Handle with care: Hospital care for foreigners without travel insurance

[sgtsabai]

Damn right a human right! As far as taxes, I paid into Medicare since it introduced and yet I cannot use anywhere except the US where the real death panels are the insurance companies. Want to try to explain why my Medicare is not good one foot outside the states? I can make a pretty good guess, it would cost the hospitals, doctors, big pharma, etc. big money because the states has the highest medical costs in the developed world but is way down on the list of care. Yea, a human right to care, not just for the rich. There should not be "for profit" medical care.

[puukao]

This is why you just BUY a hospital.

Money will solve everything!!! No money, 90% of all threads go away....

First I will create a Wall Street Bank...

so all you farangs, just think very hard and create the next microsoft!!!

[off road pat]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

Why not man up and get some insurance ?

Yep,...my European travel insurance saved my life almost two years ago....excellent service. for 309 Euro per year....for my wife and I

I said a travel insurance, so you can leave your home country only 6 consecutive months, in witch you are fully insured.the rest of the year you are insured in your home country. (can't name the insurance company....!?!?!? TV rules.)

[Time Traveller]

y'all sound like insurance salesman.

Let me give the inside tip about insurance. The insurance companies exist in order to...... make profits.

And they do this by paying out less than they take in from your in premiums. For most people with insurance you will always pay out more to the insurance company than the insurance company will ever pay out for your medical treatment.

So, with this information it's in most people's better interest instead of buying insurance to save that same money instead for future medical treatment.

But if you don't have the self discilpline of saving, then perhaps you need to buy insurance and help keep those insurance companies making profits.

[Stevemercer]

The article didn't make it clear that the gov't hospitals will provide emergency treatment at no charge (up front), but not "elective" treatment.

I've known three people with limited funds who have had heart attacks and gone to Suan Dok hospital's excellent E/R, where their lives were saved and they were hospitalized. This is a tertiary-level gov't hospital in CM. In every case, the life-threatening condition was treated, they were given medications for blood pressure, cholestrol, heart function, diabetes (conditions which they didn't know they had) and basic testing was done. They were able to arrange a contract to make payments for their bill, about 10,000 baht/month. I think the total bill in each case was between 50,000 - 80,000 baht.

But, in each case the doctors recommended angioplasty and possible installation of stents if blockages were found. In order to do this procedure, the gov't hospital wants 150,000 baht on deposit, up front. This is considered a non-emergency procedure. It would probably prevent future heart attacks and improve the quality of life for these three people, but it is not an absolutely necessary procedure for them to continue to live right now. None of these three people can come up with 150,000 baht and its doubtful they ever will. The best they can do is to continue with the medications to improve their heart function and control their BP and diabetes.

I have a friend who went through something similar. He was well treated for his heart attack, but could not afford the stent operation. The doctor at the local hospital was horrified, said he would die without the operation, made a few phone calls and arranged for him to have the operation gratis.

Some posters here would say he deserves to die, without health insurance, but thank god many professional Thais are not as cold blooded as their western counterparts.

[Time Traveller]

Damn right a human right! As far as taxes, I paid into Medicare since it introduced and yet I cannot use anywhere except the US where the real death panels are the insurance companies. Want to try to explain why my Medicare is not good one foot outside the states? I can make a pretty good guess, it would cost the hospitals, doctors, big pharma, etc. big money because the states has the highest medical costs in the developed world but is way down on the list of care. Yea, a human right to care, not just for the rich. There should not be "for profit" medical care.

Medicare is funded by taxpayers. Why should taxpayer money be spend to financially benefit foreign hospitals and doctors for those rich tourists that travel internationally?

Edited January 6, 2016 by Time Traveller

[oldsailor35]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

Why not man up and get some insurance ?

Try to get or even afford it, if you are over 80 smartie

[oldsailor35]

Travel insurance is cheap....

If you are not 70 or over. Just try it !

[oldsailor35]

Travel insurance is for travellers, so its OK for tourists but will not cover expats or typically anyone who leaves their home country for more than 3 months .

Proper medical cover is expansive here, and in the 13 years that I have been here I repeatedly see people WITH health cover who are asked for lots of money in the hospital because the insurance company will not pay. In fact I have yet to EVER hear of a case where a serious matter does not end up with the holder of a Thai medical insurance having to pay up a percentage. Often because the hospital does stuff that the insurance feels is not necessary or because the room was to a higher standard than the insurance will pay (hospitals often lie and says cheaper rooms are unavailable).

The Thai private hospital scams can sting any of us at any time, be aware.

Having said that, even some insurance is better then none.

I live here, but because of my age i can neither get or afford insurance. If you are 65 or over you have no chance of insurance

[oldsailor35]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

Why not man up and get some insurance ?

Let's not start that very old thread again. Insurance is not available for many older folks staying long-term.

Insurance is at the heart of the issue here.

To me a foreigner who has problems getting insurance here is not automatically entitled to free medical treatment.

But if needed, go to a govt hospital and it will be very cheap. And my doctor on Samui only charges me BHT 130 per visit.

Edited January 6, 2016 by oldsailor35

[jacky54]

Can a govt Hospital refuse to register foreign residents?

[oldsailor35]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

another free loader! you should not be granted permission to enter Thailand unless you have travel insurance! even when I go to the United States I have "Travel" insurance!

why do tourist feel that they are entitled to anything free from a third world country which is doing everything it can for it's own people! if you can't afford insurance keep your free loading ass home!

Pity there is no insurance for Smugness. You would be able to claim big time.

[LivinginKata]

Can a govt Hospital refuse to register foreign residents?

Yes .. foreigners have no rights ... we all just pay through the nose ..

[VINCENT2012]

like for education. clean air , potable water, even food ......medical care, hospital, doctors assistance and medecine should be a human right and should be free for all of us in this planet......our taxes should be employed first for these kind of vital maters.....!

How much tax have you paid into the Thai system to entitle you to this 'human right' ?

Exactly ... less than 10% of the Thai population pay any real taxes, at most some purchase tax at bigger shops. Same with all tourists and most long stay foreigners. Little or zero tax paid to local or central government.

Human rights .... yeh right ... laudable comment ... now back to real world reality ..

back to the reality, in france in my country ...health is free for all poors .....expats or not, whites, blacks, indians, thais included, even indecent, or criminals....so you should travel or read a bit more and know what others do as good and real thing for the others....against stupid and crazy capitalism there is socialisme...and i am proud to be part of those who think that health should be free for everybody even for those who dont think so, .and this has nothing to do with if i pay taxes in thailand or not... some here in this forum as usual think that money is the only solution for everything, ......guess what.....insurance is one of the biggest robery invented. it is only business.....when you have a cancer or aid or other illness , go and try to get insured...man...health insurance is made for healthy people who are afraid to get sick. but not for the sick ones...conclusion.....should we let die all of those who have no work or dont have the chance to have money like you do or you think you do?....go to sleep, think about it.....and have a nightmare!

[oldsailor35]

So much chaff about a topic that never fails to bring out the worst of the pre-judgers. The opening post described very well what the situation is, but most posters didn't bother to read it. The issue is not a search for free health care, but to avoid the expensive hospitals who will pay the biggest kick-back to the ambulance crew who pick you up. There needs to be a tattoo on your forehead saying "Government Hospital Only".

I wondered about the "kick back" was knocked off my scooter last year. Told the ambulance driver to take me to the govt hospital, but was taken the Thai International. Ankle wound dressed kept overnight BHT 26,000.

[LivinginKata]

I wondered about the "kick back" was knocked off my scooter last year. Told the ambulance driver to take me to the govt hospital, but was taken the Thai International. Ankle wound dressed kept overnight BHT 26,000.

Exactly ... no kick-back money if ambulance takes to Gov hspital. All farangs are considered rich and go straight to private hospial wher they are milked dry .

Even the Gov hospitals send on to private for the kick-back.

Just declare you have no money, no credit card, no insurance .. see how you get on.

[blu]

right on old sailor...I sold insurance for 20 years, never a problem with claims 'cause I sold the cadillac plans. You get what you pay for. I recall reading it costs thai gov't 300 million baht/yr health care to tourists for a 3+trillion baht in annual tourism expenditures by tourists. Do the math...not a bad all around.

[hawker9000]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

Why not man up and get some insurance ?

Let's not start that very old thread again. Insurance is not available for many older folks staying long-term.

Insurance is at the heart of the issue here.

To me a foreigner who has problems getting insurance here is not automatically entitled to free medical treatment.

Is that your call to make?

Why should it be a needy foreigner's "call to make"? Why should a foreigner's age or insurability be Thailand's problem and Thailand's burden? Pay your own way or stay home.

Overcharging by Thai private hospitals is a separate issue and a deflection.

[cyberfarang]

Expats that can`t afford medical insurance or don`t have enough cash reserves for a rainy day shouldn`t be in Thailand or at least be prepared to die if not able a pay for their medical. There is much more to living in Thailand then just having the visa money and scraping by making ends meet.

[Pattaya Wolf]

AIA go up to 70

.................and then what?

then it's time to say good bye

That's not quite correct. My policy with them expires when I turn 80 but I had to take it out before I turned 65. If I kick off before then my missus gets B1million life cover.

With Thai Life you need to insure before you are 65 years of age, and you are covered until 80 years now. I have cover for 38,000 baht a year and also personal cover for 2,600 baht years.

[thaiduncankk]

Expats that can`t afford medical insurance or don`t have enough cash reserves for a rainy day shouldn`t be in Thailand or at least be prepared to die if not able a pay for their medical. There is much more to living in Thailand then just having the visa money and scraping by making ends meet.

Having cash reserves for treatment at a Government hospital is a different ball game to a private hospital.

One is affordable to some people, the other one, in a serious situation, could be a problem.

[humqdpf]

For all of those people who live in Thailand but complain bitterly about everything in the country, man (or woman) up and say to the Thais, "Thanks for putting up with our idiots who think it is ok to travel somewhere far away from home without even medical insurance and think that it is ok to sponge off a much poorer economy than their own."

To put this in context, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a non-EU national to get hospital treatment in many European countries if you are not either resident for years or insured. The USA is almost impossible to get anything like free treatment for anyone. Ditto Japan.

So hats off to our Thai friends who are kind enough to provide hospital care for free for all.

[Khonper]

Only tourist??? How about retirees not qualified for health insurance?

not just Thai people, but also tourists, expats, migrant workers or anyone else who needs medical treatment.

[Fairynuff]

Travel insurance is cheap....

Cheap for those who aren't likely to use it. Not so for those beyond a certain age or not in perfect health. Some people just need to have the obvious stated to them

Edited January 6, 2016 by Fairynuff

[cyberfarang]

Expats that can`t afford medical insurance or don`t have enough cash reserves for a rainy day shouldn`t be in Thailand or at least be prepared to die if not able a pay for their medical. There is much more to living in Thailand then just having the visa money and scraping by making ends meet.

Having cash reserves for treatment at a Government hospital is a different ball game to a private hospital.

One is affordable to some people, the other one, in a serious situation, could be a problem.

Treatments at government hospitals has it`s limitations, the same as the Thai 30 baht scheme. They mostly dish out the cheapest drugs and lack the facilities of the upmarket private hospitals.

[Fairynuff]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

another free loader! you should not be granted permission to enter Thailand unless you have travel insurance! even when I go to the United States I have "Travel" insurance!

why do tourist feel that they are entitled to anything free from a third world country which is doing everything it can for it's own people! if you can't afford insurance keep your free loading ass home!

Can you get insurance against nastiness from people with too much time on their hands?

[thaiduncankk]

Expats that can`t afford medical insurance or don`t have enough cash reserves for a rainy day shouldn`t be in Thailand or at least be prepared to die if not able a pay for their medical. There is much more to living in Thailand then just having the visa money and scraping by making ends meet.

Having cash reserves for treatment at a Government hospital is a different ball game to a private hospital.

One is affordable to some people, the other one, in a serious situation, could be a problem.

Treatments at government hospitals has it`s limitations, the same as the Thai 30 baht scheme. They mostly dish out the cheapest drugs and lack the facilities of the upmarket private hospitals.

A lot of doctors practice at both.

I disagree about the cheapest drugs, they charge a realistic price for them. The price of medication in private hospitals is nothing short of criminal. The exact same medication can, mostly, be purchased over the counter, at any pharmacy for a fraction of the price they charge.

[Craig krup]

The government's missing a trick. In the US the deal used to be that everyone had to be treated for "emergency medical conditions", which were defined as involving a threat to life, limb or organ. So the care needed to manage a chronic condition or to improve function wasn't covered. Long-term European residents would pay (say) 20 baht times their age a month for that - 1200 baht at 60 a month, or 14,400 a year. If you didn't have pre-existing conditions and they weren't obliged to provide diabetes care or dialysis then that - averaged across an entire group - would probably pay for the immediate response for heart attacks, strokes and accidents: the big three acute events. After that you naff off back to Belgium, Holland, UK, wherever.......willingly or unwillingly.

[aussiebrian]

Travel insurance is for travellers, so its OK for tourists but will not cover expats or typically anyone who leaves their home country for more than 3 months .

Proper medical cover is expansive here, and in the 13 years that I have been here I repeatedly see people WITH health cover who are asked for lots of money in the hospital because the insurance company will not pay. In fact I have yet to EVER hear of a case where a serious matter does not end up with the holder of a Thai medical insurance having to pay up a percentage. Often because the hospital does stuff that the insurance feels is not necessary or because the room was to a higher standard than the insurance will pay (hospitals often lie and says cheaper rooms are unavailable).

The Thai private hospital scams can sting any of us at any time, be aware.

Having said that, even some insurance is better then none.

Not in Australia. In Australia your Credit MasterCard or Visa card normally insures you if you paid for the tickets using the card for up to 3 months away at a time for free. I don't use that as I am away for longer than 3 months. I am an expat and I get travel insurance when I go back to Australia usually every year or 18 months. I get 12 months insurance, and have even been allowed to extend it by phone. same company for 10 years. Previously, I was able to buy my excess out for $35 extra, but after 60 y.o. this option finished.

They pay for private hospital care, luckily as I wouldn't want to be seriously ill in most of the public hospitals here.

It is better to have a 12 month policy over say a short time policy, e.g. My policy even has unlimited dental and I can get a crown for the same cost of a visit to the dentist, checkup and clean in Australia, so if I need work done that can't wait till I return to Australia, they never complain about the crowns. Not bad for just over $700 for a 12 months policy. It is even worth having a trip back, if it was only to get re-insured.

The problem will be when I turn 70, it is almost impossible to get insurance.

[whaleboneman]

Can we have a card to put in our passports saying that in the event of accident we want government ambulance and government hospital -- before one of the privateers gets hold of us... ?)

another free loader! you should not be granted permission to enter Thailand unless you have travel insurance! even when I go to the United States I have "Travel" insurance!

why do tourist feel that they are entitled to anything free from a third world country which is doing everything it can for it's own people! if you can't afford insurance keep your free loading ass home!

Travel insurance for the USA is a must. For Thailand, I take my chances as I think I can afford to pay any hospital costs.