Health Insurance In Thailand That Works?

[simon43]

I have an IMG health insurance policy that offers the usual cover, but requires me submit a claim for my inpatient hospital treatment within a few days of being admitted. One can conclude that this means that I have to pay the hospital in cash first on admission....

I personally know of a foreigner with 5-star medical insurance who died after an accident because the (unnamed) Thai hospital refused to treat him unless he paid cash first.

I understand that respected hospitals such as Bunrumgrad and Bangkok Phuket Hospital demand cash upfront before they treat you, even if you have medical insurance cover.

Since I typically neither have millions of baht in my bank account, and since I do not normally associate with very rich and generous friends who would be willing to pay this cash, I'm naturally concerned that should I need medical or emergency treatment, I'm going to be denied treatment by the hospital for lack of upfront cash.

I've emailed the above hospitals to ask about their policy.

I would be interested to know if there are any medical insurance policies that are recognised by Thai hospitals to allow admittance and/or emergency treatment without cash advance. (Similar to flashing your Amex card and hearing the "that'll do nicely Sir").

Simon

[cooked]

I may have written this before, but on establishing which local hospital had the best reputation, I went and got myself registered there, at the same time asking them which insurer they preferred. Their rep. was round like a shot and I signed up then and there (I had previously looked at this insurance). So now I have a hospital card, an insurance card and a local rep to help. Even if I am delivered unconscious to a hospital elsewhere in Thailand, I have a good chance of being treated.

Why don't you go to the hospital yourself, you won't get an answer to an email methinks.

[simon43]

Cooked, I intend to do exactly this when I go to BKK during the Songran break. I have previously been treated at Bumrungrad (paid myself), and I was quite happy with the cost and treatment.

Simon

[manhattan55]

Typically, international insurers such as IMG require you to get pre-authorization before seeking inpatient treatment. Once received, there should not be any upfront cash required. Possibly this was not in place when you sought treatment?

[Youpi88]

You have to make sure that your insurance company has a good medical network in the country of your expatriation (Thailand in this case).

You can ask the insurance company for the list of hospitals with which they have a "Direct Billing Agreement". They should provide it to you without question.

Some companies even provide the list of hospitals on their website: http://sea.msh-intl.com/en/medical-find_doctor_hospital

They even have Direct Billing for OPD. Let's say you go just to see a general practitioner, you will not have to pay anything, simply show your insurance card.

Hope this helps.

[Satcommlee]

This is a common problem, I have experienced it myself also.. Namely Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

I am with BUPA international.

They demand money up-front always, once for my son when he was admitted and another time when I had appendicitis.

They demanded money up-front for the CT Scan for the appendicitis.

On both occasions I refused, told them to get on the phone to the insurance company instead of trying to shake me down on a hospital trolley.

A good insurance like BUPA international (Has claims authorisation 24 hours), unlike BUPA Thailand where they are reluctant to get seniors out of bed at night.

When I declined to pay for the CT scan (Which of course they would have charged at the regular Farang rate), I was told there would be a long delay while they wait for claims authorisation..

I then called BUPA international myself and the lady said no problem and she will deal with it... Only 10 minutes later the same money hungry admin witch returned to tell me that everything has been approved.

What worries me most is if I ever ended up in one of these hospitals unconscious or non-compos mentis so to speak.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Satcommlee

[Sheryl]

I have BUPA Thailand. Over the years, 2 claims. Both paid by direct billing by the hospital, I didn't have to upfront a thing, and no problems.

[Satcommlee]

I have BUPA Thailand. Over the years, 2 claims. Both paid by direct billing by the hospital, I didn't have to upfront a thing, and no problems.

It may depend on it being during working hours and the urgency..

Also the exposure the hospital faces to bad debt, putting you in a hospital room doesn't really cost them anything but getting staff in on call-out or starting courses of expensive treatments would expose the hospital to bad debt.

both my incidents were out of hours and urgent.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Satcommlee

[Mike45]

I have recently had a surgery at Bumrungrad. It was on a Saturday afternoon and was supposed to be only a checkup on my finger which had surgery a week earlier at another hospital.

I was having the surgery re-done that evening.

I had been sent to the hospital and the checkup was arranged by International SOS in Bangkok. They work with my main international insurance Cigna International.

I was told that I wouldn't be able to get a Guarantee of Payment from SOS because Cigna International had a direct billing relationship with Bumrungrad.

Bumrungrad said that they (or Cigna) used and intermediary company company in Malaysia to process the GOP from Cigna and It probably wouldn't be processed quickly enough before I left later that night. So they wanted my credit card and me to sign saying that if the GOP was denied they could charge my card.

I was hesitant about supplying it.

Instead I called Cigna's number and asked for them to issue the GOP.

I put them on the phone together after I explained my situation and Bumrungrad was satisfied.

I can't help wondering what would have happened if I was unconscious.

[SgtMarlow]

I just had a friend that came in on her first trip to Thailand. She fell coming out of the bathroom in her hotel and put her foot through a window in the bathroom door, which was glass. She was taken to Bumrungrad and supplied them her insurance card. They called the insurance company and got approval immediately for a surgery that cost 6,000 pounds. In addition, her insurance contacted her airline and got her return flight changed to a direct flight to London and her seating upgraded and that of her husband, so that she will have a comfortable ride and her husband can assist her on the flight. In addition she is going to receive compensation of about 100 pounds per day while she heals back home in London. Before she leaves to go home she is going to have a second surgery to help repair her Achilles Tendon in her foot, all covered, she pays nothing. Not sure what the final bill will be, but my guess is it will be somewhere around 15000 pounds, all covered. Insurance I am sure is what you put into it and who you buy it through. In her case, she had her agent back home pushing things through for her. Good customer service from her insurance company etc. Not some brokered insurance where you do not know the agent or have to go through your broker to get anything done. I would say above the number 1 problem that everyone has is that they use a broker instead of a real agent for the insurance. I would try finding a good insurance and then find their local agent and work with them, you might get better results.

[dantilley]

Think it depends on the hospital mainly. Never had an issue with direct settlement for OPD or inpatient with BNH or Samitivej - the latter sometimes don't seem too keen on it (I think they've been burned before by false claims or unreasonable insurance companies), but a bit of persistence pays off. I've heard other hospitals in Bangkok, even some big ones, aren't so accommodating. I'm with Henner-GMC by the way, nearest office is Singapore, no local representation in Thailand.

[samran]

We are with William Russell. For inpatient, never had to pay a satang up front so long as it was pre-authorised.

The trick I think people forget is to ring the insurer before anything happens (if possible of course, obviously not do-able if you are unconcious) and sort out the approval. Usually, the hospital has staff on hand to do that for you.

Once or twice I preferred to pay up front and put the bill on the CC to get the FF points. Both insurer and hospital had no problem with that method either, though it meant me doing the paperwork myself.

[sas_cars]

I have BUPA Thailand. Over the years, 2 claims. Both paid by direct billing by the hospital, I didn't have to upfront a thing, and no problems.

Which plan do you have? And how much you pay monthly?

[Colabamumbai]

I was given their policies yesterday but the papers are not accesable now.

I think $500 is the lowest and the maybe $700 with some upgrades if I recall correctly. The A.I.A. rep gave it to me when I said that I did not really need death ins. A.I.A. wanted 33,000 Baht for Health and Death.

[tonydabbs]

Use Thai-based insurance. They are cheaper and they pay directly to most of the private hospitals in Thailand.

Government hospitals and hospitals outside of Thailand have to paid by you and then you submit a claim to the insurance company.

Health insurance is very tightly regulated (inspite of some of the b.s. you read in the forums).

If you have a problem with the insurance company contact the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC).

They will help you if you are in the right, and sometimes even when you might be in the wrong.

Keep in mind, though, pre-existing are not covered by insurance in Thailand. And, they have up to 2 years to discover any pre-existing conditions that you "forgot" to mention in your application.