Don't want to turn this into an AEK bashing thread but it is best to warn others,, especially any newbies to Udon .. I have certainly heard some horror stories over the years ... including misdiagnosis, refusal to treat emergency victims (one was rumored to have been left to die on the front steps) and of course whopping hospital bills.. the best reports have always come from Udon Wattana, the Army Hospital with the new Bangkok Udon Hospital now getting a lot of positive reviews but a little more pricey.......... you never know when its your time to need them

Just for FYI, for those that have private medical insurance you can pre register at any of the private hospitals that will accept your insurance. The hospital will verify your insurance and enter your personal & insurance info into their system and you'll receive a patient card. If involved in accident or have a health issue than its that much easier to get medical assistance. I'm registered at Bangkok hospital and I know Wattana will also pre register.

So the reported info is wrong on the internet...? It is not the Government hospital that refused treatment until a deposit of 200,000 was paid in advance...?? If so not surprised at AEK… what can you expect from an establishment whose boss pays for a hit on a monk...?

I think it's fair to remember that both AEK and Bangkok Hospital have been left holding the bills for expats/tourists who have skipped out without paying their bills.

On the subject of up-front payments, I took a family member into Bkk hospital one evening. He needed a surgery but would need to wait until early the next morning due to having just eaten. I was asked for a large deposit from a guy from the billing office. Had a polite disagreement with him in that I wanted to see a detailed billing estimate which he said he couldn't produce. Finally agreed that I would pay it by credit card, but I didn't have it with me. Went home to get the card, but when I returned he was gone for the night.

Surgery was completed the next morning as scheduled. The guy from billing came to the recovery room the next day wanting the deposit. I said surely you can provide me with a bill of costs up to this point now? He said he'd try. Didn't hear back from him. Checked out that evening and paid the bill which turned out to be about 20,000 baht less that the deposit he was asking for.

So, in my experience yes they ask for a deposit, but care was not deigned without the deposit.
Your experience may differ.

it might not be fair, but to be honest demanding 200k up front is an insult to injury, they were the same to me and that is why I will never use AEK Udon ever again, patients are a means to make money , the fact that they might actually help you get better is a mere coincidence, I forgot to say, that until I regained full consciousness, did I find I could not eat and that their preliminary examination failed to spot a broken jaw , that took another 25000 for that operation, so for being fair, I will bow to your obvious knowledge, and if a foreigner failed to pay a bill, that in my book is the fault of the hospital NOT the foreigner as it is hard to leave a hospital without anyone knowing.

parrot wrote:I think it's fair to remember that both AEK and Bangkok Hospital have been left holding the bills for expats/tourists who have skipped out without paying their bills.

That may or may not be true but it is no excuse to deny care to someone in dire need especially when that person was attacked by a gang of young thugs. Actually the patient in a case like this should have his bills covered for him.

A very good lesson here is to buy insurance.

How many of you guys are going down to the hospital and chip in a few thousand baht as an act of compassion?

In the USA these days there is a new class of crime, that of the "hate crime". It increases the sentence on a conviction I believe. If I recall, this gang only targeted westerners, therefore one would think that racism might have played a part in this attack. If the Thai government wants to make sure that the tourism industry is strong in the future, they might want to think about this.

You'd think TAT would pick up the hospital bill in this sort of case, surely.

BigRick808 wrote:How many of you guys are going down to the hospital and chip in a few thousand baht as an act of compassion?

Why would anyone need to do this??
The guy has comprehensive insurance - which makes the hospital's request for an 'up front' payment even poorer business practice..

Yes, I did go to the beginning and see he did. Are you certain he had all of the insurance info on him at the time he arrived?

so is the guy still in a coma or what?

The friend knew, but are you sure the hospital knew at the time of arrival? Also, is the hospital that accepted the insurance the same hospital that declined to treat him? Is this what you are saying?

I am not saying anything, merely relaying what others, apparently in the know, have reported.

From those details it appears that 1 hospital was unwilling to treat him without prepayment while another was happy to verify the insurance details while treating him.

But you relayed it in response to my question: Are you certain he had all of the insurance info on him at the time he arrived? Do you think it is unreasonable to think that is an attempt to answer the question?
Keep in mind that I asked that question because you said: The guy has comprehensive insurance - which makes the hospital's request for an 'up front' payment even poorer business practice..

Yes, it does appear that way. We really don't know if the policy info was available at the first hospital or not and if they had it by the time he arrived at the second.

well when i had a heart attack they took me to khon kean heart hospital, payment was not even discussed untill 2 days after the op. then they said not to worry pay when you have it. i think their main concern was saving my life. the problem with private hospitals is exactly that, their private and they have absoulutely no reason to make you better, keep you alive but sick is how they cash in. several freinds with heart conditions have gone into these hotel hospitals with heart problems, and several have not made it out alive. personaly i prefer to go to a hospital with specialist cardiac care facilities . my operation was done within 1 hour of arriving, privately they might have tried to keep me alive in a bed for a few days first... why cure you, theres no profit in it.

I agree that they shouldn't ask in an emergency. Not only due to needing urgent help but it is also upsetting--especially if you don't have insurance

If they treat you on a credit basis they have every reason to cure you, or at least get you well enough to go and get the money

I haven't read through all of these posts, but does anyone know for certain what hospital refused treatment and if he went to the government hospital before getting treatment at the private hospital, as per the article?

i would like to suggest to address this issue (first cash deposit then treatment) to the udon expat club to clarify it ... but i'm not a member there.
maybe someone else could pass it on to them?

[quote="BigRick808
I haven't read through all of these posts, but does anyone know for certain what hospital refused treatment, as per the article?[/quote]

Not very hard to guess which hospital, if you have spent any length of time here. If my shared assumption is correct, the guilty hospital's commercial clout will ensure that it's identity will remain unrevealed here.