The rising cost of health insurance in and out of Thailand

[bowie]

for me, the most important cover is re-repatriation to the uk should something serious occur,

One of my key provisions. In a couple years I'll be US medicare eligible. Hafta do my due diligence then. As I understand it now, as a "returning" expat I will be able to enroll at anytime. But, I'll need a full review when the time comes. But, medicare only covers hospitalization.

Real problem is aging. Can't dial back the calendar and insurances cover on the basis of statistics. Of course, any hint of a "pre-existing" condition will birth an exclusion. Point is - we cannot predict the future and as a result it is almost impossible to cover yourself correctly. Covering yourself for "everything" is a very expensive scenario. Cost-prohibitive for most.

Th real problem is predicting the future. Will spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars result in a greater quality of life for a longer period of time. Or, will you address one medical issue then be faced with another, then another? Just when should we call it a life welled lived?

It is a most difficult decision to make - when are you throwing money away, wasting money to extend a life? And when does it make sense to spend a large sum of money to extend a life? What is a good price for an additional year of life for a seventy year old? How 'bout a ninety year old?

Are you sure?

[terry57]

The massive problem you Yanks have is that your Health coverage is so dam expensive the average working man is pushing shit up hill servicing it.

The fact being that if ya don't have it and bad shit goes down you declare bankruptcy and that's evil shit right there. No easy answer for you guys except to be Military or some other profession that covers your health care.

Us Bogans and Pomgolians are on easy Street compared to you poor fukers, our public health system will cover our asses in emergency life threatening situations and send us down the road with bank account intact.

Sucks to be Seppo eh.

[bowie]

^ Naw, not really - sucks to be sick though.

Moneys a game. USA is tax central - but, play the game and you got it. Easy peasy, sock away 10-15% of your income into tax deferred and tax exempt retirement accounts. Simple init. Come retirement time the nest egg is quite plump. Then, 'tis supplemented by your social security retirement benefits. Your medical is covered by Medicare, part A covers hospitalization, Part B outpatient, Part C other stuff, Part D meds.

Yea, 'tis a royal pain in the ass but only 'cause you need to wade through all the legalese to select the right fit.

Most folk can't be bothered to go through the legalese - remember the USA's ACA (affordable care act) was 4,000 pages of legal jargon and, although I didn't actually read all of it. 4,000 bags of legalese is boring.

Quite similar to our tax code. And I have waded through most of that.

But, just like any other game. If you know the rules - you'll win.

Big problem for myself is I'm an expatriate - my medical coverage stops at the US border. But, I know that, so, a repatriation clause in my policy is a must have.

But, fact is, I'm Seppo with a foreign wife fully covered for anything medical at a cost of USD $5k in premiums with a $5k deductible.

So, if either of use get "sick" it'll cost me USD $10k per sickness. We are more than covered as expats. As shown in an earlier email, my company and I were paying USD $14k per employee per annum.

Anyway - don't get sick. You'll be better off.

[Stumpy]

The massive problem you Yanks have is that your Health coverage is so dam expensive

Indeed, we have an awful system and it is terribly corrupt, we just hide it better with shady accounting firms and sharp lawyers and a lot of "Herein", Therefore", "Such as" crap in contracts . After all that you toss in the lawyers and the cost of malpractice insurance it drives everything off the map so most can barely afford basic coverage.

bad shit goes down you declare bankruptcy and that's evil shit right there.

Actually I knew a family that went tits up on a family member. Basic insurance ran out. They were told to start looking for other ways to pay. Finally got their daughter out of critical care with a whopping $70K plus bill. when they couldn't pay, off to collections it goes. Then endless final warnings. It was really quite a traumatic time for them. They tried to negotiate a payment plan and that was turned down. They sought counsel and filed personal bankruptcy and wiped the bill clean. Amazingly bankruptcy in the US is not all that bad. You can recover rather fast and it only stays on your personal financial record for 7 years. If I ran up massive med bills I would say "Fuk'em" and file bankruptcy. You ought to see the people doing it now for astronomical college tuition bills. Its a smart move. So a kid amasses a $150K graduate and post graduate education bill. Files Bankruptcy, walks away. by 30 they are free of the red mark and on their way with no debt.

It is a most difficult decision to make - when are you throwing money away, wasting money to extend a life? And when does it make sense to spend a large sum of money to extend a life? What is a good price for an additional year of life for a seventy year old? How 'bout a ninety year old?

It is extremely difficult decision Bowie and one I do not take lightly for myself. Some decisions will be made clearly on age and whats been diagnosed. None of us are overly happy getting old. All one can hope for is to have reasonably minor ailments and issues then maybe around 75 and up they are hit with a big one and you just let it go.

[cyrille]

All one can hope for is to have reasonably minor ailments and issues then maybe around 75 and up they are hit with a big one and you just let it go.

Not being picky at all there, are ya.

There's always balconies and multi-story malls to consider, I guess...

[Stumpy]

Not being picky at all there, are ya.

There's always balconies and multi-story malls to consider, I guess...

Naw. I did my Parachuting days early on. I would do a big bender with a bunch of really top end drugs..