Proposal of new Affordable Thai Health Insurance

Post by **rjj04** » April 5, 2018, 8:12 am

I've spent a fair amount of time in Thai govt. hospitals, mostly helping the inlaws. Is it massively over-crowded, yes. Is there an insufficient amount and old equipment, yes. Waiting for hours and hours, yes. On the other hand, my father-in-law had surgery on an abdominal aortic aneurysm and, from what I saw, got excellent treatment (in KK) and four years later is still going strong. It cost him 50 THB or some ridiculously low price. He could have had a private room for a few hundred baht more a day, but chose to stay in the ward with the others so he could chit chat and have companionship. If he were to have that same operation in the USA, without insurance, it would have cost him probably a $100K... so what the hell do people expect? For some folks here with serious pre-existing conditions this sort of plan could be a game changer. They will have to change their expectations and try to relax when dealing with an overloaded and underfunded system... deal with it.

How people could argue against having another option, I have no idea.

Post by **tutone** » April 5, 2018, 9:30 am

rjj04 wrote: ↑
April 5, 2018, 8:12 am
I've spent a fair amount of time in Thai govt. hospitals, mostly helping the inlaws. Is it massively over-crowded, yes. Is there an insufficient amount and old equipment, yes. Waiting for hours and hours, yes. On the other hand, my father-in-law had surgery on an abdominal aortic aneurysm and, from what I saw, got excellent treatment (in KK) and four years later is still going strong. It cost him 50 THB or some ridiculously low price. He could have had a private room for a few hundred baht more a day, but chose to stay in the ward with the others so he could chit chat and have companionship. If he were to have that same operation in the USA, without insurance, it would have cost him probably a $100K... so what the hell do people expect? For some folks here with serious pre-existing conditions this sort of plan could be a game changer. They will have to change their expectations and try to relax when dealing with an overloaded and underfunded system... deal with it.

How people could argue against having another option, I have no idea.

Well said. Some of the naysayers in this thread act like this insurance plan is being forced down their throats or are they just plain against anything that might be of benefit to someone besides themselves. It's like me telling them that their insurance sucks because it's too expensive. Considering cost vs. benefit it is actually a pretty good plan. Most of them probably spend way more than 2000 Baht a month on booze, cigs, and junk food (I know I do,LOL).

Post by **papafarang** » April 5, 2018, 10:44 am

burnt my leg on a bike exhaust , went to the "up market hospital" they cleaned it ,gave me paracetamol for the 3d degree burn that covered 25% of my calf. well had to go every day for dressing, 2,000b every day. after one visit where a doctor came in the room ,took something out the cupboard and then wandered over to see what was going on ,looked at it and just left, nurse bandaged it up and when I left got a bill for 5,000b just because a passing doctor was interested in my injury. well I wasn't a happy bunny , so next day my wife took me to a local clinic to get it dressed. as soon as they took the bandage off they were horrified and asked who had treated it . when we told them they just nodded . then told my wife that the treatment I had been getting was completely wrong, said it should have had a skin graft and they had to operate immediately as necrosis had set in . not pleasant .point is paying big bucks ain't a guarantee of anything . next point is ,when I had my heart attack I went to the general hosita who sent me to KK, I survived , many farang go to the "better" hospitals where they don't have specialist care units.. and they seem to keep them there instead of sending them to the KK heart hospital...and many don't survive

Post by **Hoopoe** » April 5, 2018, 11:51 am

papafarang wrote: ↑
April 5, 2018, 10:44 am
next point is ,when I had my heart attack I went to the general hosita who sent me to KK, I survived , many farang go to the "better" hospitals where they don't have specialist care units.. and they seem to keep them there instead of sending them to the KK heart hospital...and many don't survive

Papafarang
I've seen this so many times, even to the point of driving past perfectly good hospitals/clinics ( were they could at least get stablised before moving on ) and dying before reaching what they consider to be the better hospital , ( cash cows springs to mind ) I went to Udon general ,got the angiogram the next day ,was told it was to difficult for them advised they would write to KK Queen ,,,,Sirikit ,,,,Hospital explaining the difficulty ,and requesting appointment ,,, meanwhile boom next attack , stablised local hospital then onto KK first class treatment and success with the procedure ,I hasten to add a much lesser condition Blackpool Vic Hospital Uk were unsuccessful trying this procedure , so for me the health care ( at least were heart conditions apply ) here are as good as if not better than other countrys ,

Post by **the-monk** » April 5, 2018, 12:10 pm

Few years ago , on a bright Sunday morning, my friend experience very severe chest pain. Call the ambulance at a major hospital in Udon. In the ambulance has no equipment, no treatment, nothing just a guard watching. At the hospital a lot of staff around the patient doing nada, no cardiologist on duty, the on-duty doctor performs some tests, about an hour later, he says that they need to run a liver test to see if the patient ..... i missed the rest of his explanation. Patient is not stabilized yet, decision to move the patient to Udon general hospital ... Billed for B15000 before being able to move the patient. At Udon general, triage quickly done, patient moved to emergency ward, with 12-15 other patients on stretchers, not a pretty sight...... BUT WITHIN MINUTES THE EMERGENCY WARD HEAD NURSE was over my friend. Managed to stabilized her and secured ambulance transport to KK... BTW the ambulance from Udon General was staffed by 2 competent observing nurses.....
Thanks UDON GENERAL and KK QS... job well done.

Post by **papafarang** » April 5, 2018, 12:31 pm

exactly the same with me , stabilized at the general and off to KK heart hospital, nurse all the way down every 20 minutes giving me meds and monitoring me. a quick exam and off to the cardiac care unit where a nurse sat at the bottom of the bed monitoring my vitals .. no not those vitals

. anyway a bit of a blur at that point , but the next thing was off to surgery, popped in a stent ...and then blackness. woke the next morning . top tip . if you ever end up in hospital and you don't fancy the local cuisine , tell them you have a fish allergy, top notch grub , much better than NHS food ,had whole-wheat bread, bananas and porridge for breakfast. I go for check ups every 3 months and they charge me 50b to see the cardiologist plus 3 months meds for less than 2000 baht (2000 a month from my local pharmacy)
total cost 135,000 for treatment in udon , ambulance to KK, stent ,3 days in hospital and 3 months meds

Post by **thighlander** » April 5, 2018, 4:39 pm

fatbob wrote: ↑
April 5, 2018, 6:42 am

thighlander wrote: ↑
April 5, 2018, 1:41 am

As far as the Government Hospitals....not many horror stories out there, really. The larger ones seem to be up to par. As far as being in a ward with five other guys..hey, that will put you closest to the people taking care of you. It is a hospital, not a resort...you should only be there if you need serious care. Just tell them the pain is a 10 and you will get something nice...and it wont matter if you are in a ward. SHow me some cases of MRSA or serious infections from unsanitary hospital conditions at Government hospitals...quite rare. OTOH, some of those clinics doing plastic surgery are a whole different matter. 2K per month for coverage at Thai Government hospitals....sounds pretty good to me.
It is very obvious you have never entered a Government hospital in Thailand, I suggest you do before commenting, your view will change, where did you get the five per ward idea from????

FatJerk,

My experience is from just having lived four+ years, less than a mile from the main government hospital in Northern Thailand. Six per room in the group rooms, and some different options. OTOH, a friend died of MRSA, that he got at the same hospital Dick Cheney received a heart transplant. There were far worse stories floating around about the military hospitals in the US a few decades ago.

Photo is Nakorn Maharaj Government Hospital Chiang Mai, ER Lobby on a Sunday afternoon. Could have used a few Heineken Girls, but was spotlessly clean and comfortable.

Post by **rick** » April 5, 2018, 5:29 pm

Is there a link for this affordable insurance, because i don't see any.

Post by **rjj04** » April 6, 2018, 7:50 am

rick wrote: ↑
April 5, 2018, 5:29 pm
Is there a link for this affordable insurance, because i don't see any.

Indeed, something seems to have gone missing... hmmm

A tad disconcerting.

Post by **lassebasse** » April 6, 2018, 9:52 am

Here is the link:
http://www.insurance-in-thailand.com/af ... -thailand/

Post by **DuiDui49** » April 6, 2018, 3:07 pm

lassebasse wrote: ↑
April 6, 2018, 9:52 am
Here is the link:
http://www.insurance-in-thailand.com/af ... -thailand/

Thank you Lassebasse !

Post by **mortsyn** » April 8, 2018, 11:49 am

DuiDui49 wrote: ↑
April 4, 2018, 12:34 pm
Mr.Mortsyn/Nystrom..i can't see the infolink you posted here anymore.Please reup or PM the link /info.

Thank you for reading...have a healthy day

Here it comes again:

Proposal of new Affordable Thai Health Insurance

SAMS (Thailand Federation of Swedish associations) is working with Bangkok Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd (BIB) to initiate The Largest Health Insurance Group For Foreigners In Thailand. An affordable insurance for all foreigners regardless of age cover with full cover for accidents and sickness. Very few sicknesses excluded, cover for most pre-existing medical conditions of the policy holder. The premium is estimated to start just over 2.000 baht/month.

The highlights of the proposal is available in https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhexzou1m0p0v ... e.pdf?dl=0.

If you are interested in this health insurance and with a high probability will sign up for it if available submit your name at:

www.insurance-in-thailand.com/affordabl ... -thailand/

Any questions can be mailed to [email protected] .

Please share this with all your friends, Facebook/Forum friends and groups.

Post by **semperfiguy** » April 8, 2018, 3:59 pm

mortsyn wrote: ↑
April 8, 2018, 11:49 am

DuiDui49 wrote: ↑
April 4, 2018, 12:34 pm
Mr.Mortsyn/Nystrom..i can't see the infolink you posted here anymore.Please reup or PM the link /info.

Thank you for reading...have a healthy day
Here it comes again:

Proposal of new Affordable Thai Health Insurance

SAMS (Thailand Federation of Swedish associations) is working with Bangkok Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd (BIB) to initiate The Largest Health Insurance Group For Foreigners In Thailand. An affordable insurance for all foreigners regardless of age cover with full cover for accidents and sickness. Very few sicknesses excluded, cover for most pre-existing medical conditions of the policy holder. The premium is estimated to start just over 2.000 baht/month.

The highlights of the proposal is available in https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhexzou1m0p0v ... e.pdf?dl=0.

If you are interested in this health insurance and with a high probability will sign up for it if available submit your name at:

www.insurance-in-thailand.com/affordabl ... -thailand/

Any questions can be mailed to [email protected] .

Please share this with all your friends, Facebook/Forum friends and groups.

Mortsyn, since you seem to be so familiar with this program, I think it only fair to ask how you came to know about it and if you are in any way associated with the program as more than just an interested person. I have lived in Udon for 8 years and stay tuned into most all the expat forums in Thailand, yet I have never heard of it before. If there was such a huge push to get the program started, and this was predicated upon getting at least two thousand members, it would seem to me that they would be exposing themselves to every possible means of advertising media. I have perused the internet and can't seem to find any mention of SAMS or Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations. No one seems to be able to reassure us that this is all above board and legitimate. If they really want it to succeed, why is it surrounded by such a thick cloud of suspicion? This BIB should be doing more to inspire us to have confidence in them. Besides, any company with the initials BIB, which we all understand is the abbreviation for the Boys in Brown, (the coppers), throws up a red flag immediately!

Post by **papafarang** » April 8, 2018, 7:11 pm

Well it would be nice if true for us with pre existings. but semp was very polite in saying "bulshite"

Post by **Faraday** » April 8, 2018, 7:50 pm

To add to the above comments, why isn't this on Thai Visa?

Post by **thighlander** » April 8, 2018, 9:02 pm

Thai Visa goes to great lengths to protect its own sponsors....to put it a bit too mildly. But, something smells fishy on this one. I can't think of a better way of finding sheep for slaughter than offering cheap healthcare coverage...except maybe a meeting of the Bernie Sanders Fan Club. Prove it is legit, and I will be interested. Meanwhile, covered for accident and acute illness by Tokio Marine, who one can easily find ratings on...30 million in coverage.

Post by **rjj04** » April 9, 2018, 4:56 am

http://www.insurance-in-thailand.com/contact-us/

They have telephone numbers, a GPS location (Phuket), address, map, email, whatever, if you are so concerned just call the number and have a chat with somebody. I'm pretty certain that the details they asked for are so minimal and innocuous, and could be found out in five minutes through other means.

https://www.google.com/maps/@7.9061577, ... 312!8i6656

Post by **thighlander** » April 9, 2018, 12:41 pm

Website is from Provo, UT. That is a red flag. Utah is a big hub for white collar ripoffs.

Post by **mortsyn** » April 9, 2018, 1:27 pm

semperfiguy wrote: ↑
April 8, 2018, 3:59 pm

mortsyn wrote: ↑
April 8, 2018, 11:49 am

DuiDui49 wrote: ↑
April 4, 2018, 12:34 pm
Mr.Mortsyn/Nystrom..i can't see the infolink you posted here anymore.Please reup or PM the link /info.

Thank you for reading...have a healthy day

Mortsyn, since you seem to be so familiar with this program, I think it only fair to ask how you came to know about it and if you are in any way associated with the program as more than just an interested person. I have lived in Udon for 8 years and stay tuned into most all the expat forums in Thailand, yet I have never heard of it before. If there was such a huge push to get the program started, and this was predicated upon getting at least two thousand members, it would seem to me that they would be exposing themselves to every possible means of advertising media. I have perused the internet and can't seem to find any mention of SAMS or Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations. No one seems to be able to reassure us that this is all above board and legitimate. If they really want it to succeed, why is it surrounded by such a thick cloud of suspicion? This BIB should be doing more to inspire us to have confidence in them. Besides, any company with the initials BIB, which we all understand is the abbreviation for the Boys in Brown, (the coppers), throws up a red flag immediately!
SAMS (Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations) started the work more than two years ago and consists of representatives from a handfull of swedish associations in Thailand. One of them is Svenskar i Udon (Swedes in Udon) which I represents. The main objective for SAMS is to convince the swedish government to extend the health protection for swedish taxpayers outside EU. We have a Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/9656444 ... =bookmarks ), a Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/Ja-till-sjukv% ... 736935815/ ), and a petition ( https://www.skrivunder.com/ja_till_sjuk ... i_thailand ). The work to convince swedish goverment to implement paid health care outside EU is a several year project. In March some of us from SAMS met in Phuket together with the director of BIB to discuss a temporary solution, for example try to get the Health Card for Foreigners to be reactivated. The meeting resulted in a suggestion to create some kind of group health insurance. BIB made a proposal that I have helped publishing in various groups and forums to collect names of people who would be interested. We have got many more names than expected in first week.
Many many people have been very positive to this initiative and as usual a few negative ones that try to create a thick cloud of suspicion. Mostly because they have been to lazy to read the published information (for example read what BIB stands for) before the expressed their strong view as the many the bar-stool advocates on Facebook and Forums.

Sven Arne Hedell will give information at the next Udon Expat Club meeting late April, 2018.

Within the next few weeks information will be available about the final product in several languages (French, German, English, Swedish, and hopefully Japanese and Russian).

Post by **semperfiguy** » April 9, 2018, 2:01 pm

mortsyn wrote: ↑
April 9, 2018, 1:27 pm

semperfiguy wrote: ↑
April 8, 2018, 3:59 pm

mortsyn wrote: ↑
April 8, 2018, 11:49 am

DuiDui49 wrote: ↑
April 4, 2018, 12:34 pm
Mr.Mortsyn/Nystrom..i can't see the infolink you posted here anymore.Please reup or PM the link /info.

Thank you for reading...have a healthy day

Mortsyn, since you seem to be so familiar with this program, I think it only fair to ask how you came to know about it and if you are in any way associated with the program as more than just an interested person. I have lived in Udon for 8 years and stay tuned into most all the expat forums in Thailand, yet I have never heard of it before. If there was such a huge push to get the program started, and this was predicated upon getting at least two thousand members, it would seem to me that they would be exposing themselves to every possible means of advertising media. I have perused the internet and can't seem to find any mention of SAMS or Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations. No one seems to be able to reassure us that this is all above board and legitimate. If they really want it to succeed, why is it surrounded by such a thick cloud of suspicion? This BIB should be doing more to inspire us to have confidence in them. Besides, any company with the initials BIB, which we all understand is the abbreviation for the Boys in Brown, (the coppers), throws up a red flag immediately!
SAMS (Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations) started the work more than two years ago and consists of representatives from a handfull of swedish associations in Thailand. One of them is Svenskar i Udon (Swedes in Udon) which I represents. The main objective for SAMS is to convince the swedish government to extend the health protection for swedish taxpayers outside EU. We have a Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/9656444 ... =bookmarks ), a Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/Ja-till-sjukv% ... 736935815/ ), and a petition ( https://www.skrivunder.com/ja_till_sjuk ... i_thailand ). The work to convince swedish goverment to implement paid health care outside EU is a several year project. In March some of us from SAMS met in Phuket together with the director of BIB to discuss a temporary solution, for example try to get the Health Card for Foreigners to be reactivated. The meeting resulted in a suggestion to create some kind of group health insurance. BIB made a proposal that I have helped publishing in various groups and forums to collect names of people who would be interested. We have got many more names than expected in first week.
Many many people have been very positive to this initiative and as usual a few negative ones that try to create a thick cloud of suspicion. Mostly because they have been to lazy to read the published information (for example read what BIB stands for) before the expressed their strong view as the many the bar-stool advocates on Facebook and Forums.

Sven Arne Hedell will give information at the next Udon Expat Club meeting late April, 2018.

Within the next few weeks information will be available about the final product in several languages (French, German, English, Swedish, and hopefully Japanese and Russian).
That's more like it Mortsyn! Had you presented your case like this in the very beginning of this thread then I think you could have avoided all the speculation and negative press that you have gotten here. I hope it all pans out and I look forward to hearing the presentation at the next Udon Expat Club meeting.

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