Thai Tourism Minister to discuss insurance cover for tourists

[Time Traveller]

She said that many parties have objected to the plan to use the government budget for this insurance scheme.

I agree, why should my taxes pay for a foreigners medical expenses - just ask the foreigners when entering the country to show proof of medical insurance to an agreed amount before a Visa is granted

Why should I be forced to buy insurance and make insurance industry insiders rich?

[SOTIRIOS]

...somebody sent her my repeated suggestions....

...but will probably pretend it was their own idea....

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Can I have plastic surgery under her new invention ? We could become the UK of SE Asia.

[Meena999]

I think it should be compulsory that medical insurance is covered before airline tickets are booked especially when traveling overseas.

[natway09]

Actually, saying that if you are insured the hospitals can charge as Carte Blanche is very wrong. & comments like those just show

the stupidity of some posts here.

The insurers have a fixed amount they will pay for any service rendered & is very much broken down into as much as 1,200 different

services.

I have free access to over 600 hospitals in Thailand with only 5 being "not fully covered" as they choose to charge more

Two of them I would not wish to go to anyway as they have proven to "oversubscribe" & even a non critical procedure they will

make a critical one

[tuanku]

what would you get for 6 baht?

Insurance

[RandG]

I have no problem proving we have insurance, but I do not want to pay for the other clowns who travel without insurance, or void their insurance by either known pre-existing conditions, or alcohol / motorbike related activities. As we enter and leave Thailand many times a year, it could potentially cost us a lot (unless it really is 6 Baht).

Even checking a visitor has insurance will not help if they are later found to have a known pre-existing condition or driving around drunk with no helmet on, both of which often come up when a tourist ends up in hospital with no way of paying and families are forced to try and rely on charity to get them / pay for the bills.

[Emster23]

Considering the billions in revenue they claim earned from tourism, they are loathe to put 1 baht back into infrastructure, cleaning beaches, public toilets. All take and no give.

HOWEVER I would like to take Thai GF to Europe. Seems 30K Euro health insurance needs to be shown if any hope for a visa for her. Screw that, screw Europe. Plenty of other places to go

[jerojero]

A proper insurance plan should be self funding.

[hansnl]

what would you get for 6 baht?

SIX BAHT - You must be kidding, or maybe it should be, you are stupid.

Another stupid suggestion to task the airlines with paying the premium. I.e. For the Uninsured Motorist Insurance the Oil Companies are NOT the ones paying the premium. It is the user of the vehicles that pay the premium. Typical Thai Gov. unelected people on the job.

Thailand has an exelent example UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE for the year 2560 the premium I paid was 600 some odd Baht.

I suggest to get the insurance rolling the same premium should be charged for UNINSURED TOURIST INSURANCE.

Then when the insurance is financially strong, like the Uninsured motorist Insurance, the premium can be reduced.

Don't remember what I initially paid when the Uninsured Motorist Insurance came into being, but it was well in the 1000 Baht and now all these years later after a few premium reductions it is now 600 Baht.

It is suggested that the unelected Thai Gov. personnel on a daily basis read the INDEPENDENT News Letters instead of the gov. a#% kissing at high noon major Thai Corp. News Media, you just plug in the names yourself. Sure there is a lot of garbage in these Independent News Letters, but there also is a lot of good useful information to be gained by reading them.

Uninsured motorist insurance?

Really?

It is a basic insurance payable by all motorists for cost of healthcare and deaths after traffic accidents!

Not insured?

No payout!

On the other hand, the former government and the current government are indeed talking about a state insurance for foreigners not falling under the existing insurance for guest workers.

Edited July 20, 2016 by hansnl

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[ozyjon]

Thai Tourism Minister to discuss insurance cover for tourists

Why bother, pretty soon,,,

1, there won't be any tourists, too much crime or financial crisis.

2, people only going to Thailand to die !

The Tourism Minister added that there has to be a new tourism campaign

to be more specific,,, here is my submission.

[Ulic]

Insurance program to cover accidents from crazy Thai drivers, speed boat operators,

or attacked by muggers, lady boys, bouncers, terrorist bombs, political instability etc...etc...

No problem. Stroke and heart arrack, no problem. Not a health care scheme for

someone to get work done here. Just get people to the level where they can get home/be

sent home. Government hospitals, Thai prices, not a money making slush fund for

government officials feeding at the trough. No insurance company fine print, full of legalese.

You pay, you are covered. I could live with that.

[mikiea]

what would you get for 6 baht?

2 aspirin 3.5 grain each anda a swift in da keester ......

[mikiea]

A proper insurance plan should be self funding.

yea dat's da ticket , just like da popo .......

[mikiea]

Actually, saying that if you are insured the hospitals can charge as Carte Blanche is very wrong. & comments like those just show

the stupidity of some posts here.

The insurers have a fixed amount they will pay for any service rendered & is very much broken down into as much as 1,200 different

services.

I have free access to over 600 hospitals in Thailand with only 5 being "not fully covered" as they choose to charge more

Two of them I would not wish to go to anyway as they have proven to "oversubscribe" & even a non critical procedure they will

make a critical one

yada yada yada ...................... oooh wi anda a wowza for you ..........

Edited July 20, 2016 by mikiea

[Thomas Hannah]

Were do they dream these ideas up.Does she have freinds who are going to provide the cover.

[hanuman2543]

More Rubbish from this lady, look at the income from tourism, your Hospitals should stop dual pricing, and for god stake stop whingeing , or you may see a serious downturn in tourism

It is a complicated issue but I agree in general to what you are saying, perhaps Thailand should have different policies for different nationalities, treat them as they would be treated in the UK or Europe for example, more and more Thais are traveling abroad these days and they are generally taken care of for free in most countries they visit

I have seen evidence of Thai hospitals milking or taking advantage of foreigners that fall ill, hiking treatments and prices to maximise profits, it is big business and as I have said many times - money number one

In Europe, Thais need a visa, and one of the requirements for a visa is an insurance policy with a coverage of at least 30.000 euro, such an insurance can be obtained in Thailand for about 3000 baht. There is no such thing as free treatment...

If you buy an insurance with the same sum insured in Germany it will cost you under 1000 Baht.

[micmichd]

More Rubbish from this lady, look at the income from tourism, your Hospitals should stop dual pricing, and for god stake stop whingeing , or you may see a serious downturn in tourism

It is a complicated issue but I agree in general to what you are saying, perhaps Thailand should have different policies for different nationalities, treat them as they would be treated in the UK or Europe for example, more and more Thais are traveling abroad these days and they are generally taken care of for free in most countries they visit

I have seen evidence of Thai hospitals milking or taking advantage of foreigners that fall ill, hiking treatments and prices to maximise profits, it is big business and as I have said many times - money number one

In Europe, Thais need a visa, and one of the requirements for a visa is an insurance policy with a coverage of at least 30.000 euro, such an insurance can be obtained in Thailand for about 3000 baht. There is no such thing as free treatment...

If you buy an insurance with the same sum insured in Germany it will cost you under 1000 Baht.

The proof of the pudding is the eating. I ask a German insurance.

[Torrens54]

As far as Expats are concerned, the Previous Thai Government had an excellent Health Scheme but it was ditched by the current Government.

Would be a great idea to bring it back, even if the Premiums were substantially increased.

As it stands, if you are over 70, no one wants to know you and you can presumably, die in the street for all they care. Maybe that is a major reason as to why so many Expats in Thailand "take flying lessons off high balconies."

Edited July 20, 2016 by Torrens54

[Thian]

How about also telling the hospitals to stop charging stupid fees to tourists, nothing but a complete rip off??

How about "doctors" (on Samui) who want to give an infuse for 2 hours in his shed, right next to his motocy and full binbags just sitting on an old chair.

His "doctorshop" was totally loaded with condoms, guess he sold them.

[BwindiBoy]

Hospital costs for tourists should all be covered by the extra income tax their tourist bahts generate. However, travel insurance bought for their visit should apply first. If they have none, an "excess" should be paid by the tourist, say a maximum of £150. Of course, the Thai government would know the "correct" hospital costs, and these would be incurred, rather than the rip-off costs that tourists are currently charged.

[MaiChai]

Seems like Thailand likes the money from the tourism industry but is not prepared to address some of the issues that arise from mass tourism?

[The Deerhunter]

With a history of family appointments in the resume makes it sound a bit like a recent PM. We all saw how that ended.

[sahibji]

we need more details of the insurance proposal

although, in principle, this form of social security for the

visitors is not only noble but also a safety net for those we might need

end up needing it.

mandatory charge for the insurance may not be fair or relevant to

those visitors who arrive with in insurance cover.

funding a blanket cover could also cost the taxpayer heavily.

[malt25]

More Rubbish from this lady, look at the income from tourism, your Hospitals should stop dual pricing, and for god stake stop whingeing , or you may see a serious downturn in tourism

If tourists know they can be insured for 6 Baht more will come here not less, If you buy holiday insurance from your home country to go to any other country it costs a lot more than 6 Baht

For those who can't add up, 6 Baht x 30 Million visitors = 180 Million baht

If I were coming here on holiday I would be happy to pay 6 baht for insurance but of course the TV brigade always have to find faults

"For those who can't add up, 6 Baht x 30 Million visitors = 180 Million baht" Actually, that's multiplication.

Sorry, that's tongue in cheek :-)

[YAHF]

BEWARE OF THE SMALL PRINT.

As a fairly new tourist to Thailand since February 2015 I have stayed 3 times for 60 days each time then last November came for 6 months & each time got travel insurance, I'm here now for another 2 months & took out online insurance with the same company but this time I noticed that my pre-existing conditions had all been rejected, after calling the company to ask why & quoting my previous policy numbers the guy immediately said I notice that you have only been back home for 2 months, correct I said to which he replied we cannot cover you if you have NOT stayed in your country for 6 months out of the last 12, I asked him to point out where it mentioned this in the 60 pages of terms & conditions, low & behold there it was on page 5 under the heading of residency with a small light grey asterisk almost invisible & halfway down the page a one liner stating as above " must have been in the country for 6 out of the 12 months " I was now panic stricken with only a day to go, the guy told me most companies have this ruling so I will reimburse you.

After many phone calls to umpteen companies it looked as though it was going to be an insurance free trip until an old friend mentioned their daughter does everything through her bank & I ought to check, I'm glad I did & I was covered for the equvalent of 3,800 Baht but excluding my pre-existing conditions, what to do for my November 6 months stay ???

Edited July 21, 2016 by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal.

[Bangkok Barry]

Hospital costs for tourists should all be covered by the extra income tax their tourist bahts generate. However, travel insurance bought for their visit should apply first. If they have none, an "excess" should be paid by the tourist, say a maximum of £150. Of course, the Thai government would know the "correct" hospital costs, and these would be incurred, rather than the rip-off costs that tourists are currently charged.

The UK apparently now charges its own citizens a 50 percent surcharge for treatment there if they have the cheek to live overseas. This despite the fact they might have paid into the system all their life and are not a drain on resources as they live overseas most/all of the time.

[sjaak327]

More Rubbish from this lady, look at the income from tourism, your Hospitals should stop dual pricing, and for god stake stop whingeing , or you may see a serious downturn in tourism

It is a complicated issue but I agree in general to what you are saying, perhaps Thailand should have different policies for different nationalities, treat them as they would be treated in the UK or Europe for example, more and more Thais are traveling abroad these days and they are generally taken care of for free in most countries they visit

I have seen evidence of Thai hospitals milking or taking advantage of foreigners that fall ill, hiking treatments and prices to maximise profits, it is big business and as I have said many times - money number one

In Europe, Thais need a visa, and one of the requirements for a visa is an insurance policy with a coverage of at least 30.000 euro, such an insurance can be obtained in Thailand for about 3000 baht. There is no such thing as free treatment...

If you buy an insurance with the same sum insured in Germany it will cost you under 1000 Baht.

with a coverage of at least 90 days ? That is very cheap, here in the Netherlands such an arrangement would cost you at around 175 euro with a compulsory excess of 75 euro. Hard to believe that would only cost 25 euros in Germany !

[sjaak327]

what would you get for 6 baht?

How many millions of tourists come to Thailand each year? If each pays 6 Baht, I dare say that the money collected would easily cover any accidents, illnesses or deaths incurred by tourists.

I doubt it, those costs are much, much higher.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/900767-uninsured-foreigners-burdens-thai-public-hospitals/

This article handles one (1) hospital in Phuket which incurrred a 20 million baht loss over the period of 8 years, in 2015 the loss was 3.8 million baht in unpaid bills.

Now imagine this is just one hospital, with other hospitals reporting similar problems. Again just unpaid bills, not total expenditure. Do you really believe that this amounts to a mere 150-180 million baht for all medical expenses incurred by tourist in the whole of Thailand, including the vast majority who does pay their medical bills ?

The linked article is exactly what this is. How could anyone possibly believe that for a mere 6 baht per traveller, Thailand cuold cover any medical costs incurred by tourist ? All 26-28 million of them ?

Of course not, this is not an insurance policy, this is a fee to cover unpaid medical bills reported in the linked article, nothing more and nothing less.

Edited July 21, 2016 by sjaak327