I recently had a two day stay at Bangkok Hospital and I thought I would share my experience. You don’t know what you have until the chips are down.

I went in feeling like crap for four days. I was very concerned with the Dengue fever that is going around, not a time to take chances. I went in at about 1930 hours no appointment saw the Dr, within about 30 mins. After examination I was admitted.

They ran a full blood on me no indication of Dengue at that point. But, as it turns out it can be sneaky. At that time my white blood cells were very high. So they ran a new set the next day. The white blood cells had returned to normal.

Knowing John I contacted him, he had been transferred to marketing and he introduced me to Mr. Kurt Lundstrom who handles claims. He had already submitted the bill and had no response.
The insurance I have requires me to pay for the first day and then 100% coverage after that.

I have to say the care was excellent, food what can I say ever had any good hospital food. But at the time I could have cared less. I know I was feeling better when it was time for outside food to be brought in.

Kurt kept in touch with me about what was going on with the claim. Dummy that I am I forgot the claim fax number had been changed and I didn’t have that with me. Smart move been meaning to take that to the hospital and just never got around to it. Trust me that is in my wallet now.

I contacted my agent in Pattaya and within hours Nam and Kurt had the full approval process done. Kurt informed me immediately. You would be surprised how much of a relief it is to get that off your mind.

Came time for the discharge, the Dr. informed me at 1000 hours. I contacted Sally at the International Office and she came to my room. I don’t know about you guys. But, when it’s time to leave I want to leave, not hang around all day for claims to be processed. This was pre approved. Sally greased the gears for me and I was out by 1200 hours.

The billing office came to my room and my meds were brought to my room.

At no time was I ever asked to post cash, that is why I pay for first class insurance.
I have an appointment on the 23rd for a follow up, that I have to pay for. I only carry major medical. At this point they are still not sure what the problem was beyond a bacterial infection. But, there is one test that was run that takes three days to get the results on. Maybe tomorrow I will have more answers.

My wife had the same problem the week before and spent two days there. I couldn’t say much as my wife would never say anything was wrong. I on the other hand am the first to complain and when I don’t feel well I’m not bashful about it.

Everything went as good as you could get. Everyone from the housekeepers on up did all they could to assure my comfort.

I’m grateful it wasn’t Dengue Fever. But if it had been I was in the right place. I’m not 100% yet. But bacterial infections take meds and rest. I would much rather do my rest at home.

All and all a very difficult situation was made better by the care and attention I received.

I found out about the Insurance on the forum. I’m 66 had carried Bupa for years. Some of the postings on the forum made me really look at my coverage. What I found didn’t please me. But I really didn’t know I had any other options. My current coverage is about 35 K baht a year more. Bu, it covers so much more. Best of all it did exactly what it said it would do.

Peter
AA INSURANCE BROKERS CO., LTD.
565 / 62 Moo 10 (Next to Big C South Pattaya)
Nong Prue,
Banglamung,
Chonburi 20260
Tel: 038 415 795-6
Fax: 038 374 251
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.aainsure.net
Peter I wanted to take a moment and compliment Ms. Nam. I recently had a stay in the hospital. apparently I had the wrong fax numbers to submit a claim. The Insurance contact at Bangkok Hospital in Udon ( Mr. Kurt Lundstrom ,had never handled a claim with April Expat.

Things were not going smoothly, I contact Nam and gave her Mr.Lungstums phone number, within the three hours the claim was processed and when I left the hospital had no problems at all. This was all done prior to my release.

Ms. Nam has provided excellent service and I think you have a winner of an employee there.

Name of the Insurance company
APRIL INTERNATIONAL

Glad to hear you're out of the hospital. Yea I had BUPA for years and dropped them when they made too many changes. Currently, I'm self insured; now THATS scary. Planning on insuring the whole family soon when my little girl turns 6 and the premium on her drops way down, OR get into 'Obamacare' if it pans out.

Will that get you coverage here?

The coverage I got wasn't cheap. But, at my age miracle I could get anything.

Glad your feeling better Ray. Maybe I can add some comments on , not my own , but family experience .Since it has been taken over by the Bangkok Group it is a totally different ball game to the old Paolo.A cousin went in there to have a baby by caesarian. Private room better than many 5star hotels, with guest bed and full kitchen facilities. I know these things don't indicate the level of medical care but they are a good measure of the overall standard .The doctors and all the medical staff were constantly on hand, day and night to reassure not only the patient but the worried family .Now my step daughter goes in this week to have her first child, again by caesarian and her husband has booked the same room and physician on a package deal of 59,000bht for a 4 night stay, including all medical bills .Based on our experience I would say this is now the number one hospital in Udon and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for those that prefer private treatment .

One thing I found interesting in Johns marketing he was targeting Laos, that waiting rooms seem full everyday. With the way I was treated it my choice form now on. Your right completely different then Palo was.

bumper wrote:Will that get you coverage here?

The coverage I got wasn't cheap. But, at my age miracle I could get anything.

FROM MEMORY - I *think* expats can opt into the program. If this is true I would guess you would have to pay for any care received in Thailand and then get reimbursed from the USA. Also, I'm pretty sure as an expat you can opt to not participate in Obamacare and there is no penalty.

I did just find these 2 links: http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Work ... 30231.html

http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts.php

I haven't found anywhere that says I can't enroll from abroad. I haven't really researched this to any degree for about a year. I'm in no hurry; I figure in October the internet will be buzzing........

Well keep us posted please. I wouldn't change what I have. But, others may.

Thanks for sharing the experience. Medical treatment is the main concern of my family when we think about moving to Thailand. We have 2 small babies, that stops us from packing our bags. So far what I read in forums makes us think that it is better to grow up here, and postpone our moving for better times.

Personally I would not want to raise children here. The school system is based on memorizing things , not learning problem solving. I'm speaking of the public schools I have no idea about private ones.

Excellent Medical treatment is available to those who can afford it.

Thailand's larger cities - Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, etc. - have excellent medical facilities with very reasonable prices and many Western-trained doctors.

You can learn more about it here: http://www.thailandmedtourism.com/Home/28

And this site, although focusing a lot on cosmetic surgery, has some great promotions on medical procedures, spas and wellness centers, and hotels: http://www.FindYourFabulousThailand.com

As for the Udon - Nong Khai area, well, not so much, although the recent reviews of Bangkok Hospital Udon are encouraging.

I did not realize that outpatient care was so expensive at the Bangkok Hospital.

My neighbor just returned from a visit. He thinks he has bronchitis - coughing, chest pains, fever, etc. While there he saw a young female doctor. All she did was examine him by looking at him, no Xray or bloodwork. The cost was 5000 baht!

He went to a clinic a couple of days ago and was given antibiotics (penicillin ). He has since broke out in a rash all over his body. When he asked the doctor at Bangkok Hospital about it all she would say was it was probably some sort of allergy (Really!). He said, that to him, the hospital seemed more interested in getting his money than providing care.

Contrast the above with my visit to a local clinic recently when my foot became inflamed. He tested my uric acid level, gave me a steroid shot for the inflamation and a couple of other pills to take during the week. Cost 500 baht.

Perhaps Bangkok Hospital is still the best bet for inpatient care, I don't know. But it seems for outpatient care you are just as well off at one of the local clinics

Strange my last out patient visit was 110 baht. Might be to his advantage to contact Sally at the International Office and find out what happened. People do make mistakes. If I were him based on what he told you I would want some answers.

I have questioned billing there is the past and things were resolved to my benefit.

Charlieb wrote: He went to a clinic a couple of days ago and was given antibiotics (penicillin ). He has since broke out in a rash all over his body. When he asked the doctor at Bangkok Hospital about it all she would say was it was probably some sort of allergy (Really!).

Tell your friend he probably should NOT take any more penicillin or its close cousins! I am allergic to it, and can tell you that the first one or two reactions is a rash. The third time I took it after the initial rash, I went into anaphylactic shock and needed adrenaline to breathe. If I had not already been at the doctors office, it would have been a bad outcome. I avoid it and am sure to tell all doctors (and my wife in case I cannot) that I am very allergic to it.

I have not seen anything like a medic alert bracelet/pendant here, and do not know if it would even be worthwhile. TiT. Anyone with experience pro or con on medic alert here, the information would be appreciated.

KB

Missed that part. I have an alergy to to the fluid they use for Xray's I make sure I'm not given it. A rash might have been a low cost, way to find that alergy. I try to stay active in my treatment and find out what I'm being given. Wouldn't some sort of bracelet be good for this area. I had the same reaction to a medication that I was being given to help stop smoking. That really sucked as it was helping and I still smoke today.

He really needs to follow up and find out what happened, they do have Dengue fever check that runs 5K baht.

Better to know then to be angry. Tell him to contact Sally an find out. All those ladies are nurses from the P.I. speak great English and have medical backgrounds.

5K for prescription is a bit expensive... Would insurance cover that kind of expenses in case when you need to be hospitalized?

Mine did.

LoveDaBlues wrote:Glad to hear you're out of the hospital. Yea I had BUPA for years and dropped them when they made too many changes. Currently, I'm self insured; now THATS scary. Planning on insuring the whole family soon when my little girl turns 6 and the premium on her drops way down, OR get into 'Obamacare' if it pans out.

I don't know if you watched the Presidents speech this morning so I thought I would post this just in case. He said that you will be able to sign up for affordable health care on line in October. I still have no idea if that would provide coverage here for you and your family. I know that the health care policy I had when I moved here would not.

Getting life Insurance in America you can't get unless you have a Stateside address, at least that has been my experience

I think this would be something a lot of us would like to know about. So if you take the plunge please let us know it goes.

Hopefully you or someone else did so we can have more clarification old Git you know

do this hospital still have very hard beds, what was the case before

wiking wrote:do this hospital still have very hard beds, what was the case before

What do you think it is a hotel !
You crack me up ..

Must be softer than Top Mansion