Thread: Health insurance

Hi, could you advice me a thai health insurance for foreigner live in Thailand. I heard about BUPA and THAI Health. Do you know another good one ?

Thanks

Apparently that is it.
I have been searching the forum for insurance for non Thais and have not found much.

I am looking for full coverage. I don't want to fly home in an emergency. It may not be practical in the situation to take a 30 hour flight while dying. Besides USA has poor coverage for Social Security. They may pay 50 to 70% only.

Contact here https://www.pacificprime.com/

They gave me about 8 initial application companies according to the parameters I gave them. They were quick in response and answered my questions adequately.

I am currently waiting for a quote from one company they suggested.

try this company.


International Medical Insurance for Thailand Residents | NZI

i was insured with them for many years when i was here full time, it was worldwide cover (excluding the usa and canada,) they were very good indeed.

they have 3 or 4 levels of cover and the premiums can be reduced by choosing to increase the deductible.


they looked after my interests during the successful treatment of malignant melanoma and for a difficult to diagnose abdominal complaint that eventually resulted in an appendectomy, including all the preliminary and rather complicated ultrasounds, barium enemas, abdominal needle biopsies, ct and mri scans, both times as an inpatient at bumrungrad hospital.

they also covered me for the surgical removal of a small non invasive skin cancer lesion on my arm as an out patient at a private hospital in the uk whilst on a visit there.

they were active during all phases of my treatments, offering help, advice, doctor recommendations and suggesting second opinions when they thought they were necessary.

their liaison staff in thailand are medically knowledgeable, speak excellent english and returned calls and e-mails promptly. they dealt directly with the hospitals, there was very little in the way of paperwork for me to deal with.

i am only in thailand 50% of the time now and have free nhs cover whilst in the uk and take out travel insurance for my time in thailand and it works out considerably cheaper.

Iam with global health asia and they have been great and no issue paying up.

https://globalhealthasia.com/

I'm now looking for insurance and found a few companies. What I need now is an insurance broker in Pattaya. AA near Big C South Pattaya is the only one I know of.
I looked at
Burpa
ACS
Pacific
AXA
AIA
AZAY?
I like to hear the good,bad and the ugly about Insurance in Thailand

Originally Posted by lolokalbo

I like to hear the good,bad and the ugly about Insurance in Thailand

Just use the Thai government hospitals. Much cheaper than insurance.

Originally Posted by lolokalbo

I'm now looking for insurance and found a few companies. What I need now is an insurance broker in Pattaya.

Here's the man in Pattaya you need to make an appointment with to discuss insurance needs;

http://www.macallanbroker.com/th-th/about-us

Jack's office is on Pattaya Tai, not far from where you'd turn right to go to AA if you were heading towards Sukhumvit on Sth Pattaya Rd. Along with loads of local Expats, I've used him for many years and have no hesitation recommending him.

Originally Posted by Headworx

Originally Posted by lolokalbo

I'm now looking for insurance and found a few companies. What I need now is an insurance broker in Pattaya.

Here's the man in Pattaya you need to make an appointment with to discuss insurance needs;

http://www.macallanbroker.com/th-th/about-us

Jack's office is on Pattaya Tai, not far from where you'd turn right to go to AA if you were heading towards Sukhumvit on Sth Pattaya Rd. Along with loads of local Expats, I've used him for many years and have no hesitation recommending him.

Thank you boss. I'm looking insurance I can use in other countries too.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by lolokalbo

I like to hear the good,bad and the ugly about Insurance in Thailand

Just use the Thai government hospitals. Much cheaper than insurance.

They are cheap for a reason Prag. Have you ever spent time in a Thai government hospital?

Originally Posted by KevinCorr

Apparently that is it.
I have been searching the forum for insurance for non Thais and have not found much.

I am looking for full coverage. I don't want to fly home in an emergency. It may not be practical in the situation to take a 30 hour flight while dying. Besides USA has poor coverage for Social Security. They may pay 50 to 70% only.

Yes, I am pretty much in the same boat. I have Medicare and medigap insurance I pay for every month, but no coverage here in Thailand.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

They are cheap for a reason Prag. Have you ever spent time in a Thai government hospital?

Many a time. Had an hernia operation in one. Had a double ankle fusion done in another. Had my three kids born in them. Never a problem.

^
You are a brave sole Prag. I visited some family several times and had a hard time getting past the smell. Everything looked a bit dirty to me and I would hate to see one of their surgical theaters. They cut open my SIL to remove some kidney stones and had a drain tube sticking out of her for days. She was in a lot of pain and seemed not to be receiving many pain killers. Modern treatment for kidney stones is Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and is noninvasive. I seriously doubt you would get much modern technology in a Thai government hospital.

Glad it all worked out for you and at a reasonable price I'll bet.

To be honest with you Rick I did go private the once. The doctor couldn't fathom out why I had this problem and told me I had to live with it. I then went to a government hospital in Korat, Fort Suranaree Military Hospital. Problem sorted.
Rick you do know that the doctor you may see in a government hospital also works in private practice as well?

Good to know if you can get past the overall cleanliness of the place. Maybe I will just tell my wife to take me to a government hospital if I need medical attention. The problem is, she will not set foot into them anymore.

Good to know about many of the physicians working in the private sector. I guess things could be a whole lot worse.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

To be honest with you Rick I did go private the once. The doctor couldn't fathom out why I had this problem and told me I had to live with it. I then went to a government hospital in Korat, Fort Suranaree Military Hospital. Problem sorted.
Rick you do know that the doctor you may see in a government hospital also works in private practice as well?

Yeah...
Bit of a myth, generally speaking, as to the supposed inferior status that government hospitals/clinics have in compared to the so-called private facilities.

Both [govt/private] have the usual variables - pro and con - depending on where one goes.

Being private certainly doesn't guarantee higher quality service, treatment or knowledge. And being associated with govt doesn't automatically qualify the facility as a shithole.

The obvious comparative exceptions might be the few high-end, and well known, hospitals in Bangkok.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Being private certainly doesn't guarantee higher quality service, treatment or knowledge. And being associated with govt doesn't automatically qualify the facility as a shithole. The obvious comparative exceptions might be the few high-end, and well known, hospitals in Bangkok.

My advice to any farang who wants quality treatment at government prices then find your nearest military hospital. Military hospitals also treat civilians and I find them better equipped and staffed.
Luckily for me in Korat, 100 km away, they have an exceptional hospital at the airbase. Then they have the specialist government hospital Suranaree University of Technology.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

The problem is, she will not set foot into them anymore.

No cuz she doesn't have to. Her status has risen cuz she's married to a farang and can't be seen to use government. I see no point in paying 10's/100's of thousands of Baht for a pregnant Thai to give birth in private hospital than a government one. If you want privacy then they do offer private rooms at 1,000ish Baht per night. No I'm sorry all I see is paying private gets a faster service in some cases.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Yeah...
Bit of a myth, generally speaking, as to the supposed inferior status that government hospitals/clinics have in compared to the so-called private facilities.

A myth with a large dose of ignorance. Many Thai private hospitals have seperate Thai Social Security sections. I have been going to one for years and have been receiving totally acceptable care. You can choose your hospital and some are better than others.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

The problem is, she will not set foot into them anymore.

No cuz she doesn't have to. Her status has risen cuz she's married to a farang and can't be seen to use government. I see no point in paying 10's/100's of thousands of Baht for a pregnant Thai to give birth in private hospital than a government one. If you want privacy then they do offer private rooms at 1,000ish Baht per night. No I'm sorry all I see is paying private gets a faster service in some cases.

Actually my son was born in a military hospital here in Udon. My wife had a C-section and evidently had a pretty rough time with significant hemorrhaging. She did not tell me the whole story until last year and all her sister would tell me was that she was 50/50 over the phone. I agree that she now thinks differently about hopitals than before she met me. I would probably opt for the military hospital, if need be.