Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Anything and everything about Thailand
Post Reply
fountainhall

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by fountainhall »

Joachim wrote:What I find interesting is that you touting UK healthcare system do not trust it yourself.
I don't think I have ever said or even implied that! What I have said is that I am pissed off - mightily so - that those of us who have paid our taxes and paid all our National Insurance contributions for decades even though living abroad under the written understanding that we would remain entitled to NHS Healthcare, then discovered without any government department notifying us that our right to elective healthcare had been withdrawn.

If you are happy with your system that is great. But if your employer is paying for your healthcare, the taxpayer is still paying a large portion of that.
Jun

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by Jun »

That is one of several disadvantages of having a taxpayer funded centrally controlled healthcare system.

Whilst living here, you have to pay taxes to fund this whether you want to or not. The moment you leave the country for 6 months, entitlement is withdrawn. It's outrageous.

Even if you are here, you can be standing out in the street in the queue so you can be one of the privileged few to see a doctor. He will arrive late in his very fast car. Then see the first 16 people & that's it. Count up the total hours spent seeing patients per doctor & it's about 2 days a week work.
If we had a proper market, we could just take our business to a company that was more efficient & had some interest in customer service. As it is, well it's like something from behind the iron curtain.

I hope I can save enough to pay for some healthcare in Thailand, since the NHS is diabolical and our country is likely to be insolvent by the time I'm needing healthcare the most. Too many lefties here.
fountainhall

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by fountainhall »

Jun wrote:Whilst living here, you have to pay taxes to fund this whether you want to or not. The moment you leave the country for 6 months, entitlement is withdrawn. It's outrageous
Re your first point, isn't that part and parcel of any state organised healthcare system? If you permit certain individuals to opt out, the cost of the system has to go up for those who actually need it. All types of insurance require a large pool of individuals so that the risks are amortised. That is as true of state systems as it is of privately funded systems.

As for rights being withdrawn, I totally agree. Until the late 1990s the right existed. It was withdrawn by the Blair government and neither notification nor reasons were ever given to individuals living overseas. I had been living abroad for about 20 years by then and I only found out about it some years later.

However, there is another issue re the UK system. I think I am right in saying that National Insurance contributions fund not only an individual's right to NHS treatment, they also provide pensions for those who left the UK but continued to pay the NI premiums. The pensions don't amount to much = but they are way better than nothing. I once had a problem with my UK bank which for reasons known only to itself stopped all my direct debits for a few months. They corrected that action but to ensure my NH payments were up to date, I wrote to the department to check as I did not want any underpayment to affect my future pension. They wrote back and said I was something like £8.37 in arrears! They got a cheque in the mail.
travelerjim

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by travelerjim »

In my opinion expats like Thaiworthy has a manageable healthcare plan for himself. Others I know have likewise.

It is foolish to not have some international health coverage when you travel outside of your home country.

There are very affordable travel insurance policies that will protect you. Some policies will even cover the unexpected recurrence of a preexisting condition.

A friend of mine years ago was visiting Thailand for the winter months away from the cold icy home State of Wisconsin.

He chose not to purchase a travel policy as he was a disabled person with major disease. However he was hit by a motorbike as he walked the street of Pattaya and incurred 160,000 Thai baht... US $4,700 in hospital expenses from the accident.

A US $100,000 travel policy for a man 60-64 years old for his usual three months would have cost him about $750 with zero deductible and 100% coverage for both inpatient and outpatient medical care... From Global Underwriters in the USA. That's with coverage of the insured for motorbike riding. It's $600 if the expat does not ride on a motorbike.

A person 65-69 is about $50 more for the three months coverage.

A person 70-79 is $842 for three months coverage and a policy benefit of US $50,000. Add 25% if the expat rides on a motorbike. $100,000 is available at twice the premium. These are quotes for zero deductible and 100% coverages up to the maximum benefit chosen.

A wise decision to insure that unforeseen happening.
IMHO
fountainhall

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by fountainhall »

travelerjim wrote:A US $100,000 travel policy for a man 60-64 years old for his usual three months would have cost him about $750 with zero deductible and 100% coverage for both inpatient and outpatient medical care... From Global Underwriters in the USA. That's with coverage of the insured for motorbike riding. It's $600 if the expat does not ride on a motorbike.
A very good reason for shopping around. There are other far more affordable travel insurance plans around. Mine has $2 million coverage worldwide for inpatient and outpatient. It covers motorbike riding as long as the driver has a licence. Deductible is $75. And it's for a full year! Policy issued in the UK and available to anyone. My premium? US$466 and I am older than 64.
travelerjim

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by travelerjim »

And I would highly recommend your policy if available to foreigners outside of the UK. As you know there are policies available in the UK which are only available to UK citizens.

I shared my posting above as a informative posting.
I am not seeking to write policies. If one wishes advice on insurance matters I am happy to assist.

Please share with us the name of the company you have noted and its website and contact information.

BTW... Does it limit each trip outside of home area to 60 or 90 days of coverage? I suspect that it is limited to 90 days of travel ???

The policy I shared information about is available for up to a full year of coverage outside of your home country.
Tj
thaiworthy

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by thaiworthy »

travelerjim wrote:However he was hit by a motorbike as he walked the street of Pattaya and incurred 160,000 Thai baht... US $4,700 in hospital expenses from the accident.
Can and does happen. Then the motorbike driver gets up and speeds off to avoid responsibility. Then you are stuck for any deductibles as a result of the accident. Unfortunately.
jimnbkk
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:05 am
Location: Usually Arlington, VA when I cannot be in Thailand.
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 16 times
Contact:

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by jimnbkk »

travelerjim wrote:In my opinion expats like Thaiworthy has a manageable healthcare plan for himself. Others I know have likewise.



A person 70-79 is $842 for three months coverage and a policy benefit of US $50,000. Add 25% if the expat rides on a motorbike. $100,000 is available at twice the premium. These are quotes for zero deductible and 100% coverages up to the maximum benefit chosen.

A wise decision to insure that unforeseen happening.
IMHO

That's an outrageous sum, James. $842 + 25% for three months. That's unaffordable for the vast majority of us older folks. It means for sure that my Medicare Cost policy from Kaiser Permanente is a supremely good deal. And, there's no exclusion for riding motorbikes. It covers me for emergency problems when I'm out of the country. If I had to pay your sums, I would not be able to visit Thailand. (or any other foreign country probably).
travelerjim

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by travelerjim »

jiminbkk,

The costs of health insurance is reasonable IMHO for those who wish to travel outside of your their home country and have no other health insurance to cover your travels away.

The cost for a person age 70-79 is what you are referring to. It's a viable option for some.

Also for any expat considering residing outside their home country I suggest they inquire about the costs of health insurance and its maximum benefit when one reaches age 80+ and 85.

That is the age for expats which I consider the big question when dealing with and accessing affordable health insurance....regardless of their home country.

FYI... I have many times recommended to Americans that they have a Medicare Advantage plan if they are of age 65+...it's the best option for their protection at this time. Not all zip code areas in the USA have a Medicare Advantage plan available.

jiminbkk ...yours is Kaiser and thankfully it has excellent benefits. Not all Americans have access to a Kaiser plan as they reside in areas where Kaiser is not available.

Again... The good news is that there are available options for most Americans and expats from other countries to select from.

Enjoy your travels with peace of mind Jim :-)

Tj
fountainhall

Re: Farang insurance dilemmas building up

Post by fountainhall »

travelerjim wrote:BTW... Does it limit each trip outside of home area to 60 or 90 days of coverage? I suspect that it is limited to 90 days of travel ???

The policy I shared information about is available for up to a full year of coverage outside of your home country.
But that is not what you wrote just a few posts earlier -
travelerjim wrote:A US $100,000 travel policy for a man 60-64 years old for his usual three months would have cost him about $750 . . .
Yes, mine is an annual policy but limited to a maximum of 90 days per trip. My policy is issued by HealthCare International. I cannot find any limitation as to nationality of policyholders on the website. The fact that premiums/benefits are offered in sterling, US dollars and/or Euros makes me think that perhaps the policies are not limited to UK residents. After all, these are travel policies for expats and home base is hardly material.

You will note that I am answering your questions. You wrote on another forum that, for whatever reason, you will not answer mine.
travelerjim wrote:No more replies from me to you Fh ...
Hardly a fair exchange of information, I'd have thought!
Post Reply