30 baht plan , is there a limit of cost or visits before they have to pay ?

[oldcarguy]

Hi

 

I am confused about the 30 baht plan for Thais,

 

a friend has been going back and forth getting treatment for internal bleeding  ,  but he now says that the Hospital wants them to pay 50%  of the cost.

I think because he has reached his limit on 30 baht visits ,   is there a limit ?

 

He had the  internal bleeding  fixed  before but fell down in the toilet at home and it started internal bleeding again ,  

They want him to do nothing for a month so it heals ,  but that is hard to do  and he ends up having to go back......

 

So the real question is  are there  limits on number of  visits or number of surgeries  ?   or  are there limits on cost and is that  per month / year or ???? 

 

They now want him to pay 50% and sent him home still with internal bleeding  as he did not have the money

This does not sound right , but he  is not educated  and  maybe does not understand everything ,  

 

Is there a website in English that I can read so I undrstand this better ?  

Google translate does not work very good with Thai , so  that  might make it more confusing for me

 

and are there Thai Charities that help with these fees if they are legit ?

 

Many thanks for any help

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dentonian]

There are no limits that I'm aware of.

 

In your friends case it sounds as though the hospital have taken the view that he is wasting their time and resources because he isn't resting as instructed.

He has to take some responsibility for his recovery.

[Sheryl]

There are no limits.

 

There are certain things not covered - some (usually rare and unusually expensive) medications and some medical devices like stents. But it does not sound like this would apply in your friend's case.

 

Unless there is some missing element to this story that we don't know, the hospital is behaving illegally. He should contact the National Health Security Office (NHSO) about this, call center is 1330

 

http://www.nhso.go.th/eng/Site/Default.aspx

 

They are very good at resolving issues with hospitals and your friend should not hesitate to call them.

[oldcarguy]

Hi Sheryl , 

 

as you know there is always something missing from stories , translations and being embarrassed they did not do what the Doctor told them to do , 

 

not sure why he was sent home , but now is coughing up blood a little and does not want to go back to hospital without money  

maybe he wore out his welcome ,  but  that  should not happen in a hospital !

 

is the 1330 a national call center ?  I will have someone call for him ,

 Will the Call Center then call his Hospital and how long does that take ?  

 I  know things like that can take weeks in the West !

 

thank you again

 

 

[Sheryl]

Yes, and yes, and if he needs immediate hospitalization (as it sounds like he may), should get resolved straight away.

 

That is what the call center is there for. In most cases a single phione vcall from them to the hospital sorts it all out.

 

But make sure whoever calls, has all the details. Preferrably should be a relative.

[NoshowJones]

I thought the 30 Bt system was cancelled. When I got my yellow book, my wife was told to take me to the local hospital, we were taken into an office, my wife and the person in the office had a brief conversation, then she said "cannot do".

A friend who also has a yellow book, but in a different province, told me the scheme was cancelled.

[GarryP]

Universal health care is still available to those Thais who do not have national insurance coverage. I believe that the 30 Baht part was done away with in that you no longer had to pay anything but there was talk of re-introducing the payment of 30 Baht each time to help cover expenses. 

[dentonian]

The topic is about the 30 baht Universal Coverage Health scheme for Thai nationals.

Quote

Hi

 

I am confused about the 30 baht plan for Thais,

 

You may be getting confused with the Health scheme for Foreigners which was only meant to cover Lao, Cambodian and Myanmar workers.

It was wrongly rolled out to all foreigners, but ceased a couple of years ago when the error was discovered.

It is still available to the existing group is was meant for.

Edited November 17, 2016 by dentonian

[dentonian]

9 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Universal health care is still available to those Thais who do not have national insurance coverage. I believe that the 30 Baht part was done away with in that you no longer had to pay anything but there was talk of re-introducing the payment of 30 Baht each time to help cover expenses. 

 

It appears to differ depending on the revenue raised by taxes in each Province.

 

It also depends on the individuals ability to pay.

[GarryP]

39 minutes ago, dentonian said:

 

It appears to differ depending on the revenue raised by taxes in each Province.

 

It also depends on the individuals ability to pay.

I would not qualify as long as I pay into national insurance. However, once that stops I could go over to the universal health care system. 

 

My wife (deceased) was covered by the 30 Baht scheme. We had the ability to pay, but she said she did not want us spending money on private healthcare when we were saving up to buy a house. The hospital knew we could pay, but as she was entitled to free health care, that is what they provided. The treatment she received was the same as would be provided in a private hospital, but the service was definitely no frills and the queues were awful.

 

My girlfriend's sister just had an urgent operation last month under the universal system in a north eastern provincial hospital. It was all free.

 

Having said that I have heard of people having to pay a token sum under the scheme.    

[robblok]

4 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I thought the 30 Bt system was cancelled. When I got my yellow book, my wife was told to take me to the local hospital, we were taken into an office, my wife and the person in the office had a brief conversation, then she said "cannot do".

A friend who also has a yellow book, but in a different province, told me the scheme was cancelled.

Cancelled for foreigners not Thais.

[NoshowJones]

Yes, that's what I was referring to, but obviously, the people at the Amphur did not know this, that is why they sent me and Mrs Possum to the local hospital when they gave me my yellow book.

[Sheryl]

The 30 baht part now is discretionary, up to the hospital  whether to collect or not. Some don't think it is worth the bother, others do.

 

It has never been cancelled for Thais and is also still available -- but for an annual  fee-- for those migrant laborers who have work permits and work visas.  For a while resident expats were also allowed in many provinces to subscribe but that was stopped.

 

Op's query concerns a Thai.

[PoorSucker]

The 30 baht is only valid if you seek health care in the Amphur were you have your house book, Thabien Baht.

[BAYBOY]

PoorSucker,

You do  apply at your local hospital, normally in the Amphur where you live. If the hospital does not have the doctors/ faclilites to deal with your problem they will then give you a form to present at your Major provincial hospital. 

If that hospital can not assist you, they will direct you to normally the nearest large hospital, that can give you the treatment for your complaint.

 

As an aside, my wife is being treated at Siriraj hospital in Bangkok. though her 'home' Hospital is in an Amphur in Singburi. Siriraj wanted her to have a CTscan, but their waiting list for a scan is 3/4 months. So we go back to our hospital in the Amphur,  who then book her in for  the CT scan at Singburi Hospital, and it is done usually 2/3 days later. We then take it down to Siriraj for her appointment there a couple of days later.  

Also when she has an appointment at Siririj hospital and a blood test is required, she has that done at the Local hospital the day before and we present it to the doctor at Siriraj. Saves doing it at Siriraj and then waiting perhaps 2 plus  hours  for the results. The doctors have told me that blood tests done a couple of days prior to your appointment are totally acceptable.

 

CHEERS

 BAYBOY

 

[Sheryl]

Yes, the system is available at the hospital the Thai is registered at (based on tabian ban) and any other hospital that it refers them to.

 

Usually that will be a higher level facility (in cases where people are registered at a district hospital, a high percentage of problems will be referred).

 

But occasionally it will be a facility on the same level which just happens to have a specialist that the other one lacks. For example, my housekeeper's mother has leukemia, and the provincial hospital in Prachinburi gave her a referral letter to a neighboring provincial hospital that happens to have a hematologist on staff. She has been getting treatment there, free, for about 2 years/

[oldcarguy]

UPDATE:
Hi.......he still is having trouble at Trang Hospital which is the closest to where he is registered ,  not sure who he pissed off !

or if he has something they do not know how to treat,

 

But  how would he get transferred to a  higher level facility Government Hospital  as Trang Hospital seems to be the only Government hospital in the area?

How  do you get a referral letter to a neighboring provincial hospital ? 

 

 

[Sheryl]

The referral letter has to come from the hospital where he is registered.

Has he called the hotline? Thais tend to hesitate to do this and it is underused as a result. It is an ombudsman office specifically set up to help with problems like this.

Trang Hospital is a regional center so rare that they would need to refer higher. Also unless he actually lives in the town, unlikely it is the primary hospital where he is registered. More likely he is registered at a small community hospital and it could be lack of referral letter from there to Trang that is the problem .

[oldcarguy]

12 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The referral letter has to come from the hospital where he is registered.

Has he called the hotline? Thais tend to hesitate to do this and it is underused as a result. It is an ombudsman office specifically set up to help with problems like this.

Trang Hospital is a regional center so rare that they would need to refer higher. Also unless he actually lives in the town, unlikely it is the primary hospital where he is registered. More likely he is registered at a small community hospital and it could be lack of referral letter from there to Trang that is the problem .
 

 

I relayed to them to call the hotline , not sure if it was done , stubborn people sometimes,

 

can the small community local  hospital  bypass Trang Hospital  with a referral letter ?

or would Trang Hospital need to do a referral letter to  the next Government  hospital

 

Like always , thank you for your advise

 

[Sheryl]

Again, Trang Hospital is a regional level facility so is pretty much the highest level facility short of going all the way to Bangkok. Possibly if he needed a very unusual specialty, there might be a logic to sending him to another regional hospital. It would help to know what exactly is wrong with him.

 

My understanding was that the issue was the hospital demanding payment, which could well be for lack of a referral letter form the smaller hospital he is registered at.

 

If the issue is that Trang Hospital is unable to provide him with what he needs (would be unusual for this to be true), then they need to refer him onward.

 

If the issue is that he wants to go elsewhere because he is unhappy with the hospital, that's a different matter and basically, he can't - he has to work through the issue with the hospital, and should make use of the ombudsman office in doing so. Ditto if the issue is that the hospital is capable of treating him but for some reason seems not to be doing so adequately.