How do Oz retirees fund health/accident insurance ?

[xerostar]

I'm soon to retire in Thailand aged 71. 

I can't find reasonable health/accident insurance cover.

BUPA quoted me AUD1300/month.

I think I may just rely on keeping some money in the bank for emergencies

and if possible travel back to OZ for any elective treatment on Medicare.

Too bad if there is a long waiting list though ..

Any positive advice welcome. 

[madmax2]

You can only self insure there are no other options

If you have money transfer plenty here to cover any future medical expenses, The Aussie govt will do you no favors for keeping it there

[thailand49]

Welcome to the club,  you aren't alone whether you come from the OZ or not.

 

Hard, if not impossible to obtain insurance with a low cost premium after the age of 60's worse when you get to 71. Any type of pre-exist condition they will count you out.

Not easy to do if you are lazy and act your age but in my opinion one got to take care of themselves by doing exercise and thinking moderation. Look for locations that provide reasonable price health checkup's and blood test.  Take the high premium health care insurance here and sock it away for a personal health care account. If you are lucky and nothing happens in two years you might have socked away 100,000 plus baht? 

Plan ahead if you decide to make a home visit to Oz, and during your visit get as many medical checkup as you can during your stay.

 

[dotpoom]

I have seen a post similar to this recently and the question applied to the same country. I am puzzled as to what exactly is the purpose of the question.

    To me, one may as well ask "How does a person get more money when they havn't got enough to do the things they they would like to do"?

     PS..... For one's information, I am in the same boat myself and am European. I also know that unless I win the lottery, get a job at my age, am left a lot of money in somebody' s Will or rob a bank......there is nothing I can do about...I just have to like it or lump it ????

PPS......or find it in the back of a Taxi!

Edited March 11, 2017 by dotpoom

[bangkokorbust]

Just do what everyone else does. If you have an accident and get a 2 million baht hospital bill, call up an oz newspaper and beg everyone to donate to your go fund me account.

Seems to be all the rage now

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[little mary sunshine]

Self INSURE. put $30-40K in a savings account,or safe

ETF for medical use only! Did this seven years ago, I

add $250 each month....I have only had medical expenses 

of B 5000 in seven years....I eat healthy, exercise daily

and have been lucky...account today exceeds $ 78K....

[oxo1947]

21 hours ago, xerostar said:

Too bad if there is a long waiting list though ..

Any positive advice welcome. 

Cut through the waiting list in Oz ---take out Medibank Private...........

[Pepper1959]

I am retired and 57, I have a policy and already the cost is excessive and is restrictive, (I take a very small BP tablet and for this I have all these outs for the policy). It keeps going up 10% each year and I have not made a claim. I dread to think what it will be like in five years. And of course, the premium is in USD so the exchange back to AUD for my credit card kills me. I have to look at alternatives very soon if this continues.

[oxo1947]

Pepper---could you give more details.?

What policy do you have--where ?

It's an American policy ?

Your paying monthly with a credit card---why?

There are so many other options - to pay a monthly amount.

[Formaleins]

15 minutes ago, Pepper1959 said:

I am retired and 57, I have a policy and already the cost is excessive and is restrictive, (I take a very small BP tablet and for this I have all these outs for the policy). It keeps going up 10% each year and I have not made a claim. I dread to think what it will be like in five years. And of course, the premium is in USD so the exchange back to AUD for my credit card kills me. I have to look at alternatives very soon if this continues.

Interesting - What sort of " Outs" are you excluded from for your BP Meds? (I have the same condition 1 pill per day and was thinking about some private insurance, but if it is going to exclude me from most of the probable illnesses I might get I may just take my chances with a lump sum put away)

[RBOP]

Accident insurance should be no problem. Health insurance however will be expensive at 71 years young. You can also go for Inpatient only (no Outpatient) which reduces premium quite a bit. Most hospital costs are quite fair in Thailand for outpatient. Best to go through a broker and let them give you some choices. Im currently using Journeyman through a IHC broker out of the UK for cover in SEA. 

[Happyman58]

Try FWD insurance I have them I am 60 cost me 36,000 baht per year and my Thai wife gets 200,000 baht if i die But best of all i get all my hospital paid if i have to go to hospital Work it cost about Aus dollars $1400 which is not bad  Now i can go to Pvt hospital Only catch is you actually have to spend night in hospital for them to pay all But i think its ok 

[JG27]

Think frequently about this. Doesn't affect me at present, but would like to live in Thailand (67 presently retired).

Would certainly be keeping my private cover and hope I was well enough to fly back to OZ before I became  TPI and/or hope I didn't need to mortgage the house if I was seeking treatment in BKK. 

Plenty of what ifs to think about...! Resources currently reasonable, but have some of the usual medical conditions that require attention ( BP etc).

[murraynz]

i think health insurance,although a good idea,is very risky,they always try and find a way out of paying.if over 60yrs,it is very expensive,many of us take blood pressure meds,so insurance is probably wasted money...i think it is best to put about 1m baht in a thai account,ready for any emergency...same as others have said-return to aus or nz for anything major...

[Altalake]

Thailand 49 spells it out. The worry is that if you are in say a car accident or the like, you might be faced with an ICU stay, similarly if you have a stroke - and it can be 100,00 baht per day at worst.

 

All very well to say, "well, I'll go home ot Oz/UK or where ever", but maybe the airlines will not take you. It is a Big Problem - it might never happen but......

 

Is it worth the risk? Many seem to think it is - and then, as some Posters have said, beg/whine/wail for a Fund to bail them out. That is Not Good. 

[Kiwi1]

There is no simple single answer to this question.

Am now 81 years old. Nine years back had surgery for bowel and prostate cancer followed by radiation and chemo. On expensive chemo for three years after op. Been clear by twice yearly checks ever since. Treated with skill and compassion at Sripat / Suan Dok / Maharach hospital in Chiangmai.

Am a New Zealander and could have returned to NZ for free treatment. But did not as had the support of excellent Thai wife. Would not have made it on my own.

Some thoughts:

If one is of ripe old age comprehensive health insurance is very expensive. Could be better to have a nest egg / investments or whatever and take chances on good health, draw on the funds if needed.

Costs: If I had returned to NZ treatment would have been free, but would have had to find suitable place to live close to hospital, also would have needed home help. These living costs would have been far higher than in Thailand, and by my calculation would have more or less equalled medical fees from Sripat. So breakeven on costs.Maybe better than breakeven.

Would strongly advise taking out accident insurance. I have a policy from Bangkok Bank. Have not read the fine print so no guarantees. Affordable.

Remember that it takes eight times the impact to kill a 20 year old male than it does to kill a 70 year old. Avoid high risk activities (motorcycle). Your biggest single risk is motor vehicle accident. You can reduce risk by at least 30 % just by avoiding being on the road at night.

Finally, consider ways and means of making a dignified exit if diagnosed with major or incurable illness. There is plenty of info on the net. Suitable pharmaceuticals can be purchased over the counter in neighbouring countries.

 

[elgordo38]

On 3/10/2017 at 1:07 PM, xerostar said:

Too bad if there is a long waiting list though ..

Yes there is a long waiting list unless you got big money. Its the same everywhere in the world dual medical systems one for the saints (rich ones) and one for the sinners (us)

 

1 hour ago, Kiwi1 said:

There is no simple single answer to this question.

Am now 81 years old. Nine years back had surgery for bowel and prostate cancer followed by radiation and chemo. On expensive chemo for three years after op. Been clear by twice yearly checks ever since. Treated with skill and compassion at Sripat / Suan Dok / Maharach hospital in Chiangmai.

Am a New Zealander and could have returned to NZ for free treatment. But did not as had the support of excellent Thai wife. Would not have made it on my own.

Some thoughts:

If one is of ripe old age comprehensive health insurance is very expensive. Could be better to have a nest egg / investments or whatever and take chances on good health, draw on the funds if needed.

Costs: If I had returned to NZ treatment would have been free, but would have had to find suitable place to live close to hospital, also would have needed home help. These living costs would have been far higher than in Thailand, and by my calculation would have more or less equalled medical fees from Sripat. So breakeven on costs.Maybe better than breakeven.

Would strongly advise taking out accident insurance. I have a policy from Bangkok Bank. Have not read the fine print so no guarantees. Affordable.

Remember that it takes eight times the impact to kill a 20 year old male than it does to kill a 70 year old. Avoid high risk activities (motorcycle). Your biggest single risk is motor vehicle accident. You can reduce risk by at least 30 % just by avoiding being on the road at night.

Finally, consider ways and means of making a dignified exit if diagnosed with major or incurable illness. There is plenty of info on the net. Suitable pharmaceuticals can be purchased over the counter in neighbouring countries.

 

As good as it gets. 

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Welcome to the club,  you aren't alone whether you come from the OZ or not.

 

Hard, if not impossible to obtain insurance with a low cost premium after the age of 60's worse when you get to 71. Any type of pre-exist condition they will count you out.

Not easy to do if you are lazy and act your age but in my opinion one got to take care of themselves by doing exercise and thinking moderation. Look for locations that provide reasonable price health checkup's and blood test.  Take the high premium health care insurance here and sock it away for a personal health care account. If you are lucky and nothing happens in two years you might have socked away 100,000 plus baht? 

Plan ahead if you decide to make a home visit to Oz, and during your visit get as many medical checkup as you can during your stay.

 

Another one for the winners circle. 

[khunPer]

You can find a PA (Personal Accident) insurance with a small cover for hospitalization, Bangkok Bank for example has a "Senior PA" that covers from 65 year to 100 year at a reasonable premium, but the hospitalization cover is quite low.

 

For health insurance best option is probably "self insurance" – especially when you pass 65 year it become quite expensive and most insurance companies don't accept newcomers more than 65 years old; and if they do, your premium may well be way too high, compared to self-insurance. Hospitalization can be quite expensive in Thailand, if you chose private hospitals, whilst the government hospitals are (relative) affordable, in some cases with almost as good service as in a private hospital, in other cases there might be some waiting time etc.; but I'm not well enough experienced into explaining in details, which may also be different from where in Thailand you settle.

 

In my opinion – and that what I've done myself – you shall make a "rainy day account" with some reasonable lump sum; what's reasonable is depending of your choice of public or private service, and what one can afford to set aside. I would say not less than 300,000 baht, but any amount is better than nothing; others may say you need millions to be self insured. Put aside, i.e. deposit into your "rainy day account", a monthly sum equivalent to a reasonable insurance fee, that could be for example 4,000 to 5,000 baht (or more) a month, equivalent to some 40,000 to 60,000 baht annual premium; so your "rainy day account" grows and also covers inflation. Have an ATM card for the account. You can divide into two accounts, the other fixed with a higher interest rate, as long as you can withdraw instantly; which you normally can with loss of last interest period. Be aware, that if you use money from your "rainy day account", especially for some major expenses, you will need to sum up, as you otherwise loose your protection; i.e. that's why some talks about million, as let's say you have one million baht, and some major incident cost 800,000 baht – which is not unusual in a private hospital – then you are left with 200,000 baht cover only...

 

Only you know your health-history, including family health-history, of how exposed you may be for future maintenance – i.e. which amount is reasonable to set aside in your case – one of the important things to take into consideration when choosing to spend ones senior-life in Land-of-Smiles...

 

 

[ICECOOL]

In oz I have Medibank private and here I have top cover BUPA which costs myself and gf 8k baht per month. I am 59. I recently found out that I can suspend my Medibank private for up to 4 years if your o/s provided your income in Oz is under 90k. I have done so for 2 years and intend to go back and reactivate.

[DUNROAMIN]

Hi, I am 64 now and have been living here in Thailand for two years, I have looked at health insurance through many companies and they are all the same for my age. Average cost was around $65 - 70  AUD a week. I prefer to pay as I go as general health costs here are reasonable, its when you have serious problems and use a private hospital you will be up for the big bucks. Best to keep about $5000 aside for that one off emergency. I am lucky and have a DVA gold card so if I need long term care and hospital treatment I can return to Australia and get treatment almost free.

The question you have to ask yourself, can I retire in Thailand comfortably without money worries or will I be living here on a shoe  string budget. If the later I would reconsider about retirement here, Thailand is not all LOS (land of smiles) it has its draw backs and hidden agenders like every other country in the world. Do your homework carefully.

Good luck

[bazza73]

Health insurance in Thailand is ruinously expensive once you hit 70, I have an account here with 500,000 baht set aside specifically as hospital cover for unforeseen things such as being hit by a bus. I have top level private health cover in Australia. That's about all you can do unless you enjoy giving insurance companies over $10,000 a year.

[SGD]

6 hours ago, murraynz said:

i think health insurance,although a good idea,is very risky,they always try and find a way out of paying.if over 60yrs,it is very expensive,many of us take blood pressure meds,so insurance is probably wasted money...i think it is best to put about 1m baht in a thai account,ready for any emergency...same as others have said-return to aus or nz for anything major...

 

Bt1m wouldn't touch the sides and you'd die on a trolley if you required real life saving care. Try Bt5-10m for surety and to be truthful, if you have that cash lying around then you can probably afford the $5/10k a year cost for full real medical insurance.

[SGD]

2 hours ago, DUNROAMIN said:

Hi, I am 64 now and have been living here in Thailand for two years, I have looked at health insurance through many companies and they are all the same for my age. Average cost was around $65 - 70  AUD a week. I prefer to pay as I go as general health costs here are reasonable, its when you have serious problems and use a private hospital you will be up for the big bucks. Best to keep about $5000 aside for that one off emergency. I am lucky and have a DVA gold card so if I need long term care and hospital treatment I can return to Australia and get treatment almost free.

The question you have to ask yourself, can I retire in Thailand comfortably without money worries or will I be living here on a shoe  string budget. If the later I would reconsider about retirement here, Thailand is not all LOS (land of smiles) it has its draw backs and hidden agenders like every other country in the world. Do your homework carefully.

Good luck

 

A$5000 wouldn't cover it. That is just pocket change in the scope of retirement planning. Multiply it by 10 or 20 and you are covering all bases.

 

I realise most don't have that amount on deposit but as part of the "can I afford to retire to Thailand ?" analysis, why does everyone forget the medical bit ?

 

Small head, not big head ?

[ableguy]

Lucky for you public hospitals here are very cheap with very good doctors I have high blood pressure and Crohn's disease and get excellent care just stay away from private hospitals i.e. Bangkok hospital who are in several locations as they charge astronomically for service and prescriptions.

The only down side on public hospitals is each visit takes up half a day.

good luck , I understand Australia will not pay government reitement pensions  to their citizens who retire to Thailand are you aware of that.

[MalandLee]

9 minutes ago, ableguy said:

 I understand Australia will not pay government reitement pensions  to their citizens who retire to Thailand are you aware of that.

Rubbish. if you have worked all your life in OZ (35yrs or over) you get paid anywhere in the world AND it is indexed against OZ inflation.

[bazza73]

39 minutes ago, MalandLee said:

Rubbish. if you have worked all your life in OZ (35yrs or over) you get paid anywhere in the world AND it is indexed against OZ inflation.

It seems to me people who are not getting an Australian Age Pension (and are not Australians) are instant experts on social security in Australia.

I don't comment on UK or USA pension systems. I know nothing about them, and don't need to.

What drives people on TV to comment on subjects they know nothing about?

[lungnorm]

You will be in the same boat as many retiree's. If you are not healthy it would be better if you just went to Thailand for extended holidays. Hospital care is very expensive in Thailand for a pensioner. If you are healthy it still is a gamble, better have a very extensive medical check up before you leave oz. I am in the same boat I just have the oz pension to survive on and it is nearly impossible to do that in oz if you do not own your own house and have to pay rent. I chose to retire to the Philippines and you do qualify for the Philippine Govt health care which at the moment costs peanuts but you still have to pay half your medical costs for a hospital stay. I recently spent 1 week in hospital with pneumonia and it cost me around A$1,600. June 1st all things will change all foreigners will have to pay around A$450 per year to belong to the health system here. 

[swissman53]

There is a holiday insurance name 1Cover Australia where you can have a good rate and renew everey year. I'm not sure, if you have to go to Australia every year and stay a shot time so that you can renew for another year. If you very sick they will pay the special transport to Australia where you will be covered with medicare.

[xerostar]

22 minutes ago, swissman53 said:

There is a holiday insurance name 1Cover Australia where you can have a good rate and renew everey year. I'm not sure, if you have to go to Australia every year and stay a shot time so that you can renew for another year. If you very sick they will pay the special transport to Australia where you will be covered with medicare.

 

Thanks Swissman53 !

I had a look at 1Cover one year travel insurance.

 

It does look very reasonable.at $24.36/week with unlimited emergency medical assistance, $500 for a dental emergency and personal liability cover of $5 million.

 

The other plan at $34.80/week gives a lot more cover: 

Unlimited emergency medical assistance,

$1000 for a dental emergency and

Personal liability cover of $5 million.

Additional Accommodation & Travel Expenses $50,000
Resumption of Journey $3,000
Hospital Cash Allowance $5000
Accidental Death $25,000
Permanent Disability $25,000
Credit Card Fraud & Replacement $5,000
Theft of Cash $250
Luggage & Personal Effects $15,000
Luggage & Personal Effects Delay Expenses $250
Cancellation Fees & Lost Deposits Unlimited
Disruption of Journey $1,000
Alternative Transport Expenses $5,000
Rental Vehicle Excess $5,000

I will check if there are any catches to this policy.