Government Health Insurance for expats - continued

[hellodolly]

@scortecard, thanks for the information. It was exactly what I wanted to know.

I did go and look through Sheryl's and NancyL's posts but did not find what I was looking for through I did find a lot of other very helpful information.

David

I live in your area also. I went through the list that was provided but It did not tell where the different hospitals are located. I was under the under standing you had to go to the closest one to you. Can you register there and where is the closest Public hospital in the Pantip Plaza area?

[scorecard]

@scortecard, thanks for the information. It was exactly what I wanted to know.

I did go and look through Sheryl's and NancyL's posts but did not find what I was looking for through I did find a lot of other very helpful information.

David

I live in your area also. I went through the list that was provided but It did not tell where the different hospitals are located. I was under the under standing you had to go to the closest one to you. Can you register there and where is the closest Public hospital in the Pantip Plaza area?

Sorry but I can't answer your questions, I don't have a complete list of all public hospitals in CM, nor information about their case by case capabilities, etc., nor whether they are of the right size or whatever to be able to issue the card.

The only comment I can offer is my post #29 on this thread, for what it's worth.

Good luck.

Edited November 24, 2013 by scorecard

[NancyL]

As Sheryl said in the pinned thread, this program is the UC insurance progam and should not to be confused with the Thai SS insurance which is available to those who are working. SS is a much more comprehensive program. I'd suggest you talk with others at work about where they go to seek medical care. Is there someone who handles Human Resources at your place of employment? They should have information about which hospitals and clinics participate in the SS insurance they support.

Hellodolly -- you live in Amphur Muang. Your hospital under the UC program is Nakorn Ping hospital for routine medical care. You don't work, so you're not able to obtain SS coverage. NKP can refer you to other facilities if they lack the capabilities to offer the care you need. See details of the program for where you can go to seek care in life-threatening and urgent medical emergencies. There are several private hospitals near you who can provide care (without billing you) in emergency situations, but personally if I were you, I'd go to Suan Dok (a government hospital) for a life-threatening or urgent emergency if you didn't want to be billed. See http://www.lannacarenet.org/foreigner-health-insurance-program-moph-directive/ for a list of the private hospitals that are participating for EMERGENCY coverage only.

Edited November 24, 2013 by NancyL

[Saan]

Can I encourage you to read the previous posts by Sheryl and NancyL, and here's my experience:

I live in the Don Chan area and my family did some research about surrounding hospitals: It seems that Hang Dong hospital is quite small and has quite limited equipment, other surrounding hospitals some similar comments and at one local small hospital there is no 24 hr doctor on duty.

Bottom line, lots of advice to go to Nakorn Ping, which I did and had a very friendly, fast, and professional experience to get my new card.

Then we discovered that Nakorn Ping has a small satellite hospital immediately opposite the big Suriwongse book shop just down from Pantip Plaza.

My Thai daughter in law went with me into the satellite annex and she asked if I can go there. Very friendly and polite response indicating that yes I can use my new card there but they are not set up with major equipment, only a few beds etc. But small illnesses yes very welcome to come in.

The nurse also said: " if the farang or any patient comes here and it's beyond our capabilities / equipment etc., we will call the main Nakorn Ping and tell them to be expecting a patient within the next 20 minutes or so and if it's something that needs very urgent attention or is life threatening then there is a modern ambulance on stand by at the annexe site." But the annex cannot do the initial issue of the card.

I have both Googled and used my GPS and both show Nakornping Hospital being opposite Suriwongse bok store. Will anyone please tell me where the main hospital is.

[NancyL]

I just input "Nakorn Ping hospital Chiang Mai" into Google and came up with "159 Chotana Rd." which is the address for the main hospital. Also, I clicked on the "maps" option of Google for that search and found this: (hope the link works here on Thai Visa)

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=nakorn+Ping+hospital+chiang+mai&ie=UTF-8&ei=OnORUv7oIe6higezloHgDw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg

Edit: oh goodie! It does, at least on my browser. Thanks for asking the question, Saan.

Edited November 24, 2013 by NancyL

[Genericnic]

There are several private hospitals near you who can provide care (without billing you) in emergency situations, but personally if I were you, I'd go to Suan Dok (a government hospital) for a life-threatening or urgent emergency if you didn't want to be billed. See http://www.lannacarenet.org/foreigner-health-insurance-program-moph-directive/ for a list of the private hospitals that are participating for EMERGENCY coverage only.

If it is a life-threatening or urgent emergency, I'm not going to worry about being billed, only the quality of the care available.

David

[Saan]

I just input "Nakorn Ping hospital Chiang Mai" into Google and came up with "159 Chotana Rd." which is the address for the main hospital. Also, I clicked on the "maps" option of Google for that search and found this: (hope the link works here on Thai Visa)

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=nakorn+Ping+hospital+chiang+mai&ie=UTF-8&ei=OnORUv7oIe6higezloHgDw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg

Edit: oh goodie! It does, at least on my browser. Thanks for asking the question, Saan.

And thank you Nancy for your sterling work.

[mimithewoof]

All's well that ended well!

My husband had his operation yesterday - all is good now. He was passed over to Nakornping's orthopedic specialist surgeon and received excellent care. The nursing and auxiliary staff were extremely kind, efficient and caring and ,although my husband doesn't speak any Thai, there were very few problems with communication. The surgeon had good English, explained how the infection had come about before he amputated the finger, and has given my husband a letter for the doctor at Doi Saket hospital who originally said there was 'no infection'. Should make an interesting read...The entire top joint and below of the index finger had been eaten away by the infection, which had been going on for over a month with no exterior indication or pain.

So - for those who've joined the scheme at Nakornping, it scored, for me, eight out of ten on what began as minor and turned into a serious problem. The nursing staff in both the general and orthopedic wards were great, giving more help than I would have expected, including providing a very late meal last evening after my husband had recovered for the operation and was, typically, starving hungry.

The only problem was the confusion as to when the operation should take place - it was put back for three days due to more urgent cases - orthopedics is so busy with victims of motorbike accidents it's not true. On Thursday, after the infection site had been drained and cleaned, the ward sister took one look at the mess underneath, took a photo of it on her mobile and sent it directly to the orthopedic surgeon, who immediately brought the surgery forward from Monday to yesterday. Unorthodox maybe, but it got the job done.

All in all, if a delay won't cause a life-threatening problem, I'd rate the entire experience slightly better than that in a similar local hospital in London's suburbs. How it would rate against US local hospitals, I've no idea, but the main surprise was that there was no charge for anything but the follow-up antibiotics and pain killers, which were 30 baht.

[NancyL]

Mimi, so glad it turned out well for your husband. Yes, the experience is what should have been expected of a busy, competent public hospital. The nurse triaged your husband appropriately by taking a photo with her mobile and sending it to the surgeon. I've had much more experience at Suan Dok, the teaching hospital of CMU and the residents do that all the time. There, too, it's frustrating for patients not to know EXACTLY when they'll have their surgeries and sometimes they're finally taken into the OR at 3 am after the trauma cases are cleared. Also there, the nurses somehow manage to come up with food at odd hours.

Edited November 24, 2013 by NancyL

[mimithewoof]

I wouldn't have known about this option if it hadn't been for you, Sheryl and Lanna Care Net - so I thank you both with all my heart. Yes, it was embarrassingly inexpensive but, given my stubborn husband's utter refusal to go to Ram or such, it was a very interesting experience with a good result. I'm more than happy, so is he!

[Sheryl]

Thanks Nancy and Sheryl for great info. On the pinned thread Sheryl note that this new scheme "should not be confused with the Social Security system, which has always been open to foreigners with work permits" (after they work for 13 months). The SS system apparently allows for semi-private rooms and choice of hospitals. That's my question. I have just this week been issued a SS Health card by my employer (after about 13 moths of employment). Does anybody know if there is a list of hospitals that allow the SS coverage? I had been to McCormick previously for minor needs but I understand that after next month they will not cover SS.

Yes, there is a list Your employer should have provided it to you but if not, contact the CM SS office, they are usually very helpful http://www.sso.go.th/wpr/eng/contactus.html

[Sheryl]

There are several private hospitals near you who can provide care (without billing you) in emergency situations, but personally if I were you, I'd go to Suan Dok (a government hospital) for a life-threatening or urgent emergency if you didn't want to be billed. See http://www.lannacarenet.org/foreigner-health-insurance-program-moph-directive/ for a list of the private hospitals that are participating for EMERGENCY coverage only.

If it is a life-threatening or urgent emergency, I'm not going to worry about being billed, only the quality of the care available.

David

If I were in a life threatening/emergency situation in CM without question I would go to Suan Dok, there is no other hospital in the province -- or for that matter then entire north -- with a comparable capacity.

[Sheryl]

Sheryl /NancyL

Can you help me I live in amphur Meatha Lampang,will / does the local hospital issue the card.I have used the hospital and have been given an ID number,(I was biten by a dog so needed anti rabies injections).I know that Lampang isn't Chiang Mai but it is the nearest forum to me.I was going to say that I will buy you a drink at the next party at the Old Belle but it will have to be a different place now.

We have not yet had any feedback from this area but as the CM Provincial Health Dept is strongly supportive of the scheme and the provincial hospital issues the cards odds are very good that all the o her hospitals in the province (government hospitals, that is) will too.

Just in case bring with you a copy of the MoPH directive and have handy the phone number at the MoPH to call in case the staff seem not to know what it is about.