what level of care do you actually get of you make these?

I have received the card etc but does it get me a plaster on a scratched knee and an aspirin or will it fund major surgery if required?

"what level of care do you actually get of you make these?"

Huh?

If you are refering to Thai SS, which is what I have with the university, then you can go here: SSO

Even there it is not completely clear about the benefits. My understanding it is 100% coverage at the hospital you are covered under.

True. But expect generally long waits. Doctors get into 'thevada' (angel) mode and whatever they say is pretty much final. That is, if they don't think you need a particular treatment, you're not going to get it. And don't expect long detailed discussions, there are about a million folks in line behind you.

Nothing beats private insurance + being self insured (with cash). Doctors take on the role of medical professionals there to take care of you, chat with you about all things medical, ready to treat you, sometimes whether you need it or not.

thanks for that. i do have seperate "private" cover but i was curious as to what i got for the money that i pay out each month

Are falang teachers who are enrolled in Thai Social Security qualified to recieve the Old-age pension? If you meet the other requirements?

http://www.sso.go.th/eng/services_en/social_en.html

Heng said

"True. But expect generally long waits. Doctors get into 'thevada' (angel) mode and whatever they say is pretty much final. That is, if they don't think you need a particular treatment, you're not going to get it. And don't expect long detailed discussions, there are about a million folks in line behind you."

My experience has been different. I've had doctors at both government and private hospitals go out of their way to help me.

In two different provinces I was given a choice of hospitals to choose from for social security. The lists contained both government and private hospitals.

I'm scheduled for some minor surgery this Friday and my only cost will be the difference between a shared room and a private room. 400 baht per night. Social Security only pays for shared rooms, but covers everything else. A very good deal, for me at least.

Terry

ibowman1993 said

Are falang teachers who are enrolled in Thai Social Security qualified to recieve the Old-age pension? If you meet the other requirements?

Yes

Heng said

"True. But expect generally long waits. Doctors get into 'thevada' (angel) mode and whatever they say is pretty much final. That is, if they don't think you need a particular treatment, you're not going to get it. And don't expect long detailed discussions, there are about a million folks in line behind you."

My experience has been different. I've had doctors at both government and private hospitals go out of their way to help me.

In two different provinces I was given a choice of hospitals to choose from for social security. The lists contained both government and private hospitals.

Indispensible for society as well, no doubt about that. One's results may vary, but in the end, the numbers are pretty simple. You're going to have large numbers of people in the lower income brackets not be able to afford the services of the better and certainly not top tier private hospitals, regardless of social security and the 30 Baht medical program. The result, like anywhere else in the world is a heavier load for the public government hospitals, the default hospitals for social security services (although yes, there are private hospitals sprinkled in, either for image or for whatever arrangements/deals are cut behind the scenes). My family usually goes to Vichaiyuth off of Sri Ayutthaya Rd. in Bangkok, a middle tier private hospital, but known for being a base for older doctor/professors (doctors that teach other doctors). We have younger family members go to Samitivej Srinakarin, usually just for plane jane medical checkups, also a private hospital. The wait on average is about 10-20 minutes in both places, a little less for Samitivej. If we want to ask about something, we can call the doctor up on the phone just about any time and only find courtesy.

Compare to taking the maid and driver to Ramkhamhaeng Hospital in Bangkok or Banglamung Hospital in Pattaya for our household there... the procedure is you get a queue card (like at the bank or post office). Doctor's are located in 5-6 booths seeing patients about 10 minutes at a time. The average wait is 1-3 hours. The doctor stops seeing people at noon, so if you don't get to see him/her today, you have to come back tomorrow and get another queue card. And that's just the waiting. The doctors are overworked, and often fresh out of school. Sure there are exceptions, as there are plenty of veteran doctors as well that are top of the charts in terms of experience (mostly because of the insane volume of patients that are filed before them).... but through small talk, I gather that most of these folks (apart from a few true heroes of society) are just waiting for their chance to move to a private hospital. At Banglamung Hospital, during the most recent round of foreign worker maid/housekeeper registration med. checks, the hospital closed all the restrooms on the first and second floor (an aside by a nurse to my cousin was that the foreigners made too much of a mess; to our maid though, the much ruder explanation was: the restrooms are for the "owners of the country" only). Nice. Especially since the wait bordered on 3 hours.

Heng,

As usual you are a font of information with the distinctive ring of authority.

Khun Pad Thai