Thread: "Gold Card" medical scheme in Thailand

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone have "First Hand Knowledge" of the "Gold Card" scheme that Tsicar mentions in the following TeakDoor post:
teakdoor.com/health-fitness-and-hospitals-in-thailand/77722-hearing-aids-anybody-know-about-them.html#post1526840
Sorry I could not make it a clickable link because my post count is below 5.

"Old lady in our village got [hearing aid] supplied for free by the state on the 30 baht scheme..."

"My kids had a "gold card", available to any thai who applies for it, free of charge ... They didn't pay one cent for any medical procedure or medicine at any government hospital-not even the 30 baht ..."

In his reply regarding hearing aids, he mentioned the "Gold Card" scheme that was available to his kids, and any Thai can apply for it.

Could someone with knowledge of the Gold Card please provide further details of what you know about it and how the Thai's apply and where?

I was unable to PM/Email tsicar as my post count is below 20.

Any accurate information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I am a disabled blind pensioner (4% vision left) and my beautiful fiancee (together for 8 years) was just diagnosed with Thalassemia Intermedia, the medical term for Hereditary Anemia, that will only require more detailed treatments as it progresses. Ironically, it was picked up on a pre-pregnancy health checkup in readiness for us to plan our first child. I now feel I am inadequate as her partner because I cannot afford her treatments with my small pension income, but with the knowledge of this Gold Card option, there is a new door of opportunity to open and explore.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide, and have a great day my friends!!

Regards,

Thomas

There's a couple of good threads running on Thai Visa at the moment. Expats With Yellow Book To Prove Residency - Page 6 - Health, Body and Medicine - Thailand Forum

30 Bht Health Scheme - Page 2 - Health, Body and Medicine - Thailand Forum

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

The paperwork and running around is worth it in the end.

According to this poster requests for a Yellow Book in Ubon just go to their Amphur and fill out a form.

transam, on 14 Dec 2011 - 17:24, said:

'sinbin', on 13 Dec 2011 - 21:00, said:

'janverbeem', on 13 Dec 2011 - 20:51, said:

My yellow book was handed to me free of charge.

Yes they are free of charge, but you have to get your passport translated and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. This is a requirement to obtaining the 'Yellow book''. That's the expensive part. If not done by the book, I've know of 2,000 Baht being passed under the table. Unfortunately they wouldn't go down that route where I live.

Not in Ubon. They have a form to transfer info from your passport. Done in 20 minutes and cost nothing.

Same same,Sakhon Nakhong

Expats With Yellow Book To Prove Residency - Page 5 - Health, Body and Medicine - Thailand Forum

The OP is asking for information for his Thai fiancee, not him.

Home

or in Thai, ¡ÃзÃǧÊÒ¸ÒóÊØ¢ which will have fuller information so get her to have a look.

99% of Thais are covered by free health care now, and she just has to phone up MOPH to ascertain that she does qualify and where she had to go to get it (where her house book is most likely).

Originally Posted by Telecom66

Could someone with knowledge of the Gold Card please provide further details of what you know about it and how the Thai's apply and where?

Your missus must know how to apply as you have them for your kids.

"My kids had a "gold card"

Originally Posted by pseudolus

The OP is asking for information for his Thai fiancee, not him.

I appologise.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Your missus must know how to apply as you have them for your kids.

Hello Pragmatic,

Sorry for the delayed response. With my eyes it takes a long time to type. The quote of "My kids had a "gold card"" was what the poster of the other post had stated and not me. I was just copying his statement to here as I could not make the original post a clickable link. He said that his kids had the Gold Card - I do not have kids yet.

My fiancee had never heard it referred to as a Gold Card before, but understood as soon as it was identified as the UCS.

We will be talking to the local hospital here in Bangkok to see what steps they need to register with them tomorrow.

To: Pragmatic, Pseudolus, and Boon Me, thank you all for your informative and quick responses.

Regards

Thomas

Not sure on most of what was posted above is about, not heard of gold cards, but many hospitals have their own private insurance scheme. Our local hospital has a 2,000 Baht a year scheme, meaning all services are free, that includes private room, air con, TV and fridge plus spare bed for the wife. Would not want to go there for anything other than trauma, lots of gun shots and motorbike accidents. Believe bigger hospital have a similar system, pay now and get taken care of later. Jim

Does this sort of thing cover eye care as well? My SIL is getting cataracts I believe. Wonder how might be best to get her cataracts removed/repaired or whatever it is they do to them.

Originally Posted by sranchito

Does this sort of thing cover eye care as well? My SIL is getting cataracts I believe. Wonder how might be best to get her cataracts removed/repaired or whatever it is they do to them.

Yes it does - there will be a long wait though and she will have to have it done in her home town hospital.

As far as I know, an ID card should be sufficient at any state hospital.

Originally Posted by mao say dung

As far as I know, an ID card should be sufficient at any state hospital.

I thought that, but i might just be for emergency stuff. Stuff like cataracts I believe need to be done in the home town hospital if it is to be done for free. Other wise they pay for it, not private style costs. but there is a cost to it.

Yeah. Thing is, I actually live in Thailand and my wife still uses the state insurance.

There is no "hometown hospital" where we live. She has some upcoming medical stuff and has been chatting with friends and relatives to do research about which state hospital seems best for what she wants.

Presumably all these Thais misunderstand the system?

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by sranchito

Does this sort of thing cover eye care as well? My SIL is getting cataracts I believe. Wonder how might be best to get her cataracts removed/repaired or whatever it is they do to them.

Yes it does - there will be a long wait though and she will have to have it done in her home town hospital.

Don't know if you would get it done in a home town hospital, know the Hollows foundation do it in tents in the desert, but it's a specialized field. Think you would end up in a big hospital in a city.
Interested to know how long the waiting list is, as I returned to OZ last year to find I had bad cataracts. Waiting list was 4 years, paid cash, both eye done, from go to getting back on the plane to here 3 months. Jim

Firstly she has to go to the government hospital to which she is registered at. A Thai cannot just go to any hospital as and when, other than in an emergency and she can't access her registered one. This is to stop them all converging on the best hospitals.
If her local hospital cannot do the procedure required, her doctor will forward her to the nearest hospital that can. All Thais know the proceedure for obtaining medical treatment here. Don't get pulled in by them saying they don't know.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Thomas.

The way this Gold Card thing works (it's not actually a card anymore but a laminated piece of paper) is you first get the Tabian Baan Leung (Yellow Book) from your local Amphur Office. Depending on your location in Thailand it can be easy or a bit of a pain.

What this Yellow Book does for the Farang is the ability to own various real property in your own name and gives us a further ID similar to the Blue House Book Thais have.

Once you have the Yellow Book you can proceed over to your local Government Hospital and apply for the 30 Baht/Gold Card deal. Good for any Government Hospital throughout the country.

Good luck. The paperwork and running around is worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by mao say dung

There is no "hometown hospital" where we live.

Your nearest government hospital is your "hometown hospital" and that's where she should be registered. And I repeat 'Thais know this'. To register she has to show her 'Blue Book'. If she hasn't registered, after moving, she has to go all the way back to the hospital she is registered at. Failing to do so she will have to pay for her treatment. Thais know this.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Firstly she has to go to the government hospital to which she is registered at. A Thai cannot just go to any hospital as and when, other than in an emergency and she can't access her registered one. This is to stop them all converging on the best hospitals.
If her local hospital cannot do the procedure required, her doctor will forward her to the nearest hospital that can. All Thais know the proceedure for obtaining medical treatment here. Don't get pulled in by them saying they don't know.

Know of many who attend the local non 24 hospital and get transferred to the Amphor hospital, then to the district hospital. FIL hernia district hospital no problem in and out. Uncle, cancer 24 hours after the district diagnosed the problem, in an ambulance and off to Ubon.

In my cataract case, I would have had the same op here as in OZ, most of the specialist are trained in western countries, Part of the Government scheme to bring the knowledge home.

The treatment would have been the same, but the cost would not. Jim

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by sranchito

Does this sort of thing cover eye care as well? My SIL is getting cataracts I believe. Wonder how might be best to get her cataracts removed/repaired or whatever it is they do to them.

Yes it does - there will be a long wait though and she will have to have it done in her home town hospital.

Thanks, I ll give her a call this evening and see if I can talk her into going. There is a hospital right there in Chumpae. If not there KK, I am sure.

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by mao say dung

As far as I know, an ID card should be sufficient at any state hospital.

I thought that, but i might just be for emergency stuff. Stuff like cataracts I believe need to be done in the home town hospital if it is to be done for free. Other wise they pay for it, not private style costs. but there is a cost to it.

That's my understanding as well.

What you can do if you want a procedure like cataract surgery done elsewhere is get a letter from your hometown hospital to that effect which gets routed thru 'headquarters' - Bangkok I believe and then when that permission is granted, you can get 'advanced' medical care in a government hospital of your choice.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

I believe and then when that permission is granted, you can get 'advanced' medical care in a government hospital of your choice.

It's of their choosing in that they just send you to the nearest hospital that will carry out the procedure required.

Here's something from wikipedia.

Thailand introduced universal coverage reforms in 2001, becoming one of only a handful of lower-middle income countries to do so at the time. Means-tested health care for low income households was replaced by a new and more comprehensive insurance scheme, originally known as the 30 baht project, in line with the small co-payment charged for treatment. People joining the scheme receive a gold card which allows them to access services in their health district, and, if necessary, be referred for specialist treatment elsewhere. The bulk of finance comes from public revenues, with funding allocated to Contracting Units for Primary Care annually on a population basis. According to the WHO, 65% of Thailand's health care expenditure in 2004 came from the government, 35% was from private sources.Although the reforms have received a good deal of critical comment, they have proved popular with poorer Thais, especially in rural areas, and survived the change of government after the 2006 military coup. The then Public Health Minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla, abolished the 30 baht co-payment and made the UC scheme free. It is not yet clear whether the scheme will be modified further under the coalition government that came to power in January 2008

That's from...

Universal health coverage by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


There's also...

Health in Thailand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia