Canadian man in health insurance limbo after near-fatal accident in Thailand

[rooster59]

Langley man in health insurance limbo after near-fatal accident in Thailand

By Justin McElroy

 

A collage of photos of Zsombor Toth, who has been in a Thailand hospital since late January with a head injury. (Courtesy Stefan Toth)

 

The family of 25-year-old Zsombor Toth thought he had travel medical insurance, but can't find a policy number

 

Two months ago, Zsombor Toth was in the midst of a six-week vacation in Thailand with a good friend.

 

Now, he's fighting for his life in a Chiang Mai hospital — and if he's able to recover, his family doesn't know if a massive medical bill awaits them. 

 

"Nothing is going to be the same, and he's not going to be the same," said his father Stefan. 

 

Full story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/thailand-accident-langley-1.4009970

 

CBC News: 2017-03-05

[chainarong]

Firstly they will certainly have a hefty medical bill and if like one young Australian with a similar problem, will not be allowed to leave until the bill is paid, And if you are insured and can't find the policy number,  the best course of action is to contact the Insurance company for it.......................

[craigt3365]

Best wishes, but we've seen this sooooo many times.  Scooter accident and maybe no insurance.

 

FYI. Put your documents up on something like Dropbox and let family and friends know where they are.

[Canceraid]

What! Come to thailand and immediately start riding a bike! ...sorry not sympathies here from me.

[jerojero]

Just carry the Policy card in your wallet, and better yet with copy in your luggage.

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, jerojero said:

Just carry the Policy card in your wallet, and better yet with copy in your luggage.

Not unusual for wallets to disappear when you are being taken to a hospital.  And not unusual for personal belongings to disappear in a room when "officials" go into to investigate.

[Kerryd]

According to his uncle, he did have Travel Insurance but:

"Kovacs said his nephew did get travel medical insurance, but it doesn't cover motor vehicle accidents." 

So they seemingly know what kind of coverage he has but don't know the insurer or policy number ? A little odd.

 

The accident apparently happened on 27 Dec, somewhere about "3 hours away" from Chiang Mai. That would explain why it didn't appear in any of the Thai (English language) media outlets. (Didn't make any of the mainstream Canadian news outlets either at the time as far as I can tell.)

 

Naturally, his family have set up a GoFundMe page with a relatively modest $50,000 goal. They reached just over $19,000 so far.

[WhizBang]

As a Canadian he will have  Provincial Health Care.  Not sure what their coverage would be when traveling internationally though.  The family should contact their provincial health care system for what to do.

[darksidedog]

Given how dangerous the roads in Thailand are, Travel Insurance should be mandatory for all visitors here.

And proper insurance too, not some piece of crap that has more exclusions clauses than the PM has excuses for things he doesnt like.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

7 minutes ago, WhizBang said:

As a Canadian he will have  Provincial Health Care.  Not sure what their coverage would be when traveling internationally though.  The family should contact their provincial health care system for what to do.

 

Ummm, none.

Edited March 5, 2017 by theguyfromanotherforum

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Given how dangerous the roads in Thailand are, Travel Insurance should be mandatory for all visitors here.

And proper insurance too, not some piece of crap that has more exclusions clauses than the PM has excuses for things he doesnt like.

Most policies exclude scooters and other dangerous activities.  You have to get an expanded policy, typically, to handle that.

 

The travel policy I buy states this clearly and up front.  Hard not to know what's covered and what's not.

[samuijimmy]

B.C. Medical Services Plan would not cover this sort of thing while traveling abroad ..... If he had had private  coverage which insured him while here. (less exclusions... motor bikes would be one in most cases).

 

They do (BCMSP) refund the insurance company funds paid out for such things as having a medical problem, as happened to a friend who had a heart attack while here...and even flown by air to Had Yai  hospital from Samui.  All was refunded to the private insurance company.

 

[taichiplanet]

The article doesn't mention if he had a motorbike licence or not, if not then insurance will not pay anyway.

 

It is hard enough on the family even with the insurance paying up, let alone without it. I do feel for them.

Edited March 5, 2017 by taichiplanet

[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, taichiplanet said:

The article doesn't mention if he had a motorbike licence or not, if not then insurance will not pay anyway.

I think also you need a permanent license if you've been here for some time?  If he's got a motorcycle license back home, and an IDP, then he'd be OK here as a tourist...right?

[taichiplanet]

3 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I think also you need a permanent license if you've been here for some time?  If he's got a motorcycle license back home, and an IDP, then he'd be OK here as a tourist...right?

i think you are correct, as a tourist for a limited time you can use you own country's licence.

[RichardColeman]

Personally, I think IF it can be sown that any injury was caused by another party - ie you did not injure yourself needlessly - ALL hospital bill should be free. It should be down to the police and hospital to claim back the costs from the party who caused the injury. So injury yourself - tough luck, but you wont need to sell your house because some idiot put you in a hospital. May attract more tourists too.

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, chainarong said:

Firstly they will certainly have a hefty medical bill and if like one young Australian with a similar problem, will not be allowed to leave until the bill is paid, And if you are insured and can't find the policy number,  the best course of action is to contact the Insurance company for it.......................

Easy, if you know the name of the insurance company, which I assume they don't!

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, RichardColeman said:

Personally, I think IF it can be sown that any injury was caused by another party - ie you did not injure yourself needlessly - ALL hospital bill should be free. It should be down to the police and hospital to claim back the costs from the party who caused the injury. So injury yourself - tough luck, but you wont need to sell your house because some idiot put you in a hospital. May attract more tourists too.

Only if the other party was insured.  And had GOOD insurance.  Otherwise, it's up to you to pay the bills.

[Get Real]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

Not unusual for wallets to disappear when you are being taken to a hospital.  And not unusual for personal belongings to disappear in a room when "officials" go into to investigate.

Today´s conspiracy theory.

[RichardColeman]

1 minute ago, craigt3365 said:

Only if the other party was insured.  And had GOOD insurance.  Otherwise, it's up to you to pay the bills.

As said,I think the person who injures YOU should be liable. IF they have no insurance, then that is their problem. I'm sure 1 year in the clink per million owed to the hospital might work. Hospitals should ALWAYS be free to victims. Just had your legs blown off by terrorists - no worries here's the 10 million baht hospital bill. 

 

Of course it wont ever happen, as hospitals would go bankrupt chasing THAI mad teen bike riders, gang members and drunk pick-up and mini van drivers for cash.  

 

Maybe if Thais - and maybe tourists/ex pats - had to pay obligatory 1000 baht per year insurance for accidents THEY cause maybe that may help.

[Get Real]

The question is first if he really have an insurance?
The second is if he drove with a license walid in another country?
Third, who was the cause of the accident?
Was he wearing a helmet when the accident ocurred?

4 big but´s that would make them have to pay for it, and 3 of them even if have an insurance.

However it´s awful to hear that things like this have to hoppen to people on a hollyday.
 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks for reminding me, not that I needed it, why I'd never want to ride a motorcycle in Thailand, and never have.

 

As soon as I saw the headline, before even reading into the details of the article, I kind of figured (correctly) what had nearly killed the guy and put him into the hospital in a coma.

 

There's two separate but related problems here:

--tourists renting and riding motorcycles that they may not be prepared to handle, either thru lack of experience or unfamiliarity with driving in Thailand or tourist intoxication.

and

--even for experienced and qualified riders, the fact that while you may be, there's a whole country of driving idiots out there who routinely fail to drive safely and endanger everyone and everything around them.

 

Dunno which was the case in this guy's mishap. But pretty clearly, it likely was one of the two.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Stanley78]

2 minutes ago, Get Real said:

Today´s conspiracy theory.

A friend of mine was hit by a van in Pattaya and spent several days in a coma.

 

Rest assured his phone and wallet were nowhere to be found when he came around.

 

But this isn't a Thailand specific problem. For example when James Gandolfini (of The Sopranos on HBO. Etc.) passed away in Italy a healthcare worker stole his Rolex.

[petesc55]

No mention if he was wearing a helmet?

 

[geriatrickid]

1 hour ago, WhizBang said:

As a Canadian he will have  Provincial Health Care.  Not sure what their coverage would be when traveling internationally though.  The family should contact their provincial health care system for what to do.

Only partial coverage and it is reimbursement.

 

1 hour ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

Ummm, none.

Umm, some.

50 minutes ago, samuijimmy said:

B.C. Medical Services Plan would not cover this sort of thing while traveling abroad ..... If he had had private  coverage which insured him while here. (less exclusions... motor bikes would be one in most cases).

 

They do (BCMSP) refund the insurance company funds paid out for such things as having a medical problem, as happened to a friend who had a heart attack while here...and even flown by air to Had Yai  hospital from Samui.  All was refunded to the private insurance company.

 

Not exactly.

 

Out-of-Country Emergency Medical Care

The cost of medical care outside Canada can be much higher than the amounts payable by MSP and extended health care plans. For complete protection, additional medical insurance should be purchased from a private insurance company, even if you only plan to leave the country for a day. Check the exclusions and limitations of your private insurance policy carefully to ensure that the policy meets your personal needs.

If you have extended health benefits through your employer you should contact them to determine the policy provisions prior to purchasing additional medical insurance.  When you receive medical services outside Canada (or in some instances outside B.C.), you will need to claim reimbursement from MSP using an Out of Country Claim Form. The completed form should be returned with: an itemized account, including the dates of service and details of services performed, and either the unpaid bills or the original receipts if the bills have been paid.   Note: Out of Country claims must be submitted within 90 days of the date of service. In-patient hospital claims (and any associated medical claims) must be submitted within six months of discharge.

Payment for physician services will be issued in Canadian funds only and will be paid at the same rate that would have been paid if the services were received in B.C.

[craigt3365]

32 minutes ago, Get Real said:

Today´s conspiracy theory.

No conspiracy theory.  It happens.  I've seen it reported many times over the years.  A friend lost his Rolex this way.  First hand knowledge for me.

[craigt3365]

32 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

As said,I think the person who injures YOU should be liable. IF they have no insurance, then that is their problem. I'm sure 1 year in the clink per million owed to the hospital might work. Hospitals should ALWAYS be free to victims. Just had your legs blown off by terrorists - no worries here's the 10 million baht hospital bill. 

 

Of course it wont ever happen, as hospitals would go bankrupt chasing THAI mad teen bike riders, gang members and drunk pick-up and mini van drivers for cash.  

 

Maybe if Thais - and maybe tourists/ex pats - had to pay obligatory 1000 baht per year insurance for accidents THEY cause maybe that may help.

If the person who hit you has money, then you are OK.  If not, you are out of luck.  Which more often than not, is the case here.

 

The hospitals will not treat you if you don't have insurance.  Regardless of the cause. In some rare cases yes, in most cases, no.

 

They have been discussing mandatory tourist insurance for years.  Nothing has happened here yet.

[FritsSikkink]

39 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

As said,I think the person who injures YOU should be liable. IF they have no insurance, then that is their problem. I'm sure 1 year in the clink per million owed to the hospital might work. Hospitals should ALWAYS be free to victims. Just had your legs blown off by terrorists - no worries here's the 10 million baht hospital bill. 

 

Of course it wont ever happen, as hospitals would go bankrupt chasing THAI mad teen bike riders, gang members and drunk pick-up and mini van drivers for cash.  

 

Maybe if Thais - and maybe tourists/ex pats - had to pay obligatory 1000 baht per year insurance for accidents THEY cause maybe that may help.

What about the drunk expats and tourists who drive?

[kmj]

2 hours ago, Canceraid said:

What! Come to thailand and immediately start riding a bike! ...sorry not sympathies here from me.

And who asked you for your sympathy? this a news article and warning about insurance.

[snowgard]

Time to renew the car/motorbike rental rules. Drivers must have a valid int. driving license and all cars/motorbike must have a full coverage insurance.

 

If the rental company not prove that the driver have a valid license they must pay the full costs of an accident self. Same if they don't have a full coverage insurance.

 

Problem solved!!!

Edited March 5, 2017 by snowgard