t even pay for a basic item like a hospital bill,
they should try and discourage this type of traveller from visiting Thailand,
put up the price of hotel / guest houses to a minimum of 5000 Baht a night that
might discourage the low life from coming to Thailand and scrounging from the
Thais, as I am sure they probably live of the state and scrounge in their home
countries, or just Ban the under 30s as it is them that has all the accidents
on motorbikes or getting drunk and falling down or fighting amongst themselves
and getting injured.

Or just have a charge at the airport when under 30s arrive
a 10000 baht fee to cover insurance same idea as we used to pay 500 Baht when
leaving Thailand.

As people over 30 are all sensible enough to have
insurance cover when traveling abroad.

[473geo]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

Recover the medical costs and push more into the rice subsidy, much better for Thailand, why should the Thai farmer loose out because foreigners are stripping the Thai treasury

Please please please tell me this post is irony.....

The treasury is being stripped all right, but certainly not by farangs. !!!!

Nope just highlighting the idiotic notion that how the Thai government allocate their funding has any connection to the fact that foreigners are imposing a cost that the Thai people should not have to bear. Funny I note there are no likes for my suggestion that expats pay 20k baht at visa renewal......why do you think that is?

[mickymouse1]

What a load of cobblers !!! I have been visiting Thailand since 1992 and ONLY once did I pay a visit to A&E where I ended up paying in advance ,well before I saw a doc who gave me medicines which I could have bought at any chemist for less than 20% of what I was charged.

cobblers again...in Brunei where i am based we pay 1 $ max 5$ to see a doc and for medicines,,all for a 125baht if u r a non resident.

[473geo]

It just shows the poor low class of visitor that visits

Thailand so scummy they can’t even pay for a basic item like a hospital bill,

they should try and discourage this type of traveller from visiting Thailand,

put up the price of hotel / guest houses to a minimum of 5000 Baht a night that

might discourage the low life from coming to Thailand and scrounging from the

Thais, as I am sure they probably live of the state and scrounge in their home

countries, or just Ban the under 30s as it is them that has all the accidents

on motorbikes or getting drunk and falling down or fighting amongst themselves

and getting injured.

Or just have a charge at the airport when under 30s arrive

a 10000 baht fee to cover insurance same idea as we used to pay 500 Baht when

leaving Thailand.

As people over 30 are all sensible enough to have

insurance cover when traveling abroad.

No need to discriminate 5k or 10k at the airport, family bulk buy exemptions only....great idea.....way to go Thailand

Edited March 13, 2013 by 473geo

[bunnaag]

40 % of this hospital visits is made by expats living in the country. A higher fee on air fare and hotels does not effect the expats living in Thailand.

But if these fees are implemented does that mean as an expat living in the Kingdom we get free medical care?

Or will the next rule be: A proof of medical insurance when you apply for a visa?

As far as I'm aware, you can't get medical insurance in Thailand unless you are under 60 years old, so that would mean once expats reach 60 they will have to go back to their own countries as they won't get a visa to live here with no medical insurance. I don't think so, Thailand does not want us, but they want our money.

What would happen if all us old geezers where forced to leave Thailand because of health insurance issue's I wonder what would become of the wife's and families they support and many other spends and help they give the local economy I think if the government could calculate that(not easy) we would hear no more about how much we are costing the health service .

I am sure they come up with all these plans just to give us something to discuss on TV and of course like all government departments worldwide they need something to think about.

I for one just pick up sticks and ship out without a backward glance .

Well, you are right, kind of! You can't get health insurance after to BUT you can get it at 59! So why not take the plunge just to be covered? Once you have insurance, they CANNOT drop you when you turn 60.

take the plunge at 72?

[theajarn]

Sometimes I get the feeling this government is getting a lot of its ideas from ThaiVisa....

[NoshowJones]

40 % of this hospital visits is made by expats living in the country. A higher fee on air fare and hotels does not effect the expats living in Thailand.

But if these fees are implemented does that mean as an expat living in the Kingdom we get free medical care?

Or will the next rule be: A proof of medical insurance when you apply for a visa?

As far as I'm aware, you can't get medical insurance in Thailand unless you are under 60 years old, so that would mean once expats reach 60 they will have to go back to their own countries as they won't get a visa to live here with no medical insurance. I don't think so, Thailand does not want us, but they want our money.

What would happen if all us old geezers where forced to leave Thailand because of health insurance issue's I wonder what would become of the wife's and families they support and many other spends and help they give the local economy I think if the government could calculate that(not easy) we would hear no more about how much we are costing the health service .

I am sure they come up with all these plans just to give us something to discuss on TV and of course like all government departments worldwide they need something to think about.

I for one just pick up sticks and ship out without a backward glance .

Well, you are right, kind of! You can't get health insurance after to BUT you can get it at 59! So why not take the plunge just to be covered? Once you have insurance, they CANNOT drop you when you turn 60.

No, but they can and will put the premiums up as you get older so you eventually can't afford it. Then what happens?

[Pimay1]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

Recover the medical costs and push more into the rice subsidy, much better for Thailand, why should the Thai farmer loose out because foreigners are stripping the Thai treasury

Oops, Good one geo. But I really don't think the rice farmers loosing out would be the issue. They are already in this situation with the millers cheating them. I think the politicians and the millers would be the only ones benifiting. Mo money, mo money. And talking about stripping the Thai treasury, if the rice scam isn't doing it then consider the flood prevention funding scam, rotten red onion scam, rotten rubber scam to name a few of others that come to mind..

Edited March 13, 2013 by Pimay1

[Arkady]

The idea of adding a surcharge on air fares or a hotel tax won't work well because Thailand has to remain competitive in the mass market tourism market and this will piss people off as well as be extremely complex to administer. Inevitably it would soon lead to allegations of corruption and tourists would find that the coverage was ineffectual when they needed it which would piss off tourists even more. Most short stay tourists probably have some travel insurance.

If they do anything at all, which I somewhat doubt, they are going to require insurance for long stay tourists and retirees.

[473geo]

I expect they could take the money made off the rice pledging scam and pay the medical care for every foreigner and Thai for the next fifty years.

Recover the medical costs and push more into the rice subsidy, much better for Thailand, why should the Thai farmer loose out because foreigners are stripping the Thai treasury

Oops, Good one geo. But I really don't think the rice farmers loosing out would be the issue. They are already in this situation with the millers cheating them. I think the politicians and the millers would be the only ones benifiting. Mo money, mo money. And talking about stripping the Thai treasury, if the rice scam isn't doing it nothing is except the flood prevention funding scam, rotten red onion scam, rotten rubber scam to name a couple of others.

What is your point.......foreigners should be allowed to drain hospital funds because there are those that do not agree with the current government policies............doesn't really hold up does it?

Edited March 13, 2013 by 473geo

[jocko]

If I had one wish it would be for ALL foreigners to disappear from Thailand for 2 years and let they Amazing Thai government get on with it.

Free flights to Thailand methinks

[tropo]

The idea of adding a surcharge on air fares or a hotel tax won't work well because Thailand has to remain competitive in the mass market tourism market and this will piss people off as well as be extremely complex to administer. Inevitably it would soon lead to allegations of corruption and tourists would find that the coverage was ineffectual when they needed it which would piss off tourists even more. Most short stay tourists probably have some travel insurance.

If they do anything at all, which I somewhat doubt, they are going to require insurance for long stay tourists and retirees.

Yep, tourists will find other places to go. It's the most ridiculous idea from the Thai government I've read on here for a long while, and that's saying something.

[NewlyMintedThai]

I haven't heard anything about Bali tourism imploding since Indinesia began requiring visas.

[muratremix]

What about farangs live here on 1 year marriage visa?

[StefanBBK]

How about older tourists? My mother for example cant get travel insurance, because of her age. Her National insurance is only good for at home and within the EU.

It would be great if there was a counter at the airport, where one could buy reasonable, short term insurance cover. No check on pre-excising conditions, no differentiation between risk groups..... Sounds almost communist

But why has it to be "government hospitals" ? I am sure most tourists are admitted to private Hospitals.

One more thing, the numbers quoted suggest that one of ten tourists has to visit a hospital during their stay? Do I read this right? Sound like a lot.

[MaxLee]

The health ministry of Thailand has a problem, and the Falang has to pay extra for it to fill their pockets....

[smutcakes]

Is this possibly actually meant to be that people have Travel Medical Insurance, which is a fairly common requirement in quite a few European countries as well I believe?

I don't think it such a bad idea to request people coming to Thailand to have insurance which means if they require treatment here they have the means to pay for it.

[tropo]

I haven't heard anything about Bali tourism imploding since Indinesia began requiring visas.

A large percentage of tourists to Thailand don't need visas.

Bali is a very poor comparison. The numbers of tourists going there would be a small fraction of those visiting Thailand.

Edited March 13, 2013 by tropo

[MobileContent]

Well, usually if you pay your ticket with a credit card , there is always an insurance included no ? How can they impose to tourists any insurance ? non sense but I agree on the principle , Thailand doesn't have to pay for those who cannot afford to pay medical expenses here. I said it before , those coming on tourist visa can have a proof of insurance when applying for visa. Thais must give this insurance when they travel to Europe. I also need a special insurance when I travel in some countries.

Credit cards do not all insure and it is worth a look at just what they do insure. Thais and others do not need insurance to travel to Europe only to get a schengen visa. I am not having a go, just a couple of replies to your points.

Yes but without a Schengen visa you can't enter most countries in Europe. A Schengen is a tourist visa valid normally for three months. Makes perfectly sense for any visitor to the Kingdom when applying for a visa to proof that he/she has a travel insurance during their stay in Thailand and it must be specially for older farangs that often end up in hospitals in Thailand.