Health insurance for thai family

Statt

i don't think I'm lucky regarding the bills as those are the prices for the medicine. I don't know what else I can tell you. I take 1 pill once a day and the other twice. I also suffer from a Hypothyroid disorder. My medicine costs me 6 Baht/tablet I take 1.5 tabs per day. The most expensive medicine is Restasis which is prescribed for my eyes. The medicine is imported and costs 1935Baht/box of 30 amplules (30 days).

I can't speak much about in-patient care because my wife and I have had only 1 in-patient experience. She was hospitalized several years ago in Paolo for pneumonia and what was thought to be rheumatic fever. I was with her at the hospital everyday and she was seen by her doctor every morning without fail. Khun Tutsaphan who was the chief of the international office checked in with her twice a day. the nurses were always available for anything she needed. Maybe things have changed at Paolo since then.

I can tell you factually that when I had my knee replaced last month at Vejthani hospital in Bangkok there was no shortage of excellent care. I was seen by at least 1 of my doctors (surgeons) daily along with a cardiologist to make sure my heart was still beating LOL. Gosh on one occasion the anestheseologist (sp) even stopped in to make sure I was doing ok. There were more than enough SKILLED nurses both Registered and Practical along with nurses aides to attend to my needs. Physical therapy was begun the day after surgery by skilled therapists.

The bottom line here is health insurance which is what the thread is supposed to be about. My wife and I have excellent coverage. I wouldn't have moved here without it.

FWIW (haven't read all the posts), my family and I have been with BUPA for years. We normally stay healthy; and except for the first year, our actual medical bills have always been significantly less than what we have been paying in premiums. Going forward with this year's renewal, in keeping with my plan to maintain our cost of living despite an expected 15-20% domestic increase, I may partially self-insure. In other words, we'll renew on perhaps the low-end plan "just in case" something major happens and bank the difference versus what we paid this past year in premiums. Our copay will be higher each visit, but it would be drawn from our "medical" account. In theory, I should then only need to "top-up" year-to-year. This way, our yearly new cash outlay for medical premium and bills should be significantly less, we get the interest (as meager as it would be), we have funds at the ready for anything major, we can stay in the VIP rooms at the government hospital (I am told they very nice and an order of magnitude cheaper than at private hospitals) and we may finally see more years where our bills are more than - or close to - the premiums we pay. Ergo, we are not giving BUPA so much profit every year.

The downside is that I cannot use BUPA at the government hospital. BUT I can see a specialist there and then perhaps get admitted to a private hospital and have the same specialist treat me on BUPA's dime.

Relatedly, I used to QQ the government hospitals until this past year (see my posts regarding Aek). The experiences have shown me the light. The government hospital does have the best doctors and going there is not so bad if you are able to jump the queues. If you have to wait, it sorta sucks. Lots of ill people in close proximity coughing all over one another makes me uneasy, to say the least...

Just my 2 satang. Comments and criticisms welcome!

fdimike wrote:The bottom line here is health insurance which is what the thread is supposed to be about. My wife and I have excellent coverage. I wouldn't have moved here without it.

fdimike, I have visited the Bupa website that you previously posted here. Can you let us in on just which type of coverage you have chosen and the annual cost to you. Is it the Platinum Plan, and if so, is it the 1, 2 or 5 million baht overall maximum per disability? They don't post their premium fees online, and I'd like to have a general idea before I inquire and open myself up to a visit from a sales person. Thanks in advance!

Post by semperfiguy » January 23, 2012, 7:42 pm fdimike, I have visited the Bupa website that you previously posted here. Can you let us in on just which type of coverage you have chosen and the annual cost to you. Is it the Platinum Plan, and if so, is it the 1, 2 or 5 million baht overall maximum per disability? They don't post their premium fees online, and I'd like to have a general idea before I inquire and open myself up to a visit from a sales person. Thanks in advance!
Don't tell him Mike just think of that poor salesmen when Semper opens himself up

Semper

I simply posted the BUPA site for info purposes only. There is another health insurance company which usually advertises in the Bangkok Post daily. They usually have a small ad at the bottom of the first couple of pages. let me know if you can't find it and I'll dig around for you. Our health insurance is provided to me free for life by the US government due to my military/federal government service. It's a 75/25 (they pay 75% I pay 25%) plan with a $300 annual deductible. The best part of the plan is the max out of pocket per year of $3000. They pay 100% after I meet the $3000 threshold.

I would have obtained private insurance on my own before moving here though if I was not already insured because as everyone knows the older you get the more medical problems you usually develop. I've found that generally speaking the cost of decent medical care (open to everyone's interpetation) here is Thailand is lower than in the US. I have no experience with medical costs in other western countries. I have friends from France, UK, & Dennmark and I've heard both good and bad from all regarding the medical services in their home countries. However, the cost of medicine may vary greatly here based on its source (imported/domestic).

Semper it's easy to deal with an insurance agent. All you have to do is ask the costs of the different plans, then thank the person teling them you be back in touch after reviewing it all. End of story.

I've been through the Udon General Hospital "merry-go-round"/"circus" when my brother-in-law needed surgery. Had it not been for the help of my neighbor who was the chief of anesthesiology i probably would still be standing in line waiting to see the doctor for my allotted 3 minute consult in the same room as 3 or 4 other patients. It's not only Udon because we saw the same thing at the Ubon Ratchathani General Hospital. The system is sorely underfunded/understaffed and overloaded. I don't mean to sound rude or elitist but my dog gets better care at the vet.

fdimike wrote:Semper

I simply posted the BUPA site for info purposes only. There is another health insurance company which usually advertises in the Bangkok Post daily. They usually have a small ad at the bottom of the first couple of pages. let me know if you can't find it and I'll dig around for you. Our health insurance is provided to me free for life by the US government due to my military/federal government service. It's a 75/25 (they pay 75% I pay 25%) plan with a $300 annual deductible. The best part of the plan is the max out of pocket per year of $3000. They pay 100% after I meet the $3000 threshold.

I would have obtained private insurance on my own before moving here though if I was not already insured because as everyone knows the older you get the more medical problems you usually develop. I've found that generally speaking the cost of decent medical care (open to everyone's interpetation) here is Thailand is lower than in the US. I have no experience with medical costs in other western countries. I have friends from France, UK, & Dennmark and I've heard both good and bad from all regarding the medical services in their home countries. However, the cost of medicine may vary greatly here based on its source (imported/domestic).

Semper it's easy to deal with an insurance agent. All you have to do is ask the costs of the different plans, then thank the person teling them you be back in touch after reviewing it all. End of story.

I've been through the Udon General Hospital "merry-go-round"/"circus" when my brother-in-law needed surgery. Had it not been for the help of my neighbor who was the chief of anesthesiology i probably would still be standing in line waiting to see the doctor for my allotted 3 minute consult in the same room as 3 or 4 other patients. It's not only Udon because we saw the same thing at the Ubon Ratchathani General Hospital. The system is sorely underfunded/understaffed and overloaded. I don't mean to sound rude or elitist but my dog gets better care at the vet.

Thanks Mike! The info is greatly appreciated.

semperfiguy wrote:

fdimike wrote:The bottom line here is health insurance which is what the thread is supposed to be about. My wife and I have excellent coverage. I wouldn't have moved here without it.

fdimike, I have visited the Bupa website that you previously posted here. Can you let us in on just which type of coverage you have chosen and the annual cost to you. Is it the Platinum Plan, and if so, is it the 1, 2 or 5 million baht overall maximum per disability? They don't post their premium fees online, and I'd like to have a general idea before I inquire and open myself up to a visit from a sales person. Thanks in advance!

From the age of 61 up Platinum plan 1 costs about from 90000 thb up including 25 000 yearly outpatient care and 400 000 death/disability lump sum (200 000 in the case of motorbike accident). To be covered at the age of 74 you need to pay almost one and half million baht premiums and you can get maximum 1 million bath yearly coverage. It is not enough to cover some surgical fees. 5 million baht is the only one which is enough.

This is much cheaper, but coverage also is not so good, even they also pay 1,2 million per one year.
http://www.thaihealth.co.th/product_simply_eng.php

It is sad that i.e. motorbike accidents are covered only half or sometimes not at all. Bupa i.e. pays 5000 thb in the case of motorbike accident emergency care for the first 24 hours.

Ps. You get Bupa premiums via Internet, when you click Apply. It opens a calculator where you can see cover and premiums. Banner is named as "Select your suitable plan" and you can find it on the left of the Home page..