Medical Insurance

[Undaunted]

It is your decission to get insurance or not.......The Thai government does not mandate you have it.......You can enter the Kingdom without it and can stay without it as long as your visa allows.

[thaiworthy]

This may be what Doug is concerned about. But it is just rumors and speculation and un-enforceable. Makes interesting headlines is all.

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/98 ... -thailand/

As far as travel policies, those will not include pre-existing conditions, which Doug clearly referenced in his post. I don't think the deposit idea is workable. Hospitals do love credit cards, though. If you are willing to put up some cash for a deposit, you might be willing to put up some plastic.

Cigna Global may cover pre-existing, depending on certain factors, but it has a 50% load in the cost of a premium, and thus maybe prohibitively expensive. Many Cigna quotes I was given had a 30% co-pay after the deductible.

[Gaybutton]

Many Cigna quotes I was given had a 30% co-pay after the deductible.

This is how it broke down for me. I had no co-pay, only the deductible. I didn't have to pay a single baht until I was released from the hospital.

The 40,636.62 was the total out-of-pocket expense for me. US $375 is my deductible. The rest was whatever CIGNA doesn't cover plus the extra I paid to have a private, rather than a semi-private room. That works out to a total of about US $1175. For 7 days that's US $167 per day out-of-pocket, most of which was the cost of the room upgrade. The 28,160 baht was the price of the room upgrade.

I did not have to pay anything at all and then wait for a reimbursement.

No complaints from me. Back in the USA I wouldn't be surprised if the $1175 was less than I would have had to pay just to walk in the door.




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Typical USA hospital - no matter how much you pay:

[thaiworthy]

I think the deductible is weighted to the cost of the premium. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium and vice versa. Still, a good deal. You can't get a nice hotel room in Pattaya for much less than $167!

[Gaybutton]

The lower the deductible, the higher the premium

Of course. I opted for the higher premium and lower deductible. My premium works out to approximately US $4000 per year. I pay quarterly.

For me, the main thing is not having to lay out the money and wait for a reimbursement. That's the way it worked and it was completely hassle free. I couldn't be more pleased, especially since Bumrungrad is one of their preferred hospitals.

[Undaunted]

This was posted today on Gaythailand:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... o-thailand

[thaiworthy]

This was posted today on Gaythailand:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... o-thailand

This is just a band-aid to help the hospitals with past-due bills. I don't believe it is meant to benefit the traveler, especially since policies already exist through a reputable agent. And none would help people suffering from a pre-existing condition. But there would be opportunities for more scams!

Under the proposal, the Office of the Insurance Commission would draft details on insurance policies and insurance distribution channels, including the installation of automatic vending machines at international airports and border checkpoints.

For example, some car rental agencies already have a scam going where they pocket the cash for a car rental insurance policy that is never actually issued.

[fountainhall]

Of course it is to benefit the hospitals! Why should travellers who elect not to bother with insurance expect first class treatment here when absorbing the costs of such treatment probably pushes up hospital costs for those of us who live here?

I think the ability to purchase a travel insurance policy automatically from a machine could be a simple solution for those who have no insurance (although I cannot understand anyone who elects to travel these days without any insurance at all). If machines are going to work quickly and smoothly, there is likely to be no requirement re existing conditions. Unless it is a simple "Click amount of cover" and instead requires a host of "yes" or "no" responses, it will all take up vastly too much time and lead to massive queues.

On the other hand, I read not so long ago that the amounts being considered for cover were way below what hospitals would need to cover anything more than a bout of 'flu or a broken arm. I guess we just have to wait to find out what the rates will be.