Your monthly expense for 1 person(yourself) in CM?

[elektrified]

Surprising about Suan Dok since they require payment before any procedures are actually done. I couldn't even get a check up until I paid first.

That surprises me too. I have actually seen security called by the nursing staff when a hill-tribe woman was about to do a runner. The patient was detained until some arrangements could be made with her relatives. Her son put up his motorcycle as collateral. I have a friend who works at Suan Dok. She told me that often people (including foreigners) who who don't have insurance, access to cash, don't have enough credit available on their credit cards, etc. are required to sign over their automobile, motorcycle, etc. before they will be operated on or significant amounts of testing will be done. She has also showed me a place in the bowels of the building where very ill people without funds, family, or insurance are taken to lay on stretchers for hours until someone comes or until they die. They are given IV's and blankets but that is about it. I saw them myself.

[elektrified]

Thanks guys, very much appreciated. Me thinks me will be setting up a separate account & contributing monthly.

Cheers..... Malt.

You could also consider taking out insurance with a large excess - whatever suits you. Perhaps you may be happy for a minor problem to pay 200K Baht - 300K etc so take that as an excess.

small medical issues that can be dealt with without Hospitals and in many cases with Hospitals are not very expensive

They have policies here like that. They call them "major medical coverage" just like in the West. You can select a deductible between 20-120,000 THB. They are quite cheap, about 3K THB per year for someone 40-50 y/o.

I totally agree that outpatient treatment does not require insurance.

[elektrified]

Generally, in AMerica, they can't take your house from you for an unpaid medical bill, but they can be the first in line, when you go to sell it, so a lot of it is asset protection.

No, that is not true Thighlander. A guy I rented from in California many years ago stiffed UCLA and the Professor of Urology to the tune of US $350,000.00 when he failed to pay for his surgery for testicular cancer. He got paid by the insurance, took off to the Bahamas or somewhere and never paid his doctor or UCLA. The collection attorneys took him to court, got a judgment against him and proceeded to force sale of his house (rental property that I was in possession of). I was served with a notice to vacate and had to be out in 30-40 days. The house was sold at auction to satisfy the judgment.

Apologies for wandering too far off the topic.

[Gnasher328]

Here is something to think about from 2010 data from the World Health Organization:

Road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles

Australia 8

U.K. 7

U.S. 15

Thailand 118.8

If you remove teens and pre-teen motorcyclists from the stats, they are wildly different.

+1, and the fact that hardly anyone wears a helmet, lack of which can turn a minor spill into a fatality very easily.

[SoloFlyer]

Coming to Thailand can turn a minor spill to a fatality very easily.... but hey, its the best place to retire nowadays.

[Thighlander]

Generally, in AMerica, they can't take your house from you for an unpaid medical bill, but they can be the first in line, when you go to sell it, so a lot of it is asset protection.

No, that is not true Thighlander. A guy I rented from in California many years ago stiffed UCLA and the Professor of Urology to the tune of US $350,000.00 when he failed to pay for his surgery for testicular cancer. He got paid by the insurance, took off to the Bahamas or somewhere and never paid his doctor or UCLA. The collection attorneys took him to court, got a judgment against him and proceeded to force sale of his house (rental property that I was in possession of). I was served with a notice to vacate and had to be out in 30-40 days. The house was sold at auction to satisfy the judgment.

Apologies for wandering too far off the topic.

One's primary residence is looked at a lot different than a rental property.

[NeverSure]

Many people go their entire lives without heath insurance or free medical care.

Not everyone is an obese American waiting for their next heart attack.

Most people are healthy their entire lives.

There is a good argument that the chronically ill should be allowed to die.

Medical costs are just not important to most of the world.

I live quite happily with no insurance of any kind.

If you are, say, 78 years old and are told you need heart bypass surgery or you won't live long, I believe you'll fight to stay alive. It's one thing to say you'll just be willing to die, but when push comes to shove...

Health insurance is the only reason I won't give up my US residency and my Medicare Advantage. If it weren't for that, I'd pull up stakes and move permanently to LOS. But If I get a diagnosis of serious cancer or heart disease and can fly back to US soil, I'm covered. As it is, I can't get real health insurance in LOS.

I stood by the bed and watched my 92 year old mother die, and she fought for every last breath. Talk is cheap, and I don't point that at you, just as a measure of my experience.

[eden8]

Over the years I have winged with my wife about premiums paid. She simply says would you rather been in a major accident or had a major illness to get your money back. I immediately shut up and count my blessings .

lol

Edited August 11, 2013 by eden8

[CMSteve]

This really gets to me... I do feel sorry for the guy, but at the same time I can't help but get agitated by the fact that everyone else needs to pony up to help him. At his age accident insurance would have cost under 10,000B a YEAR! Even more than that, as a teacher doesn't he have rights to some other type of company/government insurances?

I think it's valid to snap people back to the reality of the biggest unplanned expense a long-term expat resident is likely to encounter. It seems some people give more thought to the cheapest place to buy coffee than they do what will happen if they have a major medical expense.

If we started a thread on medical and insurance costs than those considering living here, or those living over here on the cheap, would simply ignore the thread.

Medical costs are just not important to most of the world.

They aren't in the half oh the world that lives on less than 2usd per day...........and they have a relatively short life expectancy to go with it. Health cost are a major concern, in any developed nation. I doubt it is less than 5% of GDP in any of them.

Maybe that Canadian can get a clean IV needle, with the 900 thb the generous TV crowd raised for him at the bar fundraiser last night.

[Thighlander]

This really gets to me... I do feel sorry for the guy, but at the same time I can't help but get agitated by the fact that everyone else needs to pony up to help him. At his age accident insurance would have cost under 10,000B a YEAR! Even more than that, as a teacher doesn't he have rights to some other type of company/government insurances?

I think it's valid to snap people back to the reality of the biggest unplanned expense a long-term expat resident is likely to encounter. It seems some people give more thought to the cheapest place to buy coffee than they do what will happen if they have a major medical expense.

If we started a thread on medical and insurance costs than those considering living here, or those living over here on the cheap, would simply ignore the thread.

Medical costs are just not important to most of the world.

They aren't in the half oh the world that lives on less than 2usd per day...........and they have a relatively short life expectancy to go with it. Health cost are a major concern, in any developed nation. I doubt it is less than 5% of GDP in any of them.

Maybe that Canadian can get a clean IV needle, with the 900 thb the generous TV crowd raised for him at the bar fundraiser last night.

Fake degree, no work permit, no teacher license, no work visa, criminal record, no health insurance, no money.........check all that apply.

[elektrified]

I don't recall all of the facts about this case (whether he was a teacher, tourist, etc.), but I agree. In fact some of the accident policies in Thailand can be had for as little as 2,500 THB per year (---> age 65) that would pay up to 3 million THB and they specifically include injuries sustained from terrorism, attempted murder, etc... If he was a tourist he should have had travel insurance which is very cheap.

This guy is looking at millions and millions of Baht in medical bills over the years. As I recall he has a spinal injury, can't use his legs, and will need treatment for up to 4 years.

This really gets to me... I do feel sorry for the guy, but at the same time I can't help but get agitated by the fact that everyone else needs to pony up to help him. At his age accident insurance would have cost under 10,000B a YEAR! Even more than that, as a teacher doesn't he have rights to some other type of company/government insurances?

I think it's valid to snap people back to the reality of the biggest unplanned expense a long-term expat resident is likely to encounter. It seems some people give more thought to the cheapest place to buy coffee than they do what will happen if they have a major medical expense.

If we started a thread on medical and insurance costs than those considering living here, or those living over here on the cheap, would simply ignore the thread.

Medical costs are just not important to most of the world.

They aren't in the half oh the world that lives on less than 2usd per day...........and they have a relatively short life expectancy to go with it. Health cost are a major concern, in any developed nation. I doubt it is less than 5% of GDP in any of them.

Maybe that Canadian can get a clean IV needle, with the 900 thb the generous TV crowd raised for him at the bar fundraiser last night.

[NancyL]

I need to clear up a few misconceptions about unpaid bills at Suan Dok hospital.

I think some posters are confusing Sripat and Suan Dok hospitals. Suan Dok is the public gov't hospital -- Sripat is the "private" hospital -- a tall, building on the same campus. The "package physicals" for foreigners are offered at Sripat, not Suan Dok. And yes, you probably do need to pay in advance for this elective procedure. The people doing intake at the complex usually assume a foreigner will want to be admitted into Sripat unless he specifically says he doesn't have money and/or wants to go into Suan Dok.

Suan Dok and Sripat share the same doctors, operating rooms, MRI, CT equipment, etc. The Sripat patients go to the head of the line to use those resources. For example, I know of someone who recently inquired about an elective surgery -- the "all in" price at Sripat was 90,000 baht and he could have the surgery the next day or he could get on the wait list at Suan Dok, wait 6-8 weeks and pay 50,000 baht. Same doctor, operating room, etc. Even if he elected to get on the list at Suan Dok, he'll be asked for payment in advance because the procedure is elective.

Suan Dok hospital has a basic human rights obligation, as mandated by various U.N. treaties, to provide emergency care regardless of ability to pay. They have an obligation to stabilize the patient and provide life-saving care. They do not have a "human rights" obligation to give someone a routine physical exam or cataract surgery, for free. Yes, they are going to ask that assets like cars and motorcycles be sold to cover the cost of the bill. In general, they want to see at least 1/2 the anticipated cost of treatment on deposit before they do more than stabilizing a patient. The balance due can be paid on a contract over time and this is where many unpaid bills arise. People simply don't return to make contractual payments.

Sometimes foreigners end up in that part of the building mentioned by one poster. The area in the "bowels" of the building where patients on gurneys are lined up, receiving IVs etc. Not everyone is there because they can't pay. Some are there because they need IV meds for 12-18 hours and then will be "good to go". Some are there because they're waiting for a bed in a ward to become available. Sometimes they're waiting for family members to come to give needed information to the staff or make decisions on behalf of the patient. Those patients are routinely checked by nurses. These people aren't "left to die" as implied by the poster. That would violate a whole bunch of U.N. human rights obligations. Yes, it's not a pleasant place and it can be frightening for someone who doesn't speak Thai and doesn't understand why they've been "abandoned" in that part of the building.

Edited August 11, 2013 by NancyL

[Lizard2010]

i may have missed it, but i won't see anyone listing health insurance in their budgets.

I do this over the weekend.

It should be a guide ONLY.

Room 8000

Utilities 1000

Food 6000

Bike 2000

Fuel 1000

Internet 1000

Cell Phone 300

Massage 2000

Visa

Medical 12000

Washing 320

Total 32920 Baht

Depends on where you want to live and YOUR requirements

Anyone have any extra to add

[Lizard2010]

OOps Slight mistake.

I changed the Internet should read as following.

.

It should be a guide ONLY.

Room 8000
Utilities 1000
Food 6000
Bike 2000
Fuel 1000
Internet 300
Cell Phone 300
Massage 2000
Visa
Medical 12000
Washing 320

Total 32920 Baht

Hope it helps

Edited August 12, 2013 by Lizard2010

[anto]

Above you list Medical at B12,000 a month .Do you really mean per year ?,because thats what my yearly Health insurance is .

[elektrified]

Above you list Medical at B12,000 a month .Do you really mean per year ?,because thats what my yearly Health insurance is .

Mine is less than 12K per year but I suspect the poster is more than 64 years old.

[scd]

I always say to people to aim for a start price for everything of 30,000 baht. From there it varies on your lifestyle choices amongst other things.

[Rice60640]

Oh dear, we've done this topic many times before. One of the great things about Chiang Mai is that you can have a nice lifestyle and fun with a monthly budget as low as 10,000 baht/month and up. The general consensus was that a single guy with somewhat of a social life would need 30,000-40,000 baht. Someone out in the bars every day, entertaining the ladies, eating western food for every meal is going to need much more. Up to you!

It's really a matter of budget, attitude and lifestyle choices.

I'd caution anyone trying to live in Thailand on a limited budget to be sure to have ready access to at least 50,000-100,000 baht for a medical emergency and to get health insurance (or a savings account of 500,000) if you plan to live here longer term.

CM is a wonderful city to live in as compare to bangkok.

what kind of 'health' issue do you foresee ?

I think he was referring to the annual crop burning.

[Lizard2010]

Above you list Medical at B12,000 a month .Do you really mean per year ?,because thats what my yearly Health insurance is .

Yes cost per month Because of over 63

Edited August 13, 2013 by Lizard2010

[Lizard2010]

Above you list Medical at B12,000 a month .Do you really mean per year ?,because thats what my yearly Health insurance is .

Mine is less than 12K per year but I suspect the poster is more than 64 years old.

Yes as you get older they charge you

Have to be insured before 65