Maybe I should post this in chiang mai forum but I will tell my story in general as a word of warning to all thai visa members

so to celebrate my 50th birthday myself and 6 friends planned a off road motorcycle tour around chiang mai ,

everyone arrived on the 19th of feb from both aus and the uk

aranged to meet in chiang mai

during my flight I suffered an angina attack quite a serious one , so I was admitted to chiang mai ram hospital

after endless tests I was diagnosed to need a stint put in my arterry as it had collapsed

stupidly i let my insurance lapse !!!!!!

So I discussed with the doctor the the cost I was told 200,000 baht ( in my state of health I didnt get anything in writeing )

expensive but I had no choice as my life was at risk, so they commenced with the surgery , minor I might add 45 minutes and I was back in icu

i spent that night in icu the following morning I was moved to a private room spent 1 night there and the following morning imwas due to leave , i was then presented with the bill

380.000 baht nearly 100 % percent. Increase on what I was told , I was furious all in needed after what I had been through !!!

After alot of negotiation I got the bill down to 230.000 baht

which I paid and thankfully im on the road to recovery .

So please take notice of my story it might help one of you in the future

1 dont let your insurance lapse

2 no matter how ill you are please get someone to get the agreed price in writeing

3 if you do get hit with a massive increase on the quote it is negotiable

As i said this might help a thaivisa member in the future

very important and good info post....Thanks from me here.

They probably saved your life.

Just be thankful you weren't in the USA.

It would have cost you much more.

Well, at least they dropped the final bill. I wouldn't call this minor surgery though. Emergency, life-saving, cardiac surgery is more like it.

I'll happily spend 7 or 12 grand USD to keep living longer.

But you're right, it pays to have an advocate in your corner. Can't always do that, though.

Didnt like to comment before....but my surgery was about 6 times that in Australia......

He (the OP) is mad about the final cost jumping as much as it did...

Another private hospital wanted 20000bht to lance an infected Syst here....i refused, and it went away a couple of weeks after antibiotics.....

Heart...different story though.

Glad to see you are alright now nick...

Didnt like to comment before....but my surgery was about 6 times that in Australia......

He (the OP) is mad about the final cost jumping as much as it did...

Another private hospital wanted 20000bht to lance an infected Syst here....i refused, and it went away a couple of weeks after antibiotics.....

Heart...different story though.

Glad to see you are alright now nick...

hey thanks mate at least my pommy and aussie mates are having a ball on the bikes they never met before

mates for life now ,,,!!!!

Every cloud mate

jump a plane back to farangistan would be more sensible

Nick, You just take it easy for a few weeks.....Then you will feel ten times better than you were before the Operation....

jump a pltane back to farangistan would be more sensible

the doc didnt want me to even travel to bkk let alone back home

You let your insurance lapse !!Then you complain about Thai hospital !!!

They helped you kept you alive to moan about it. Ungrateful thats what you are.

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You let your insurance lapse !!Then you complain about Thai hospital !!!

They helped you kept you alive to moan about it. Ungrateful thats what you are.

Hey look everyone - Great Granddad is awake!

You let your insurance lapse !!Then you complain about Thai hospital !!!

They helped you kept you alive to moan about it. Ungrateful thats what you are.

So he should be grateful they tried to cheat him?

I am sure he was grateful for the treatment. What a miserable comment.

I understand OP's complaint of jacking the price after everything was done.... fair enough.

Good advice ...get it in writing before hand

Only other thought I had, was I had the same surgery done 10 years ago.....Bangkok hospital quoted me 300,000 baht to which I responded why so expensive. they said the stents come from America and they cost 150,000 baht. Difference for me though was I did NOT let my insurance lapse so I went back to the states to have it done....cost 70,000 dollars (2,800,000 baht at the time) which my insurance paid all.

Like many instances here, it isnt the actual money, the cost as such, its about the principal and tactics applied.

RAM, Bangkok Hospital, .... name them.

Extortion at its best.

Ridicolous price tags just for the privilege to get treatment at all (in an instant).

This sick health system is one of the things that really makes me anxious living in this country.

There are different size of stents and types (the drug eluding cost a lot more) so that might account for some of the excess cost. My 2 stents here in Bangkok at a mid cost facility was in the 300k range several years ago for standard stents.

It is also not clear if this was total bill or just the stent placement? You mention endless tests and they do cost money also.

So this is not so much a "Thai hospitals a word of warning " as a warning about the dangers of failing to have adequate insurance?

Not to trivialize the situation but this is a route en operation in the UK In and out in about 12 hours, they put the stint in through the veins in the leg they go up through the Thigh and place the stint, two stitches that's the scar

Not to trivialize the situation but this is a route en operation in the UK In and out in about 12 hours, they put the stint in through the veins in the leg they go up through the Thigh and place the stint, two stitches that's the scar

and it'll cost a lot more than 380k THB

I'm pretty sure it's extremely difficult, if not imposdible, for a doctor to (g)estimate the final cost of an operation, especially one that requires numerous tests, etc. Have you stopped to think that the doctor who quoted you the initial cost is not an accountant? Maybe your tests, private room, etc. were not included in the doctor's quote. Get your insurance in order and be grateful you had a successful operation and are still here to tell the tale. Maybe you'll catch up with your biker mates for your 60th.

going into hospital in Thailand = very foolhardy.

Not to trivialize the situation but this is a route en operation in the UK In and out in about 12 hours, they put the stint in through the veins in the leg they go up through the Thigh and place the stint, two stitches that's the scar

and it'll cost a lot more than 380k THB

- the UK it's free.

Not to trivialize the situation but this is a route en operation in the UK In and out in about 12 hours, they put the stint in through the veins in the leg they go up through the Thigh and place the stint, two stitches that's the scar

and it'll cost a lot more than 380k THB

- the UK it's free.

Ridiculous - I'm paying £ thousands every year, whether I use the NHS or not.

Its only free if you don't pay tax.

Several inflammatory posts and attack on the OP removed.

Like many instances here, it isnt the actual money, the cost as such, its about the principal and tactics applied.

Wonder if the price wouldve gone up if he'd died during the op?.................

Like many instances here, it isnt the actual money, the cost as such, its about the principal and tactics applied.

Totally agree.

In the past I have proven to myself that the Chiang Mai Ram hospital ups it`s prices for farangs.

15 years ago my 82 year old Thai father in law went to the Ram hospital, private room, when he caught .pneumonia, this was in the days prior to the 30 baht scheme. He spent 5 days at the Ram, total cost 7000 baht, that I paid for.

Literally only one month later my 76 year old English friend came down with pneumonia, went to the Ram hospital, by coincidence was placed in the same private room as my father in law. Same length of time, 5 days, total bill, 60000 baht. I did not pay that bill.

5 years ago I caught a nasty bout of bronchitis. Went to the Ram. Doctor gave me a quick examination, about 10 minutes, went to collect my drugs that consisted of some anti biotics, a small bottle of cough jollop and a nasal spray, received a bill for 9000 baht. I refused the drugs that got the bill down to 700 baht for the doctor, went to a drug store in town, purchased exactly the same drugs for 400 baht. That was the last time I ever used the Ram hospital for medical treatment.

Since, I now go to the Government hospitals and charged the same medical fees as Thai people.

They probably assumed you had insurance and wouldn't care.....my wifes friend works for bupa and spends half her life getting claims from hospitals reduced.

If u have insurance the price is 30% higher as a minimum.

If u have insurance the price is 30% higher as a minimum.

Thank God for insurance.

Did they give an explanation for the extra cost?

They could have said anything and you would believe them.

during my flight I suffered an angina attack quite a serious one

which airline was it?