Medical Insurance

[Sofa_King]

Cheers Nick ........ davureborn hae already posted up that link and some of the quotes do seem reasonable as long as you was to use a Government Hospital rather than one of the more expensive private hospitals. I guy I know has just spent 3/4 days ( not 100% sure)  in hospital with  dengue fever,total bill including medications was 4500. I wonder what the cost would have been a private hospital 

[KhunG]

Like CoCo, I've been on blood pressure meds (1 pill/day) since my 30s.  When I moved here at 55 and got some quotes, they said they wouldn't cover any heart related ailments, but didn't offer a lower premium for the reduced coverage.

I decided to open a separate savings account here to use as an easily accessible large emergency fund, it should cover most things short of a month in intensive care.  The bulk of our assets are still in the US, but transfers take less than a week if more is needed.  So self insured is how it stands for us now. 

[Tassie]

If when I get really sick I will head back to Aus where the medical is free and of the worlds highest standard.  I paid for this paying taxes during my working life for 47 years.
Regards

[davureborn]

If when I get really sick I will head back to Aus where the medical is free and of the worlds highest standard.  I paid for this paying taxes during my working life for 47 years.
Regards

This is part of my plan also. However I have a repatriation insurance. I don't think that visibly very ill passengers will be allowed onto long haul  flights, do you? This is another insurance that has to be started before the age of 65, though there may be exceptions I suppose.
Flying Business Class might get you some leverage?

[Freddy]

I didn't know you could get a separate insurance specifically for medical repatriation. Do you have any further info.

[davureborn]

I can't remember the details but it was Simply Healthy, http://www.thaihealth.co.th/product_simply_eng.php that offered an option, and I only remember it because I was over 65 so was refused. I can get you the guy to telephone you if you want, English = 0. Maybe it was an insurance for repatriating (Thai translation problem possibly) people back to their homes in Thailand, I'm not sure about that. There's always https://www.allianzworldwidecare.com/en/international-individual-health-insurance/?gclid=CjwKEAjwkJfABRDnhbPlx6WI4ncSJADMQqxdwTIwFzUlWptrUdmB99kGv2-eQxnsKNcsgyvhFbBzlBoCsYXw_wcB
I now have a repat insurance available to Swiss nationals only costing about ‎฿2000 a year.

[Freddy]

Thanks Dave. I'll check it out on the Internet. Seems like a good option to have n the absence of health cover. It had never occurred to me to look at this option in isolation.

[RayBan]

Since very close friends of mine (Prakhonchai Nick and Co Co) are interesting participants in this particular thread that I have been quietly following, well I felt that I must just add my penny's worth. I am 68 years old now and have resided in Thailand since 2000. I am one of those types that believes in peace of mind and therefore have always participated in various insurance packages, including a Thai health insurance package. My health insurance was obtained back in 2000, when I first arrived here, using basic mathematics I was therefore 52 years young (and fit at the time). I obtained my Thai health insurance from a broker in Pattaya, where at the time I resided. The initial full insurance package was approx 30k per annum at that time, I saved 15% on the annual premium by excluding "Outpatient" costs - BIG MISTAKE as I will clarify shortly.

Now you have the basic statistics of my situation, let us scroll on a few years. between 52 and 60 my premiums increased slightly each year, growing from the original 30k thru to maybe 45k. Later in that period I developed high blood pressure (shock and horror to someone who personally thought he was the dogs bollocks in fitness) and had a couple of claims, including angioplasty and stent at 400k at Bangkok Pattaya, paid for in full with no hiccups.

After 60 and with the previous claims my premiums went up to around the 60k a year mark, but I continued to pay as I was still in pocket from pay in and pay out experience over the years. Earlier this year (67 years young) I took seriously ill and the result was a quadruple heart bypass at the Bangkok - Korat hospital, the total bill coming to 1.675 million - again fully paid for. My next premium June last increased to 83k per annum, which I paid. Again, if you do the mathematics, I remain well in pocket.

The coronary failure this year was repaired, but the surgery was too late to save my renal function, the heart condition seriously affected my kidneys to the point were they are now only 10% functional. I therefore had to start hemodialysis 3 times a week and this will be for the rest of my life. Fortunately my insurance covers renal dialysis up to 1m baht per annum and therefore, using the fantastic local renal unit at the Ruam Paet hospital in Muang Surin, at 3k per session, well I am well covered and my dialysis treatment is refunded every month by my insurance company.

Prior to my retirement in 2012 I had an excellent employer and a super salary, but even with those attributes my medical bills in retirement would have put a severe dent in my expected annual costings. Fortunately i am well on the road to full recovery and the peace of mind thru my insurance cover is a major aid in that recovery. So if you want to hear advice from a guy who just 15 years ago thought he was that "Dogs Bollocks" in fitness, well think again my friends, no-one can guess what is around the corner and serious heart related illnesses don't normally give any warning, they hit you head on like a runaway train, you won't be able to get off and jump on a flight to UK or the likes - believe me.

International Hospital costs are very variant in Thailand, depending on where you visit. My insurance company does not now permit me to use Bangkok Pattaya hospital any more for example, but I can use other Bangkok hospitals in the Company chain, like the Bangkok Korat. I didn't understand at the time and became quite vexed, but when requiring what they call an AVF (Artery - Vein Fistula) in preparation for receiving hemodialysis, the cost quote was 150k at Bangkok Pattaya versus 50k at Bangkok Korat, so I do appreciate and accept the insurance company restrictions now in that sense.

Going back to saving the 15% for no out-patient claims, it sounded an economic move at the time. But down the road, all the pill popping medication referred to regularly in this thread and what I now need to take, is part of "Out-patient requirements" and therefore not covered, a very costly error in my instance and one that cannot be reversed now. So if you are taking out medical insurance for the 1st time, well take heed of that particular tip.

In conclusion, it doesn't matter how fit and active you think you are, no-one knows what is around the corner and you may be lucky, but lady luck will run out one day. When it does, well you had better be prepared and so if you are young and fit enough to do so, well get out there immediately and get covered if you are going to be a permanent overseas resident.

I hope this helps any ambivalent thoughts that you may hold.

[Tassie]

Thanks RayBan.  Unfortunately, I cannot take advantage of  any medical insurance as I am 71 years old.  If God willing, I will get back to Australia and be treated there.
Regards

[davureborn]

 My premium with Thai Health also went up from around ‎฿10 000.- to ‎฿15 000.- as I passed the age of 65, which accounts for the 50% rise you also experienced then. I look at it this way: insurance companies are there to make money, that is their main aim. Unprofitable patients will be taxed more and more each year until they stop paying the premiums. I certainly couldn't afford ‎฿83 000.- a year and would have been out of the game long before that.
 I look on my minimal insurance as 1: encouraging a hospital to take me in in an emergency, and 2: getting me through any crisis that may occur, financially, until I get to the point where I can decide whether I want to die in Thailand surrounded by a loving family, possibly with inadequate medical aid, or return to Switzerland where I would get first class treatment for 'free' but separated from family. My insurance agent (I find that it is important to know your agent personally) told me that my insurance would get me through, for instance, one bout of cancer treatment but after that things would become difficult.
 Some form of repatriation insurance is an essential part of my plan as well as a few Baht in the bank to facilitate getting back to Switzerland. I have read a few times that the Thai government is considering making some form of health insurance obligatory for tourists and long stayers alike; this would indeed lighten the burden for some of us. My wife has to show proof of insurance when she travels to switzerland, I don't see why it should be any different the other way round.

[Prakhonchai Nick]

An excellent report from RayBan, who has had a horrendous year.  I saw him in hospital just a few days after his quadruple heart by pass operation, as I was about to undergo an angioplasty with stents. My wife, naturally not fully understanding my problem, assumed I would require similar surgery and end up with scars like RayBan's.

As has been made clear, you get what you pay for. RayBan was in the fortunate position that he took out insurance immediately he came to Thailand, and was able to pay for one of the better covers. He was not only a young "hansum man" in those days, but had no health problems. I too took out insurance in the UK when I first came here 30 years ago. Unfortunately not particularly high cover, but somewhere in the middle. One of the benefits of my insurance  is that I never age. I pay the premium relative to the age I was when I first started the insurance. It does however increase with inflation. Unfortunately this insurance has been closed to new applicants for many years.

The cheap Thai Health insurance...http://www.thaihealth.co.th/product_simply_eng.php  provides a range of different levels of cover, but note how they increase as you age. One problem recently experienced with this company, was that a friend needed expensive surgery over just a few days. His surgical expenses  were more than the policy limit, yet he ended up with a large surplus of accommodation cover,. The better insurance policies (naturally more expensive) often cover everything up to a certain limit  (1,2,5 million baht or more) But these are generally only available to those who have no health problems, and are not into pill-popping.

As RayBan said it is often not possible to return to your home country. You may be literally too sick, and an airline would be unlikely to take you. However, with even limited insurance cover, it might be possible to stabilise whatever condition you had , allowing you to return back home for more extensive treatment.

 

 

[buckwhelk]

@Rayban: Can I ask who your current medical insurance provider is?

[RayBan]

@Rayban: Can I ask who your current medical insurance provider is?

Originally it was known as LMG Pacific, but now rebranded as Pacific Cross. The broker is Macallan Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd. based on Pattaya South Road and managed by a Scotsman by the name of Jack levy, who has been in business since I arrived in Thailand back in 2000. Prakhonchai Nick may also be able to guide you if you are looking for cover. Hope this helps.

[buckwhelk]

Thanks for the info Rayban

[Tassie]

Someone said there was a medical insurance company in Buriram that speaks English and will visit your home if needed to discuss the coverage.
Could anyone reading this post please give me the contact details of this Insurance Company.
Regards