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  1. #26
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    kmart's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JPPR2 View Post
    I saw some premium figures by various providers and they are not that expensive annually. Preliminary premiums seem to range between 30K bht to a high of 100K bht annually. Broken down it appears worse case scenario would be about roughly 10k bht a month.

    To Bowies and others point, it will be interesting when person is denied renewal and he would be forced to leave behind his Thai wife and family and be forced to sell all his belongings, especially if the person cannot afford to move back to his home country and must exit to a neighboring country. Sad state affairs if that should truly happen. One would think at some point they would conduct interviews with cases such as those to determine the impact to the Thai spouse and subsequent family.

    As for the TD members and the lack of response to this thread here. It may just be a case that they have already voiced their concerns with the masses on the other forum and no reason to repeat it all here. Most TD'ers do not come here for information anymore.
    .
    My own plan, as I count down to retirement is to get Thai citizenship here, https://teakdoor.com/thai-visas-and-v...tizenship.html (Thai Citizenship) or repatriate back to the UK.

  2. #27
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    I don't know what some of you are talking about. I've bought health insurance here for years, just makes sense to buy it. It doesn't pay everything and mostly it will save you about 70%. It saved me a bundle.

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmart View Post
    My own plan, as I count down to retirement is to get Thai citizenship here, https://teakdoor.com/thai-visas-and-v...tizenship.html (Thai Citizenship) or repatriate back to the UK.
    Currently I work here and I have med insurance through the company. However even if I stopped working again I am here on a marriage visa extension and this change or update currently applies to O-A Retirement Visa's not marriage. I say "For now". who knows what will happen but the cost for Med insurance is not a deal breaker. As Eliminator noted, The policies are not going to cover it all but it will cover enough.

    Good luck on your plight for Thai citizenship.

  4. #29
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    Interesting claims. Which of the Thai providers listed in the schedule are providing medical cover for those over 65 years old?

  5. #30
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Interesting claims. Which of the Thai providers listed in the schedule are providing medical cover for those over 65 years old?
    Haven't checked them all but few years back being at that time over 70, answer is none. Not on line anyway.

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by JPPR2 View Post
    Currently I work here and I have med insurance through the company. However even if I stopped working again I am here on a marriage visa extension and this change or update currently applies to O-A Retirement Visa's not marriage. I say "For now". who knows what will happen but the cost for Med insurance is not a deal breaker. As Eliminator noted, The policies are not going to cover it all but it will cover enough.

    Good luck on your plight for Thai citizenship.

    JPPR2
    You say "its not s deal breaker" but you should have said "its not a deal breaker for me".
    In my case I am beginning it think if they ever make it a requirement for a Married Visa then for me it will be a deal breaker.

    Prior to retiring in early 2017 I was also covered by me work Insurance scheme which was very comprehensive. Once I retired I made the decision that being self insured was a better choice for me, probably in hindsight that was a bad choice but it is what it is.

    Anyway now at 66 and with what I believe to be multiple pre existing conditions even if I did pay for insurance I would never get any claim paid back as a result of those
    pre existing conditions. I personally don't think any of them are life threatening but Insurance companies being what they are they would jump on them to allow them to exclude any of my claims.

    Just recently I have had a knee replacement operation and paid out just over TB150,000 in total so I am quiet happy to continue to self insure but if that option was to no longer exist then I would have only 2 choices.
    1. If I was able to get any Insurance coverage at my age then I would be paying TB!00,000 per year as a Visa fee because the Insurance it provided would be useless.
    2. Get out of Dodge. After all the effort put in to make this place our home that would not be a happy choice.

    I always believe that I should only worry about things I can control and the Insurance question is not in that category so I won't be worrying about it for now.

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eliminator View Post
    I don't know what some of you are talking about. I've bought health insurance here for years, just makes sense to buy it. It doesn't pay everything and mostly it will save you about 70%. It saved me a bundle.
    I will tell you what I am goner talk about,i am 75 with a multitude of problems,do you think I can get health ins.oh I do have 1.5 million bht.for cover.but if its anything serious I will take what comes,nobody is goner scam me and take away what my wife worked at least on average 70hrs.a week in the uk.for to have a decent life after I go to my maker,SO THERE.

  8. #33
    Thailand Expat lom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ootai View Post
    I always believe that I should only worry about things I can control and the Insurance question is not in that category so I won't be worrying about it for now.
    This. ^

    So much wasted worry in the world for things that after all did not happen.

  9. #34
    CCBW Stumpy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ootai View Post
    JPPR2
    You say "its not s deal breaker" but you should have said "its not a deal breaker for me".
    Apologies ootai, I just thought it was implied in my post that it wasn't a deal breaker for me.

    In the event they mandate insurance I will get the basic policy as I always had in the states. Its enough to satisfy the govt. Like you I will cover the difference in me being "Self Insured". Really no different then paying a huge deductible.

    I do have empathy for those with serious pre existing issues that could make this new law a bitter pill to swallow.

    That said, the entire thing is a scam as we all know it. In all my years here when I went to a doctor which wasn't much, I had to pay in full for the visit and the meds. this goes back years so the belief that "Foreign Retiress" are leaving hospitals and not paying is all BS. The only people that get to leave hospitals unpaid are Thais.

    As you may have read awhile back and colleague of mine here for business had a massive heart attack. He survived but was in the hospital 26 days at Bumrungrad in BKK. The total bill was $176K USD (appx 5 Mil bht). He had to pay that bill in full before they let him leave the hospital. The company paid up front and they will settle with the US insurance company. But again my point is, He paid in full. At Bumrungrad they have finance people running around with CC machines to take payments or cash. You cannot get the service nor leave without paying.

    Your approach to worry about things you can control is how I live it. Who knows what can happen at any given time. One pre existing condition we all have is that we die.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by lom View Post
    This. ^

    So much wasted worry in the world for things that after all did not happen.
    I do kind of understand where you are coming from. But I also remember the thread about the person whose wife is dying of cancer. A little bit of worrying about what might come is not necessarily a bad thing. Both my wife and son are fully insured and it has been a major part of our budget planning since the get go.

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg View Post
    Both my wife and son are fully insured and it has been a major part of our budget planning since the get go.
    Same as I but with daughters. Once the kids moved to the states and got full medical through work we cancelled their health policies here, but continue the term life for them as a savings plan. Since our house is long paid for insurance is our biggest cost. But better to be safe than sorry. Sadly or happily I have only paid in as I have never been hospitalized, and have had one visit to a hospital for medical reasons in all my time here.
    Last edited by aging one; 16-10-2019 at 09:53 AM.

  12. #37
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Would not make me happy but not a "deal breaker". I can afford it.
    However if it is enforced is clearly only a benefit to insurance companies at the expense of families of long stayers. Not surprising as the law makers don't give a shit about it's citizens except for those with the cash to have laws like this one inacted.

    Looking forward to feedback from folks here who have next annual extension. Until then, not going to stress over it.
    "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,"

  13. #38
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    I went to a broker in Pattaya, a well established German outfit that has been trading for over 20 years, over two years ago. To get rudimentary cover including accident indemnity was then 90,000 baht but cancer, circulatory and stroke conditions were all excluded from the policy. Full cover would have been in the order of 200,000 baht but now even that is no longer available. Pre-existing conditions add to ageing but what constitutes those conditions ensnares most folk over 60 to a certain degree viz mild raised blood pressure at 140, pre-diabetes/Type2, incipient atherosclerosis etc.

    The point is, once you hit 65 you are virtually uninsurable.

    Retirement for senior citizens in Thailand will no longer be a realistic prospect if this measure is extended to all resident expats.

    A case in point. I know a chap who is over 70 and uninsurable who negotiated a pacemaker procedure with a public hospital in Bangkok at around 100,000 baht. His pre-existing heart arrhythmia would have excluded him from such cover if he was compelled to take on a policy which in all likelihood would have nailed him for a minimum of 200,000 baht annually.

    Many of us have a certain leeway in paying for mishaps out of our own pockets but this compulsory insurance erodes that resource and will be of no benefit to us.

    It's a game changer for many and anyone over 60 will have to think long and hard about retiring here if it is extended to all visa extensions.

    Incidentally, in relation to Brexit British casualties resident in the EU who may lose their reciprocal health insurance protection, a recent report of a couple living in Spain with several medical issues requiring daily medicines and now in their late 60s disclosed that they had obtained quotes from a range of providers which all came in at around 12,000 euros annually for the pair.
    Last edited by Seekingasylum; 16-10-2019 at 10:11 AM.

  14. #39
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    It's a game changer for many and anyone over 60 will have to think long and hard about retiring here if it is extended to all visa extensions.
    Certainly will. Another aspect to this whole debate is why our home country health programs will not cover medical expenses in Thailand. Sounds they are protecting home country med providers which are far pricier than here.

    This may upset us but having mandatory medical coverage here for those living here is not surprising. Many nations require it.

  15. #40
    CCBW Stumpy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Norton View Post
    This may upset us but having mandatory medical coverage here for those living here is not surprising. Many nations require it.
    I agree Norts. It may upset the masses but as noted, most countries require it but it has to be an affordable ( which for most it isn't). As we know, insurance companies overcharge and under provide. Its big business. When I worked and lived in the states I was spending roughly $~500 a month to cover my wife and daughters (Company paid rest). We seldom used it and the coverage was pathetic. So many rules and hoops. Have to go see a general practitioner first ( $30 co pay), then hope he will refer you to a specialist. If he/she does then you have to contact the insurance company prior to going with that referral. Then go and another $30 co pay. Then if they proceed with whatever ails you, they only cover 80% of it so you are still out big money all the while you are paying into it monthly. Then comes the relentless bills. Many file bankruptcy

    To another comment, It will be a tough reality for many if they roll this mandate into Marriage Visa's and extensions. There are a lot of implications to consider which I doubt they will.

  16. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Norton View Post
    Certainly will. Another aspect to this whole debate is why our home country health programs will not cover medical expenses in Thailand. Sounds they are protecting home country med providers which are far pricier than here.

    This may upset us but having mandatory medical coverage here for those living here is not surprising. Many nations require it.
    true, and strangely enough, medical expenses in Thailand used to be covered with no questions asked back in the 90s and early 2000s, and then suddenly it wasn't after 2008, even though it was cheaper and well below the threshold of medical expenses coverage here

    they wanted to avoid medical tourists,

  17. #42
    กงเกวียนกำเกวียน HuangLao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Norton View Post
    Certainly will. Another aspect to this whole debate is why our home country health programs will not cover medical expenses in Thailand. Sounds they are protecting home country med providers which are far pricier than here.

    This may upset us but having mandatory medical coverage here for those living here is not surprising. Many nations require it.
    An unfortunate turn for the masses, as national health programs/insurances have grown way out of reach for most - unreasonably.

  18. #43
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Nothing wrong with med cover even without it being a requirement, except being Thailand the focus is on making money over proper health care cover for those being targeted.

    Much like the statutory 400k donation to the banks with a further 400k loan for half of each year; and if you're really ill and use that money to pay for the health care for which it supposedly became a requirement, you're in breach of your visa conditions.

  19. #44
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    as a British citizen, can't you pay a minimum back home to give you cover as an expat? I am sure this is available, and wouldn't be expensive

    and would definitely please the Thai immigration if that includes a rapatriation option

  20. #45
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    Some people can write a book out of a simple news article.

    Thailand is a big player and getting bigger in the retirement sheltered accommodation, age care, nursing homes, or un PC, old peoples homes.
    None of these people will get health insurance and I don't read of any of these companies talking of shutting down, most are expanding for the growing market of not only faranges, but Japanese, middle easterners, Chinese or anyone that can pay.

    Remember the clients are on some sort of retirement visa/extension of stay, don't see the Thai government turfing them out along with the millions of dollars in income they pay for the privilege of waiting to die in the sun.

  21. #46
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    I have no issues with a country not wanting to provide free health care to tourists and expats so the Thai government is well within their rights to make laws to offset this problem.

    My issue is that I refuse to pay for a product that will not provide any meaningful outcome versus what it is supposed to. By that if I was to buy health insurance (and that is no certainty given my age) then I would expect to be able to make claims against that insurance if needed. However with the exclusions that would be placed on any cover I might be able to get I believe everything would be excluded.

    Why would I donate around TB100,000 to some company for no expected return.
    I am more than capable and willing to deposit Tb440.000 into a Thai bank account to cover the required Insurance coverage and to top it up each year should I have to use any of it but that is not yet being proposed as an option as far as I can see.

    So the conclusion is I would have no real option other than to leave the country and leave behind all that we have spent nearly 20 years building. My missus would stay here so that would mean also having to get divorced. Not complaining as shit happens but not happy if it comes to pass through no real fault of mine.

    I sometimes wonder why governments and corporations make some of the stupid decisions they do i.e. a blanket rule that causes more issues than it solves.
    Maybe I should have put this into the "Daily Moan" thread.

  22. #47
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    [QUOTE=Seekingasylum;4014746]The point is, once you hit 65 you are virtually uninsurable.[QUOTE]
    Ask AIA. They make also cancer under certain conditions, however not when starting at 69...

  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Interesting claims. Which of the Thai providers listed in the schedule are providing medical cover for those over 65 years old?

    I am 72 and have medical insurance with a Thai insurance company,I will post the name when I find my card. I have had a few claims and never a problem with collecting. It is only available to faring married to a Thai and takes a while to get approved but a very good option.

  24. #49
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Clip from an editorial in the Pattaya Mail.

    Holders of one year 0/A visas or ten year 0/X, issued by Thai consulates and embassies abroad, do now require medical insurance worth at least 400,000 baht for in-patient treatment and 40,000 baht for out-patient care. But the vast majority of expat retirees in Thailand receive their annual extensions of stay at a Thai immigration office. They do not currently require insurance.

    https://www.pattayamail.com/news/ret...surance-266933


    Talking the other day with a Canadian friend in Thailand, he informs me there is health insurance available for foreigners which pays only at government hospitals. Says the cost is around 3,000 baht a month with no age restriction. Anyone else heard of such a thing?

  25. #50
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    But the vast majority of expat retirees in Thailand receive their annual extensions of stay at a Thai immigration office. They do not currently require insurance.
    Those are the important sentences, for most.

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