Health Insurance for Expats

[CharlieH]

Always a popular and repeated question, I know there is a pinned poll on this but that is relevant to 60+ years of age.

I thought it might be useful to see where people of varying ages get there cover.

If you have no cover, thats obviously your choice and some may have it provided for them through their employment.

Feel free to add your own company and experience in any posts but I believe I have included the most popular options in the poll.

Thanks to all for taking part and bringing this info up-to-date.

[Suradit69]

Most insurance in Thailand seems to be primarily hospital insurance, not health insurance. Adding on outpatient coverage appears to cost almost as much as the maximum you're ever likely to be able to claim and, as far as I know, rarely covers prescription drugs taken away from hospital or eyeglasses or dental work or long-term medication for things like hypertension or elevated cholesterol.

I paid for BUPA for quite a few years and a cursory reading of the terms suggested they were pretty restrictive and, as I said, coverage outside of inpatient care either did not exist or was not economic. Fortunately I never needed to make a claim to test it out and post-65 I am covered by my former employer in the US. So I ticked "employer" above although it is not a current employer.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Suradit69

[pinkpanther99]

You forgot the under 30's

[Estrada]

I don't use health insurance it is a rip off. Annual full cover on BUPA is around B99,000 for a so called coverage of B5Million. However it is only B1Miilion per incident and then again, if you check the small print they have limits of coverage. For instance they cover ICU with a limit of around B16,000 per day whereas in Australia where I was admitted to ICU, the fee was B160,000 per day. My total bill for 3 weeks in Hospital was B1Million but checking the BUPA policy they would only have paid out B86,000. So 20 years of BUPA without incident will cost at least B2Million against a payback in my case of only B86,000 which is less than the annual premium. Therefore, I put B1Million into a BBL fund which invests in L/Cs and pays interest daily. Any amount can be cashed online at any time and transferred to my savings account. So this is my own health insurance fund.

[NangrongJ]

As one who has worked in many countries, some third world and developing, I have been given health insurance as part of my package. Also, as a former Country Manager in an Asian country I negotiated packages for ex-pats which included health insurance. I've found since coming here to Thailand that I am far from impressed by the costs, service and when it comes down to it, the problems. I've spoken with many that have health insurance here and my conclusion is that I'd rather do without it. Just for the record I'm 58, no health probs, fit and healthy, I run on average 5 km most days.

It does seem, and I am open to correction, that no matter what the ex-pat buys in Thailand it is 'relatively' costly and of low value. As long as people keep paying you justify this. It simply isn't competitive.

[Dellie]

Used to have thai insurance which are all crap. Now I have international health insurance via my employer that actually covers everything including mental illness should my wife eventually succeed to drive me crazy

[alfieconn]

I don't use health insurance it is a rip off. Annual full cover on BUPA is around B99,000 for a so called coverage of B5Million. However it is only B1Miilion per incident and then again, if you check the small print they have limits of coverage. For instance they cover ICU with a limit of around B16,000 per day whereas in Australia where I was admitted to ICU, the fee was B160,000 per day. My total bill for 3 weeks in Hospital was B1Million but checking the BUPA policy they would only have paid out B86,000. So 20 years of BUPA without incident will cost at least B2Million against a payback in my case of only B86,000 which is less than the annual premium. Therefore, I put B1Million into a BBL fund which invests in L/Cs and pays interest daily. Any amount can be cashed online at any time and transferred to my savings account. So this is my own health insurance fund.

To be fair 1m baht isn't going to cover you for every eventuality !

[waitingforalife]

The decision as to whether to get health insurance or not is a very personal one. Most people like to think they will never get sick, but the reality is that some are right, some are not and you may well be one of the unlucky ones! Statistically, 50% of people between 60 and 70 will require a hospital stay which is likely to be expensive.

Another reality of living in Thailand (Bangkok in particular) is the high chance of being involved in an accident which is very likely to be expensive. Having an insurance card in your wallet could be the (life saving) difference to being taken off to hospital in a timely manner and being delayed whilst your ability to pay is established.

I have seen numerous posts on this topic that talk about getting travel insurance and repatriating to the home country in the event of needing some medical procedure. The reality of that is that travel insurance only provides essential cover for medical emergencies and repatriation will only be provided when suitable medical facilities are not available locally. With the excellent level of medical care available in Thailand, it is safe to assume the latter is not going to happen and good luck with repatriating yourself following an encounter with a bus driven by a driver high on yaba, or even following a simple but unfortunately quite common heart attack!

As for cheap medical care in LOS, sure it is probably cheaper than your home country but take a look at the Bumrungrad hospital website under pricing/real cost estimates to get an idea of how much you might need to spend. Granted the Bumrungrad is top end but it is still quite a sobering read!

There are a number of comparison websites around that allow to get real-time quotes for a range of international health insurance policies and review the cover available. One I particularly like is www.worldwidehealthcover.com which not only provides price information, they also provide a comparative index of all the policies they offer based on the benefits provided. Surprisingly, they have several policies that provide international cover for a similar price to some of the local Thai polices, which are generally speaking quite limited and provide cover only in Thailand. For example, if we take NangrongJ, who states he is 58, no health probs, fit and healthy, and runs on average 5 km most days. For international cover there are a selection of policies available from approximately B20,000 up, which is approximately B55 per day. Hardly a huge amount for the peace of mind!

[humph]

Having no cover is often not, "a choice". nobody will provide cover for me because of age and medical history.

[natway09]

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

[stevenl]

The decision as to whether to get health insurance or not is a very personal one. Most people like to think they will never get sick, but the reality is that some are right, some are not and you may well be one of the unlucky ones! Statistically, 50% of people between 60 and 70 will require a hospital stay which is likely to be expensive.

Another reality of living in Thailand (Bangkok in particular) is the high chance of being involved in an accident which is very likely to be expensive. Having an insurance card in your wallet could be the (life saving) difference to being taken off to hospital in a timely manner and being delayed whilst your ability to pay is established.

I have seen numerous posts on this topic that talk about getting travel insurance and repatriating to the home country in the event of needing some medical procedure. The reality of that is that travel insurance only provides essential cover for medical emergencies and repatriation will only be provided when suitable medical facilities are not available locally. With the excellent level of medical care available in Thailand, it is safe to assume the latter is not going to happen and good luck with repatriating yourself following an encounter with a bus driven by a driver high on yaba, or even following a simple but unfortunately quite common heart attack!

As for cheap medical care in LOS, sure it is probably cheaper than your home country but take a look at the Bumrungrad hospital website under pricing/real cost estimates to get an idea of how much you might need to spend. Granted the Bumrungrad is top end but it is still quite a sobering read!

There are a number of comparison websites around that allow to get real-time quotes for a range of international health insurance policies and review the cover available. One I particularly like is www.worldwidehealthcover.com which not only provides price information, they also provide a comparative index of all the policies they offer based on the benefits provided. Surprisingly, they have several policies that provide international cover for a similar price to some of the local Thai polices, which are generally speaking quite limited and provide cover only in Thailand. For example, if we take NangrongJ, who states he is 58, no health probs, fit and healthy, and runs on average 5 km most days. For international cover there are a selection of policies available from approximately B20,000 up, which is approximately B55 per day. Hardly a huge amount for the peace of mind!

Since both your posts on this forum are promoting this one website, I get the feeling that where it says 'they' in your post it should read 'we'.

[whiteman]

N.Z.I (Thailand branch) but underwritten by NZI expensive but you pay for what you get I am 67 = 100.000 bhat per year I am glad I have it peace of mind

[T_Dog]

I use Thai Life for health insurance, which is also known as Thai Health Insurance Public Company Limited. They have offices all over Thailand and if you are a Thai speaker or have access to one, give them a call. They are very helpful. You could get them through an insurance broker, but you might as well develop a relationship directly with the insurance company in the event you need them.

http://www.thaihealth.co.th

Edited May 14, 2014 by T_Dog

[mmail2you]

I use Thai Health and have 400,000bht coverage for 16.900 per year I am between 50 - 60

[chrissables]

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

Maybe you are ok in your own bubble of insurance covered life, some people can't get insurance, so you would ban them? Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing.

How would you feel if after living here a while, maybe buying a house etc, you were refused insurance cover and were made to leave? Maybe to so smug i would hope.

[Suradit69]

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

Maybe you are ok in your own bubble of insurance covered life, some people can't get insurance, so you would ban them? Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing.

How would you feel if after living here a while, maybe buying a house etc, you were refused insurance cover and were made to leave? Maybe to so smug i would hope.

"Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing."

Banks don't provide medical care, hospitals do. As has been shown in numerous other threads on Thai Visa that cite newspaper reports, many hospital lose millions of baht providing care for uninsured, indigent farangs. That's not " a few" and it's not only old uninsured farang.

If the hospitals primarily serve Thai people, that means they have less to offer those who ought to be served. More often it's the hospitals that serve "international" patients that get stuck with the non-payers. Guess who ends up paying for them? It's those of us who do pay our bills. If a hospital is meant to be run at a profit and some "customers" don't pay, then those who do will have to pay more to make up for the spongers.

I agree with Natway09. If someone is a short term tourists he/she ought to have travel insurance. If someone is taking up residence here, s/he ought to have some insurance. If not, then they should return to their own countries where whatever social services are available to their citizens. It has nothing to do with being smug. I'm fortunate enough to have quite good insurance, but I paid for it. If someone bought a house here I don't want to be asked to underwrite his comfy accommodations by paying for his medical care.

Thailand is not a refugee camp for indigent farang and many of them come from nanny state countries where their taxes fund medical care, so that's where they belong. What I pay is enough without having a surcharge added to cover those who choose not to have insurance or who can't afford it.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Suradit69

[Balance]

As one who has worked in many countries, some third world and developing, I have been given health insurance as part of my package. Also, as a former Country Manager in an Asian country I negotiated packages for ex-pats which included health insurance. I've found since coming here to Thailand that I am far from impressed by the costs, service and when it comes down to it, the problems. I've spoken with many that have health insurance here and my conclusion is that I'd rather do without it. Just for the record I'm 58, no health probs, fit and healthy, I run on average 5 km most days.

It does seem, and I am open to correction, that no matter what the ex-pat buys in Thailand it is 'relatively' costly and of low value. As long as people keep paying you justify this. It simply isn't competitive.

AIA insurance was not on the options and offers expats in-patient coverage at about five levels of cover. The most expensive option is much better coverage than the U.S. Medicare A&B, especially if you include the 20% co-pay needed. I pay TB6,500 per month, which is about twice the cost of Part B, and if you drop Part B, the coverage is very affordable. It covers over 200 hospital days per admission, lab, imaging, surgeons and other specialists, etc. You have to be under 70 and not have any obvious problems, like weighing 130 kg with high blood pressure. Very little of the paperwork is in English, so you should have someone translate whatever you get. There is no cover after age 80, but if you get to 80 without any systemic systems' problems, it is likely you will just fall over dead from a stroke or big MI. AIA also has a separate accident policy.

[chrissables]

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

Maybe you are ok in your own bubble of insurance covered life, some people can't get insurance, so you would ban them? Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing.

How would you feel if after living here a while, maybe buying a house etc, you were refused insurance cover and were made to leave? Maybe to so smug i would hope.

"Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing."

Banks don't provide medical care, hospitals do. As has been shown in numerous other threads on Thai Visa that cite newspaper reports, many hospital lose millions of baht providing care for uninsured, indigent farangs. That's not " a few" and it's not only old uninsured farang.

If the hospitals primarily serve Thai people, that means they have less to offer those who ought to be served. More often it's the hospitals that serve "international" patients that get stuck with the non-payers. Guess who ends up paying for them? It's those of us who do pay our bills. If a hospital is meant to be run at a profit and some "customers" don't pay, then those who do will have to pay more to make up for the spongers.

I agree with Natway09. If someone is a short term tourists he/she ought to have travel insurance. If someone is taking up residence here, s/he ought to have some insurance. If not, then they should return to their own countries where whatever social services are available to their citizens. It has nothing to do with being smug. I'm fortunate enough to have quite good insurance, but I paid for it. If someone bought a house here I don't want to be asked to underwrite his comfy accommodations by paying for his medical care.

Thailand is not a refugee camp for indigent farang and many of them come from nanny state countries where their taxes fund medical care, so that's where they belong. What I pay is enough without having a surcharge added to cover those who choose not to have insurance or who can't afford it.

I made a mistake, and have no idea why i wrote banks when i meant hospitals!

I still dissagree unless the Thai government will offer this insurance at a acceptable cost. The hospitals here charge "farang" prices to line theie pockets, so moaning about the odd "farang" who has difficulty paying does not hold water.

[MrMo]

The bar graphs are of limited interest. What would be of interest is to see these results as a matrix, i.e. which age groups rely on which sources for their medical cover, and for those taking our cover with insurance companies whether they take full medical cover or just in-house. Then extending the survey to incorporate cost would be making it of considerable use to many expats here struggling to decide whether to insure or to not insure..

[freebyrd]

Having no cover is often not, "a choice". nobody will provide cover for me because of age and medical history.

Ditto. "Spent 30 years in the fitness business, then I had a TIA, minor stroke. Tried to get cover afterwards, the answer? "Given your history, we'll cover against anything except strokes, heart conditions and cancer. What else is there pushing 60?!