Dual pricing to begin for farang at Thai government hospitals

[Up2u]

Last April, the Federation of Physicians and Nurses released a table showing 18 state hospitals were suffering deficits. For instance, Pranangklao Hospital had a deficit of 355 million baht, Saraburi Hospital was 322 million baht in the red, and Uttaradit Hospital had a deficit of 277 million baht.

As far as I'm concerned, those reported deficits are almost laughable. Last year there were tens of billions of baht reported by a long list of hospitals as deficits attributed to foreigners not paying their hospital bills, which couldn't be farther from the truth. As far as I'm concerned, this is Thailand. Money always disappears and ends up getting classified as justifiable deficits in fudged accounting reports. Then what happens? Farang are required to pay more money to keep the wheel turning.

Of course, government hospitals run deficits and supported by taxpayers after all they are supposed to be non-profit. Did LMTU, Monty leave an unpaid bill? I believe the numbers reported by the government on tourists/foreigner nonpayments. Raising prices for foreigners at government hospitals makes sense and even showing the ability to pay for elective surgery also makes sense.

[Gaybutton]

Did LMTU, Monty leave an unpaid bill?

I don't know about LMTU.

I explained about Monty in this post: https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... =10#p96357

[Dodger]

Did LMTU, Monty leave an unpaid bill?

I have no idea if LMTU or Monty had unpaid medical bills, but I do know that they stopped receiving medical services when their money ran out.

As a point of clarification, foreigners don't just have to show that they have the ability to pay for elective surgery ahead of time - they have to pay in-full for the surgery in advance before the surgery will even be scheduled. They add 20% to the standard cost of the surgery in the event their are any complications which could increase the cost, which is then reimbursed (if no complications) after the surgery is completed. It is my understanding that all Government Hospitals operate this way. This method suits me just fine, and the hospital is assured of always being paid.

Private hospitals are there for one reason, and one reason only, and that's to make money. Unlike Government Hospitals, private hospital also accept credit and/or debit cards, and all patients are expected to pay their bills in-full after the service is provided. Thailand has some great private hospitals which apparently offer excellent care for reasonable fees, although, and unfortunately, they are all located in and around Bangkok. I really like the polished marble floors and glimmering elevator doors at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, but they are widely known as being a total rip off

[fountainhall]

Some will have seen on television The Real Marigold Hotel, a series loosely based on the hit movie The Best Little Marigold Hotel. The three episode series featured groups of well-known ageing Brit personalities spending a month in three different Indian cities to assess if they might be able to retire there. One item examined was the cost of healthcare. Those who went for check-ups or treatment were amazed at both the quality, the lack of waiting time and, crucially, the cost.

For those without major medical insurance or only limited cover, prices in India's top hospitals are now much cheaper than those in Thailand. And the quality of healthcare is as good. The Narayana Chain of 23 hospitals across the country has a particularly good reputation. As for costs, a rare pulmonary thromboendarterectomy requiring open heart surgery can tie up an operating room for most of a day. In the USA the procedure can cost more than $200,000. Narayana did it for about $10,000. A heart transplant at Narayana costs around $11,000! A heart bypass $2,000!! The average cost of heart bypass surgery in the USA is $40,000. And if you think quality of care has to be way below those in the USA, about 1.4% of patients at Narayana hospitals die within 30 days following a heart transplant. The average in the USA - 1.9%

Well worth the price of an air ticket and a few days in a hotel for some of us, I'd have thought.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features ... en-cheaper

[Up2u]

The Narayana Chain of 23 hospitals across the country has a particularly good reputation.

Thanks! I will bookmark this for future reference if I need a heart transplant or open heart surgery.

As far Dodger's dig at BHP, I can compare BHP with Bangkok Nursing Hospital where I spent a night in ICU at both. If he wants to see ivory towers and marble columns visit BNH; my bill at BNH was nearly double BHP's for exactly the same service. My friends use Bumrungrad and a comparison for simple procedures which I have priced; colonoscopy, 28k vs 18k, endoscopy, 22k vs 11k with BHP being the lowest.

If Dodger has a stroke or heart attack I am sure he will be transported to Sirikit or Banglamung where he thinks he will receive proper care. For me, no thanks. BHP is an internationally accredited hospital and can perform lifesaving heart surgery, has CT scans and MRI for strokes. A friend several years had a stroke, was ambulanced to BHP, brain scan revealed a blockage and given expensive lifesaving anti-blocking drugs. He now visits Pattaya regularly with only minor issues from the stroke.

[Gaybutton]

my bill at BNH was nearly double BHP's

If it's not too much to ask, would you mind writing out the names in your posts, or at least the first time you use these initials in a topic? I, for one, have no idea what BHP and BNH stand for.

[fountainhall]

I will bookmark this for future reference if I need a heart transplant or open heart surgery.

If I had to have a hip or knee replacement and it was not covered by insurance, I would not think twice about flying to have it done at a good hospital in India.

[Dodger]

If Dodger has a stroke or heart attack I am sure he will be transported to Sirikit or Banglamung where he thinks he will receive proper care. For me, no thanks. BHP is an internationally accredited hospital and can perform lifesaving heart surgery, has CT scans and MRI for strokes. A friend several years had a stroke, was ambulanced to BHP, brain scan revealed a blockage and given expensive lifesaving anti-blocking drugs. He now visits Pattaya regularly with only minor issues from the stroke.

You are absolutely correct. If I were to have a stroke or heart attack I would dial 3 numbers and an ambulance from Queen Sirikit (QS) would handle it from there. The majority of foreigners who reside in my condo building have relied on Queen Sirikit for their various medical treatments for many years before I showed up, and none of them like the long queues in the waiting rooms, but consistently give the doctors and medical services high marks, as do I. One of those residents being the Juristic Manager of our property who suffered a major heat attack in early 2018. He openly credits QS for saving his life. I don't mean this sarcastically, but in all honesty, you never made it past the waiting room and may have been happy with the doctors and quality of service they provide if you had.

Queen Sawang Wadhana Memorial Hospital in Sri Racha is another government hospital which gets high marks from expats. They have the same long waiting periods like QS, but the fee's they charge are 70% less than private hospitals, and reportedly 90% less than Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

Just so you know, I picked up a health insurance policy earlier this year and could use it if needed at any hospital I wanted, but using the services at QS for low risk situations allows me to take advantage of discounts attached to my policy. I'll receive a 20% reduction on the premium year 1, 15% year 2, and an additional 10% at year 3 if no claims have been processed.

As a side note: Banglamung Hospital that you referred to is accurately described by most as being a death trap like the vast majority of Government Hospitals in Thailand. There is no comparison between Banglamung and Sirikit.

[Gaybutton]

There is no comparison between Banglamung and Sirikit.

I agree with that, but for me that is not the issue when it comes to something life threatening. In a serious emergency I would want to be in a hospital that I know has the right equipment to deal with it. While Sirikit Hospital may have the right equipment, I would not want to find out the hard way, in the middle of a life threatening emergency, that they don't. Even if they do, if I'm not the only one there with the same kind of emergency, I don't know whether they have enough equipment to deal with multiple patients suffering the same thing.

For me, Sirikit Hospital is fine for minor problems, but if something seriously life threatening happens I want to be in a good, private hospital where they are far more likely to be able to handle what I need.

Besides, those living in Pattaya are only minutes away from good private hospitals, while getting to Sirikit Hospital would probably take the better part of an hour - and that's if there are no traffic problems. The time element all too often makes the difference between survival and death.

[Undaunted]

In case of a life threatening occurrence such as a stroke or heart attack when time is of the essence you go to the closest decent hospital in Dodger’s case that is QS however, I would worry if they had the latest drugs and equipment for example there is a very expensive drug that If administered within 45 minutes of certain strokes it will reverse the effects of the stroke, this drug is in the range of 30,000 baht, I know BPH has this drug I would not want to gamble if QS stocks this drug.