1 million bht hospital fee but unable to pay!

[mcfish]

Hi

I have a good friend in Bangkok Bumrungrad hospital and I need some advice.

 

10 days ago he had a series of falls that ended up in a hospital trip via ambulance. At the time he was lucid and handed over a 50k bht credit card. He also has a long history with the hospital including a triple bypass all of which was paid for on time no problems. During his stay he deteriorated quickly and contracted pneumonia and a host of other problems and is currently in the cardiac section getting emergency treatment. The current bill is 600k but he aint going anywhere soon so Im guessing 1 mill by the time he is out if he recovers.

 

About a years ago he ran into financial difficulty and lost most of his money via some sort of fraud in the family and he has no health insurance. He is 83 years old

 

What are his options? Can the USA Embassy help in any way and what will the Hospital do once they find out he wont be paying?

 

Thanks in advance for your help

 

Edited July 30, 2014 by mcfish

[inzman]

Can't get blood from a stone. An old saying which would mean he is 83 and no cash. What can they possible do to him.

[inbangkok]

The US Embassy will not pay his hospital bills if that is what you are asking.

 

I have read numerous stories (many published here on ThaiVisa) of hospitals holding passports until payment is made.  I have no clue how Bumrungrad will handle a situation like this.  

 

My advice, convince your friend to transfer to a more affordable hospital.  If he has no insurance and is pretty much broke as you say.....there is essentially no way he is going to be able to pay for a prolonged stay at Bumrungrad.

[mcfish]

Yes I assumed the Embassy wouldn't pay but I was requested to ask . In regards to a transfer he cant even sit up let alone walk plus he stuffed full of tubes and on oxygen as well and he wont be able to pay anywhere he goes

In this case it does look like the hospital will lose out or claim via their insurance I guess. To be fair to the patient we had to drag him to hospital as he refused to go even though he spent 11 hours on his bathroom floor

Edited July 30, 2014 by mcfish

[Bernard Flint]

One of the problems of living here.At 83 the poor guy couldnt get privateheaLTHCARE IF HE HAD LOADS OF MONEY

 

My advice for old guys that cannot afford/ or too old to get medical cover, is to save so much money per month,to help to pay for any un foreseen costs.

[arjunadawn]

I am younger and have been procrastinating my health care insurance form submission; now I will complete it tomorrow. I am sorry for this man, and those who care for him. My mind raced trying to consider what options there are and I cant find any. Perhaps there are religious institutions operating here who can advise, assist, or facilitate transfer. I wish him my best.

[apiwan]

Sa state of affairs
. Thank god he's got a friend like you

You never know what life's gonna throw at you

Hope he gets better

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[mcfish]

Thanks for the well wishes guys, it certainly a sad state to be in for the twilight years. I wonder if he will now be deported but either way he must go back to the states where he has free medical care

[Sheryl]

Even in his condition, it is quite possible to transfer him by ambulance to another hospital. He needs to inform them at once that he is unable to pay for any further care there and wants to be transferred to a govt hosp asap. I suggest chulalonghorn, nearby and excellent. He'll need to sign a payment agreement with them for the bill so for...monthly payments for say a year or two. But get out of there as doon as possible.

[mcfish]

That's the answer Sheryl , Inbangkok also made the suggestion and that's what Im going to do this morning when I get there and speak to him or for him if he is unable.

Thanks guys for the great advice, everything is a lot clearer now, cheers

[shirtless]

Once your over 70 no company wants your business as they know you will need a claim, Insurance companies are so crooked these days, lets hope your friend can be moved and avoid the inevitable.

[alyx]

I don't get it....these hospital you are referring too are well known to ask for payment beforehand and will come knocking at your door to get their due on a regular basis.
Secondly, patients do have to sign an agreement for the expenses, such as MRI or anything involving equipment. Surely, your friend, not being lucid ( unless I am misinterpreting your post ) cannot have signed these authorisations, can he?
Having him hospitalised elsewhere is a good idea but, then again, I doubt the hospital will agree to it if no payment has been made.
They certainly have top notch physicians but they do run a tight business

[harrry]

Maybee they will send someone after you with a baseball bat.  Don't worry a Government Hospital will treat the injuries at reasonable cost.

[BKKSnowBird]

Very sad. Have you contacted the US embassy? Surly this has happened before. He also must be covered in the US by Medicare but obviously that does not help pay his bill or get him back to the US even if he was able to travel.

[inbangkok]

Thanks for the well wishes guys, it certainly a sad state to be in for the twilight years. I wonder if he will now be deported but either way he must go back to the states where he has free medical care

 

We don't really have free medical care in the States.  We have a variety of schemes for the elderly and low income concerning health insurance, but very few are 100% free.  The problem is, even if your friend is able to obtain completely free care and coverage upon returning to the states, I don't see how he will be able to do it instantly upon return. He will qualify for Medicare automatically because of his age, but qualifying for Medicaid is a bureaucratic process that takes some time.  

 

This is a bad situation and bottom line is that if he is in as bad of shape as you say, he needs to be stabilized here before he will be able to make the flight home anyway, and I don't know if racking up a million baht bill at Bumrungrad and bailing on payment is going to cause problems when he tries leaving the country.  Maybe if he has family or friends back home they can start looking into how to get him enrolled in something like Medicaid. 

 

It is sad, but it does not sounds like Thailand is an option for your friend anymore considering his health problems, no insurance, and inability to pay for his treatment.

Edited August 1, 2014 by inbangkok

[mcfish]

Just an update guys , after much searching we were able to locate an account that had enough to cover the balance. We had to wait until he improved enough to start trouble shooting. Tonight I will take the doctors letter to chulalonghorn hospital to see if they have room for him.

 

That's the good news, the bad news is he will enough for about a months stay and then he is totally wiped out without a bean left and he is 83 without caring family. Don't know what to do with him then.

 

Are there govt run free nursing homes in the states?

[Lopchan]

I'm not sure of the organization's name, but there was an expat who suffered a stroke a while back. The organization, flew him back to the states (might have been Canada...can't remember) with a full medical team. It was a free service and they even helped set up his home back there. It was an international organization similar to the one below. If anyone knows of it, maybe they could post a link here to help your friend out.

Praying for his recovery

 

http://www.angelflight.com

[jpeg]

Yes I assumed the Embassy wouldn't pay but I was requested to ask . In regards to a transfer he cant even sit up let alone walk plus he stuffed full of tubes and on oxygen as well and he wont be able to pay anywhere he goes

In this case it does look like the hospital will lose out or claim via their insurance I guess. To be fair to the patient we had to drag him to hospital as he refused to go even though he spent 11 hours on his bathroom floor

 

Then why on earth didn't you take him to an affordable hospital???  St Louis would've been cheaper or if he's that broke, any of the government (Chula) ones. Just what I'd need if I was 83 and had suffered a bad fall, some nosy bugger dragging me off to some hospital I couldn't afford  You pay.

Edited August 1, 2014 by jpeg

[mcfish]

 

Yes I assumed the Embassy wouldn't pay but I was requested to ask . In regards to a transfer he cant even sit up let alone walk plus he stuffed full of tubes and on oxygen as well and he wont be able to pay anywhere he goes

In this case it does look like the hospital will lose out or claim via their insurance I guess. To be fair to the patient we had to drag him to hospital as he refused to go even though he spent 11 hours on his bathroom floor

 

Then why on earth didn't you take him to an affordable hospital???  St Louis would've been cheaper or if he's that broke, any of the government (Chula) ones. Just what I'd need if I was 83 and had suffered a bad fall, some nosy bugger dragging me off to some hospital I couldn't afford  You pay.

 

Yes well hes being going there for 30 years and recently had a quadruple bypass there and paid cash and all his medical history is there and ... and... etc etc. The idiotic thing to do would be to send him to a place with zero history

 

Now the money thing was a complete shock to everyone , we all thought he was rich. And only found out about the fraud from another friend of his

 

You have anything useful to contribute or you want to show off how clever you are with hindsight?

Edited August 1, 2014 by mcfish

[mrtoad]

Well, it sounds like your a good friend - and you have done the right thing. Agreed that a transfer to Chula is a good idea. I hope it all works out well, certainly not a good situation that your friend finds himself in

[mrtoad]

Well, it sounds like your a good friend - and you have done the right thing. Agreed that a transfer to Chula is a good idea. I hope it all works out well, certainly not a good situation that your friend finds himself in

[theoldgit]

OP has advised that the issue is resolved and requests that the topic is closed.