Getting copies of medical bills and treatment report to submit to U.S. insurance

[JenniferSG]

I just had the weirdest exchange with Siriraj Hospital via email.

My son is no longer in Thailand but was for the past 6 months. He went to Siriraj for ear infections, was given a prescription and drops, then went back a 2nd time whe the problem hadn't gone away. Neither visit was horrifically expensive by any means, and he paid out of pocket in cash. He was given no receipt either time. Now, because both of his parents have private insurance in the U.S. that covers him, and his study abroad folks had him buy their insurance as well, he is a very over-insured kid. His costs will be reimbursed to him by our private insurance if we can present receipts and some explanation of the treatment received. When I contacted Siriraj the person responding to emails (no name provided) insisted that it is impossible that no receipt was given, the receipt was clearly lost, and to go to the Bangkok police and report the lost receipt and only then could we be given document copies (despite my telling them that my son is no longer in Bangkok). I checked with 6 other kids who all live in a big apartment building a block away from Siriraj popular with study abroad students from around the world. Most of them pay to use the gym at Siriraj and also go there for care because it's a 2 minute walk from their front door. None of them ever received receipts either when paying in cash - all were treated for minor things (a rabies shot, a cut foot, swimmers ear,etc.).

I clearly can't file a police report as (a) I'm not in BKK at the moment and ( it would be false as there was no lost document.

Why would the hospital treat proof of treatment and proof of payment like a classified government document? Why would they NOT provide copies to the patient for insurance purposes and also to show his home doc what treatment he received? Any advice outside of the "your stupid kid should have gotten a receipt!" would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!

P.S. I've been away. How is it possible Costas didn't win the contest? Insanity!

Edited January 13, 2015 by JenniferSG

[lopburi3]

Because it is a government facility and likely no recent was ever issued. Best to move on.

[Issangeorge]

The government hospital I deal with always issued a receipt, the way the government likes paperwork, it is hard to believe a receipt wasn't issued. If you are returning to Bangkok, I would go to the hospital, and talk to a senior person.

[lopburi3]

I did not say a bill/receipt for payment should not have been issued. But I can believe it may not have been.

[Sheryl]

For what you describe, the bill should have been very small....a few dollars only. Hardly worth the bother IMO.

[NancyL]

Yes, it's very possible that a gov't hospital wouldn't have issued a receipt for a small charge. Some have a policy of not issuing receipts when the cost of doing all the paperwork exceeds the value of the receipt. Also, it's very common for a hospital (and other businesses) to ask for a police report if someone has lost a receipt or other important piece of paper. For one thing, it makes people think twice about making casual requests of a business. It's not really very difficult to obtain a police report here, either.

I'm surprised the OP's son is able to remember the exact date of treatment and which clinic/doctor supplied the treatment. Oh -- if he can't, then the hospital is going to have to do some detective work to produce a duplicate receipt. Another good reason to throw up a few hurdles to a request for a duplicate receipt.

Case in point -- Hubby lost the TM 6 departure card in his passport. (Well, actually I may have had a role in that because the passport was in my handbag during the trip.) So, I went to our local Immigration office to get a replacement. They told me he had to go to the airport to get a replacement. No can do -- we entered the country at BKK, not CNX where we live. OK, they said, he has to file a police report. Well, I said -- we came in on the same flight and here's my TM 6 card. Answer: OK, we'll give you a replacement card for your husband just this one time. See -- they didn't have to research which flight he arrived on, I was able to tell them!

Edited January 19, 2015 by NancyL