Report: All foreign tourists will soon need insurance in order to enter Thailand

[garyk]

On 6/23/2017 at 10:39 AM, elektrified said:

Wow, you are really clueless! A bad accident could put you back 1-2 million Baht. I'd like to know what hospital charges 600-800 Baht! Even government hospitals charge about 1200-1500 for a private room.

I've been in two, one in Fang for cutting my leg really bad with a machete. Had to go to the emergency room. Get stitches stayed overnight. Grand total, 2500 Baht.

Once for food poisoning after leaving Phechaburi. Small town hospital, private room 600 Baht, had a drip in my arm all night and antibiotics for one week. 2,300 Baht.

 

That was with a room, a weeks worth of pills, excellent service. If you don't have a million baht in the bank IMO you need to get your priorities in order before you travel. Regardless, medical in Thailand is excellent and extremely cheap. 

 

I have a friend that works in BKK at a private hospital. That is where you will be taken to the cleaners. I have a feeling they are pushing for the insurance rules. That and allot of foreigners think the health care in public hospitals is substandard. 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2017 by garyk

[balo]

We are discussing insurance for people that really need it , not small accidents you can take care of yourself. If you end up in a coma you need a good insurance .  So many bad accidents can happen to you in Thailand , and it will cost you a lot of money. Just read all the stories about tourists almost ending up dead and are stranded because they had no insurance. Do you want to be in the same situation ? 

 

 

 

[Catkiwi]

24 minutes ago, balo said:

We are discussing insurance for people that really need it , not small accidents you can take care of yourself. If you end up in a coma you need a good insurance .  So many bad accidents can happen to you in Thailand , and it will cost you a lot of money. Just read all the stories about tourists almost ending up dead and are stranded because they had no insurance. Do you want to be in the same situation ? 

 

 

 

And the tourists whom do end up dead because.....sorry but it is so so real.

[mommysboy]

1 hour ago, balo said:

We are discussing insurance for people that really need it , not small accidents you can take care of yourself. If you end up in a coma you need a good insurance .  So many bad accidents can happen to you in Thailand , and it will cost you a lot of money. Just read all the stories about tourists almost ending up dead and are stranded because they had no insurance. Do you want to be in the same situation ? 

 

 

 

Only a very good health insurance scheme will see you right in Thailand, and even then it won't be as comprehensive as the universal health care in UK, France, etc.

 

2 million baht will see you through a lengthy stay in  Thai public hospitals, which generally provide good service.  I would guess an event like a broken leg or appendix operation would cost 20-30,000 baht.

 

 

[garyk]

12 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Only a very good health insurance scheme will see you right in Thailand, and even then it won't be as comprehensive as the universal health care in UK, France, etc.

 

2 million baht will see you through a lengthy stay in  Thai public hospitals, which generally provide good service.  I would guess an event like a broken leg or appendix operation would cost 20-30,000 baht.

 

 

I agree 100%, The only cases that hit TV are 1 in a million tourists that come with 0 funds and get seriously hurt. Insurance company's and the government want to cash in on it.  I would be willing to bet the insurance company's are pushing this, and the lobbyists are paying off the politicians. 

Winners here will be the insurance company's. As usual.

I have seen posts where guys have had triple bypass surgery for 100,000-200,000 baht and it came out great. 

 

[anon4546543]

6 minutes ago, DonDoRondo said:

I would hope they could find a way to accommodate those folks that have the financial means to weather a serious medical crisis without having to take out an insurance policy.  Back in the homeland I have very good coverage that unfortunately doesn't cover me here.

I think what you are suggesting is that you need to have very good coverage here in Thailand which may not apply to your home country. Go visit Alliance if you doubt the local insurance agencies

[speedtripler]

On 2017-6-5 at 0:37 PM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Impossible to enforce. Will never pass.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

It won't stop them from selling worthless  useless insurance policies to people on arrival.. 

Chances are they will not be accepted by most hospitals or the value will be too low to cover medical costs so they will be forced to pay up in cash or credit card

 

Another way to fleece the unsuspecting tourist.... Land of scams strikes again! 

[gk10002000]

On 6/5/2017 at 1:40 AM, forrwhat said:

How long before scams pop up selling fake insurance at these machines?

 

even worse will be the policies one buys, but are basically useless.  Hospitals won't honor them.  I have plenty of insurance in my home country and that will cover me anywhere so I would hate to have to spend one penny on some other insurance.  In addition, I bet the so called travel insurance, even if honored will NOT direct pay the hospital.  The foreigner will be billed and have to pay the hospital, then the foreigner will have to submit a claim for reimbursement to the insurance company.  And just who will be the insurance company?  How does one easily file a claim while traveling in a foreign country?  And what about the people that are already in the country when the policy is invoked, if it is.  Do they get grandfathered and don't have to get any?  what is a traveler?  Is a person in Thailand on a retirement extension a traveler?  Will every person that walks across the Laos or Cambodian border be required to get some policy? 

[mommysboy]

2 hours ago, DonDoRondo said:

I would hope they could find a way to accommodate those folks that have the financial means to weather a serious medical crisis without having to take out an insurance policy.  Back in the homeland I have very good coverage that unfortunately doesn't cover me here.

I think that each and everyone of us has to live with the fact that we are more vulnerable out here, and it's quite possible we may have a shorter life than we might have in the UK, etc.  If we are not wealthy (how many of us are?) then there is that terrible chance, albeit small, that we will come to a nasty end.  It's made me start to really think about health and fitness.  And look at my family tree, trying to guess where I might want minimise risk.  But equally, there is a good argument for simply taking reasonable precaution, and living life to the full on a day by day basis.

 

For me, well I reckon if you come from a reasonably healthy gene pool, basically look after yourself, and have some savings or some form of insurance then hopefully that will be enough.  If push came to shove I don't think anyone in the Thai health service would see you die in awful circumstances.  It's not like morphine hasn't made it to these shores.

[observer90210]

Surprised to read many westerners with homeland health insurance refusing to cover health expenses abroad....

 

If you are well insured in your homeland anywhere in Europe, the UK or USA, with specific accident insurance and health insurance, why won't it cover when you are abroad on holiday for instance????...

 

and if the "holiday" is to last say 6 to 8 months per year abroad!!...the insurance does not need to know that!!??....Am I missing something here or is it the insurance compagnies in your homelands that just refuse to insure you when you boys are abroad?....I'm curious to know...

[Don Chance]

I think it would be much cheaper to buy local medical insurance in Thailand at the airport than at home. What i understand is they will want you come home to your country (where it is free) instead of recovering in Thailand.

[sirineou]

21 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Surprised to read many westerners with homeland health insurance refusing to cover health expenses abroad....

 

If you are well insured in your homeland anywhere in Europe, the UK or USA, with specific accident insurance and health insurance, why won't it cover when you are abroad on holiday for instance????...

 

and if the "holiday" is to last say 6 to 8 months per year abroad!!...the insurance does not need to know that!!??....Am I missing something here or is it the insurance compagnies in your homelands that just refuse to insure you when you boys are abroad?....I'm curious to know...

It all depends on your insurance, most insurance will not pay , or pay less in "out of network " situations with in your country.

Other countries are not only out of network, have different languages, different, currencies , different medical systems and billing, etc etc, You can imagine the logistical nightmare  of your :homeland insurance" covering you in an other country, and the potential for abuse.

[off road pat]

15 hours ago, garyk said:

I've been in two, one in Fang for cutting my leg really bad with a machete. Had to go to the emergency room. Get stitches stayed overnight. Grand total, 2500 Baht.

Once for food poisoning after leaving Phechaburi. Small town hospital, private room 600 Baht, had a drip in my arm all night and antibiotics for one week. 2,300 Baht.

 

That was with a room, a weeks worth of pills, excellent service. If you don't have a million baht in the bank IMO you need to get your priorities in order before you travel. Regardless, medical in Thailand is excellent and extremely cheap. 

 

I have a friend that works in BKK at a private hospital. That is where you will be taken to the cleaners. I have a feeling they are pushing for the insurance rules. That and allot of foreigners think the health care in public hospitals is substandard. 

 

 

Hmm,...with all due respect, if you say "medical in Thailand is excellent and extremely cheap" You have to be American...It is well known that Medicare in the US is outrageously expensive. I stayed one month in hospital In Belgium and paid approximatively 100 Euros....less than a 100 $ US, that is the social security / health insurance we have.!!! and we have some of the best Medicare in the world !!! To be honest, I will receive more bills from that stay but there will not be more than 200 Euros!!!

Best regards.

[the guest]

They only have to copy the EU, where one of the conditions of issuing a Schengen visa is purchasing insurance from a recognized source. In order to properly carry this out, all visas should be issued by the nearest Embassy/Consulate. Visas on arrival therefore must be stopped, otherwise the system will be difficult to enforce, and the type of insurance issued inside Thailand may not cover your stay.

 

On this issue, Thailand is correct. Don't expect to live or stay temporarily in a hosting country without some form of insurance. 

[Maestro]

On 2017-6-5 at 7:11 PM, Arandora said:

"if Thailand was to get serious with the implementation" Do you mean like they have for the POOT requirements? All the counter arguments based on the practicability of this proposal were raised last time it was raised and dropped and will be next time too! 
Compulsory Insurance is required by many booking agencies in the UK. It should be made compulsory at point of booking not point of entry! 

 

what does POOT mean in the context of your post?

[thesetat2013]

they surely would not deny your entry... they would instead force you to buy their insurance while granting you the option to refuse and return home.

insurance offered and refused means you don't want to go into thailand

 

[jimster]

On 6/5/2017 at 0:54 PM, Orton Rd said:

Idiotic, it's bad enough now with the Chinese at DM, imagine the 'queues' for insurance machines, folks with no baht, arguing, kids crying, machines breaking down, laughable.

 

'The requirement is seen as helping to reduce the burden on Thai hospitals who are being forced to treat an increasing number of insured foreigners.'

 

No problem then according to the article if foreigners are insured why is it costing Hospitals?

 

The assumption seems to be that foreigners love coming to Thailand to rip off hospitals, in practice however this is not the case. I hate hospitals and try to avoid them at all costs (except in the event of a genuine emergency) and Thai hospitals are, no matter what the government likes to claim not all that great and not as cheap as they like to claim either. Most of us (in the west at least) have health coverage under our local insurance schemes meaning we can get good medical treatment at home that is paid for by the government through our tax system and will usually cost us a lot less than going for the same procedure in a Thai hospital. About the only time most foreigners go to a hospital here is in the event of an accident or emergency. Aside from Bumrungrad hospital perhaps, the vast majority of other hospitals nationwide have only a small fraction of their patients as foreigners and most of these will be manual labourers from neighboring countries, not rich westerners or Japanese as the government likes to pretend.

 

Yes, it would be a good idea to take out accident insurance before traveling abroad and this includes Thailand but at the end of the day it shouldn't be imposed on anyone, especially since I can't think of any other country in the world that checks this at the border or has in place a kiosk system at the borders to purchase a policy. This proposal is short-sighted and ridiculous.

 

A better approach would be requiring every foreigner applying for a Thai tourist visa (including a visa-on-arrival) to show proof of insurance alongside their other visa application documents. While that would leave out foreigners arriving visa-free, the hospitals could either ask for proof of insurance when being admitted (except in the case of an emergency when it would be unethical to do so, although I understand this is exactly what Japanese hospitals do) or not allow the patient to be discharged without some kind of commitment to paying the bill (this already happens and has happened to me once, so what's the problem)?

 

And yes, this would be a major burden for Chinese, who make up 30% of visitors to Thailand, not to mention ASEAN visitors driving/bussing/flying in/out of Thailand from Laos/Malaysia and Cambodia on a regular basis. Imagine a Malaysian driving his car from Kuala Lumpur being forced to buy insurance at Sadao just to go shopping for 2 days in Hat Yai. Said individual will probably be thinking - let's hop on a plane to Indonesia or Hong Kong instead, this is too much trouble.

 

It's high time the tourism department hires some people with actual brains, this kind of proposal is just stupid and unworkable. 

[jimster]

On 6/25/2017 at 2:26 PM, off road pat said:

Hmm,...with all due respect, if you say "medical in Thailand is excellent and extremely cheap" You have to be American...It is well known that Medicare in the US is outrageously expensive. I stayed one month in hospital In Belgium and paid approximatively 100 Euros....less than a 100 $ US, that is the social security / health insurance we have.!!! and we have some of the best Medicare in the world !!! To be honest, I will receive more bills from that stay but there will not be more than 200 Euros!!!

Best regards.

Go to any Thai hospital (private ones at least) and expect to pay like 30,000-35,000 THB for any given procedure for a 2-3 day stay! As far as I'm concerned, that's extremely expensive! Didn't someone say that Thailand was cheap? Well, why then does conducting a few tests and NOT even needing surgery cost this much? And yes, I can guarantee this is a genuine amount charged by a hospital in Chiang Mai for a procedure that did NOT end up requiring surgery!

 

As you say, in Belgium it's only 100 Euro...except in case of a genuine emergency, I avoid Thai hospitals like the plague. In fact, I try to avoid the allopathic system altogether, too many pharmaceutical products wreck havoc on your body and that's why one should only go to a hospital if you have a broken leg, need surgery or something like that, not for the sniffles, which is why a lot of Thais go. It's absolutely ridiculous.

[off road pat]

2 hours ago, jimster said:

Go to any Thai hospital (private ones at least) and expect to pay like 30,000-35,000 THB for any given procedure for a 2-3 day stay! As far as I'm concerned, that's extremely expensive! Didn't someone say that Thailand was cheap? Well, why then does conducting a few tests and NOT even needing surgery cost this much? And yes, I can guarantee this is a genuine amount charged by a hospital in Chiang Mai for a procedure that did NOT end up requiring surgery!

 

As you say, in Belgium it's only 100 Euro...except in case of a genuine emergency, I avoid Thai hospitals like the plague. In fact, I try to avoid the allopathic system altogether, too many pharmaceutical products wreck havoc on your body and that's why one should only go to a hospital if you have a broken leg, need surgery or something like that, not for the sniffles, which is why a lot of Thais go. It's absolutely ridiculous.

A couple of months ago I had a infection and stayed 10 days at Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai, my travel insurance paid some 330.000 Thb and my Belgian Healthcare paid back the insurance !!!

[rasg]

50 minutes ago, off road pat said:

A couple of months ago I had a infection and stayed 10 days at Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai, my travel insurance paid some 330.000 Thb and my Belgian Healthcare paid back the insurance !!!

If you go off the beaten track in Thailand where there are many things that bite etc it makes total sense to me to have travel insurance. If you are stupid enough to rent a motorbike and you end up being an just another accident statistic your body will go home if you have insurance.

 

It is not unworkable and it's not expensive at all. Immigration can check your documents just as they do with your passport when you enter Thailand.

 

The sooner the UK requires it, the better. It would solve 95% of our health tourism at a stroke.

[off road pat]

52 minutes ago, rasg said:

If you go off the beaten track in Thailand where there are many things that bite etc it makes total sense to me to have travel insurance. If you are stupid enough to rent a motorbike and you end up being an just another accident statistic your body will go home if you have insurance.

 

It is not unworkable and it's not expensive at all. Immigration can check your documents just as they do with your passport when you enter Thailand.

 

The sooner the UK requires it, the better. It would solve 95% of our health tourism at a stroke.

Lot's of things can happen to you without looking for trouble !!!

You can be run over just walking on the street,

I pay my travel insurance 306 Euro's for my wife and I. per year !!!

I had two medical interventions in Thailand one in 2014 and one a couple of months ago,...they both cost more than 300.000 Thb....the insurance paid everything , !!!

I'm so happy I didn't have to pay those from my own pocket !!!

PS (I'm not working for a insurance company) !!!

Edited June 29, 2017 by off road pat

[off road pat]

4 hours ago, jimster said:

The assumption seems to be that foreigners love coming to Thailand to rip off hospitals, in practice however this is not the case. I hate hospitals and try to avoid them at all costs (except in the event of a genuine emergency) and Thai hospitals are, no matter what the government likes to claim not all that great and not as cheap as they like to claim either. Most of us (in the west at least) have health coverage under our local insurance schemes meaning we can get good medical treatment at home that is paid for by the government through our tax system and will usually cost us a lot less than going for the same procedure in a Thai hospital. About the only time most foreigners go to a hospital here is in the event of an accident or emergency. Aside from Bumrungrad hospital perhaps, the vast majority of other hospitals nationwide have only a small fraction of their patients as foreigners and most of these will be manual labourers from neighboring countries, not rich westerners or Japanese as the government likes to pretend.

 

Yes, it would be a good idea to take out accident insurance before traveling abroad and this includes Thailand but at the end of the day it shouldn't be imposed on anyone, especially since I can't think of any other country in the world that checks this at the border or has in place a kiosk system at the borders to purchase a policy. This proposal is short-sighted and ridiculous.

 

A better approach would be requiring every foreigner applying for a Thai tourist visa (including a visa-on-arrival) to show proof of insurance alongside their other visa application documents. While that would leave out foreigners arriving visa-free, the hospitals could either ask for proof of insurance when being admitted (except in the case of an emergency when it would be unethical to do so, although I understand this is exactly what Japanese hospitals do) or not allow the patient to be discharged without some kind of commitment to paying the bill (this already happens and has happened to me once, so what's the problem)?

 

And yes, this would be a major burden for Chinese, who make up 30% of visitors to Thailand, not to mention ASEAN visitors driving/bussing/flying in/out of Thailand from Laos/Malaysia and Cambodia on a regular basis. Imagine a Malaysian driving his car from Kuala Lumpur being forced to buy insurance at Sadao just to go shopping for 2 days in Hat Yai. Said individual will probably be thinking - let's hop on a plane to Indonesia or Hong Kong instead, this is too much trouble.

 

It's high time the tourism department hires some people with actual brains, this kind of proposal is just stupid and unworkable. 

Hm, I quote you, 1- " Imagine a Malaysian driving his car from Kuala Lumpur being forced to buy insurance at Sadao just to go shopping for 2 days in Hat Yai. ", We have to buy a insurance when we drive into Malaysia !!! I did several times !!!

2- "I can't think of any other country in the world that checks this at the border or has in place a kiosk system at the borders to purchase a policy.", My Thai wife had to buy a travel insurance prior to get a Schengen Visa otherwise the Visa would not have been granted !!!,...for the rest I mostly agree with you !!!

[jimster]

10 minutes ago, off road pat said:

Hm, I quote you, 1- " Imagine a Malaysian driving his car from Kuala Lumpur being forced to buy insurance at Sadao just to go shopping for 2 days in Hat Yai. ", We have to buy a insurance when we drive into Malaysia !!! I did several times !!!

2- "I can't think of any other country in the world that checks this at the border or has in place a kiosk system at the borders to purchase a policy.", My Thai wife had to buy a travel insurance prior to get a Schengen Visa otherwise the Visa would not have been granted !!!,...for the rest I mostly agree with you !!!

Car insurance and health insurance are 2 different things. Also, there are 1-year car insurance policies issued at the border (they can also be issued in advance without having to waste time at the border - same thing is possible for Thai cars going to Malaysia). An alternative would be for the Thai, Malaysian and Lao governments (and others eventually) to create a single region-wide car insurance system, much the same as in the EU. Already Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are co-operating on this matter - the policy I purchased when I last drove to Malaysia would have also covered me in Singapore and Brunei too.

 

As I said, a possibility would be to request insurance details at the time of applying for a Thai visa. Any other method would be ridiculous and unworkable. Even in the EU you don't have "insurance kiosks" at every border crossing or airport where Thais and other foreigners are forced to buy insurance.

[jimster]

2 hours ago, off road pat said:

A couple of months ago I had a infection and stayed 10 days at Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai, my travel insurance paid some 330.000 Thb and my Belgian Healthcare paid back the insurance !!!

Me too, my insurance has always paid me back too (pay first claim later), but I wouldn't want to pay 330,000 THB myself to the hospital, that's what the insurance company should be doing. I assume that's what your travel insurance did in your case.

 

30,000 is doable, then you make a claim and wait for the refund to be transferred to your account but surely an amount like 330,000 wouldn't be paid by the patient first.

[off road pat]

3 minutes ago, jimster said:

Me too, my insurance has always paid me back too (pay first claim later), but I wouldn't want to pay 330,000 THB myself to the hospital, that's what the insurance company should be doing. I assume that's what your travel insurance did in your case.

 

30,000 is doable, then you make a claim and wait for the refund to be transferred to your account but surely an amount like 330,000 wouldn't be paid by the patient first.

You are absolutely right in this, but in my case things happened a bit different. I stayed 10 days in Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai.

And was repatriated to my country, A specialised Male Nurse came over to pick me and my wife up and he was mandated to paid the Hospital.

I never had to take out any money. We flew Business class back home, Paid by the Insurance !!!
I am travelling half of the year for the last 30 years and was very lucky to have that insurance several times !!!

To quote a famous commercial slogan "Never leave home without it ".

Best regards.

[rasg]

32 minutes ago, off road pat said:

My Thai wife had to buy a travel insurance prior to get a Schengen Visa otherwise the Visa would not have been granted !!!,...for the rest I mostly agree with you !!!

Exactly!

 

7 minutes ago, jimster said:

As I said, a possibility would be to request insurance details at the time of applying for a Thai visa. Any other method would be ridiculous and unworkable. Even in the EU you don't have "insurance kiosks" at every border crossing or airport where Thais and other foreigners are forced to buy insurance.

Errr. No. They just make it a proviso for traveling to Thailand. You can't get on an aircraft without a passport. Have the airlines check. NO travel insurance certificate, no boarding of the aircraft.

 

Or, If the Thai authorities do want to make money from it, they could set up kiosks airside at the airports just like money exchange. It's hardly rocket science.

 

They need to do the same with the UK ASAP.

[Rhys]

[jpinx]

It's easily covered in the process of applying for a visa, the issue is with VoA's and Permits-to-Enter.  PoE's appear to be used a lot, and the onus for checking the insurance has to fall on either the airline/bus company/travel arranger, or on the immigration officer at the point of entry.  For his/her benefit the insurance has to be identifiable easily, in Thai language no matter where it comes from, and scannable or serial numbered so that it can be entered against along with that travellers passport details. 

[Flying Kiwi]

Astounds me that there are so many comments on the issue of travel insurance, why do people compare health care of their home country to what is received / given/ purchased in Thailand reality is there is no point comparing if you holiday or live in Thailand then insurance to cover you in this country is what you need you can only compare apples with apples not apples and oranges.

 

Common sense must prevail when it comes to travel insurance, if you can't afford travel insurance DON'T TRAVEL 

[jimster]

On 6/29/2017 at 5:29 PM, off road pat said:

You are absolutely right in this, but in my case things happened a bit different. I stayed 10 days in Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai.

And was repatriated to my country, A specialised Male Nurse came over to pick me and my wife up and he was mandated to paid the Hospital.

I never had to take out any money. We flew Business class back home, Paid by the Insurance !!!
I am travelling half of the year for the last 30 years and was very lucky to have that insurance several times !!!

To quote a famous commercial slogan "Never leave home without it ".

Best regards.

Exactly. Normally there is a minimum above which the insurance company pays the hospital directly because very few people would have hundreds of thousands of Baht laying around for some sort of reason, much less for an emergency. Most people have very little in savings these days so even paying 30,000 Baht out of pocket and waiting a week to be reimbursed is not an option for most people. Luckily it is/was OK for me, but 330,000 obviously wouldn't be.