Thread: Phuket Retirees 'Must Have Health Insurance'

Originally Posted by Thetyim

Originally Posted by koman

I believe the "gold card" was for access to the Thaksin 30 baht medical care deal for Thai nationals I've also been told that this program has been pretty much gutted under the present government.

Abhisit removed the 30 baht fee and made it free

I don't know if that is correct about the 30 baht, but even if its true, it does not mean the program itself has not been compromised. I am being assured by a couple of Thai's who work in the system that it has. Anyhow you did not provide any information about when you accessed this free health care and what was involved...that's the issue...not the 30 baht.

There are totally conflicting stories about this situation on several forums and nobody seems to be able to authenticate any of it. If this is supposed to be an information exchange, one liners won't really accomplish much I'm afraid.

Again, if its all free and wonderful, why are the Thai's who can afford it climbing over each other to buy medical insurance??

Originally Posted by koman

Anyhow you did not provide any information about when you accessed this free health care and what was involved.

Last month.
I showed the card, I got free treatment (examination & drugs)

Originally Posted by superman

Under the government system if they feel there's no hope for you they send you home to die. Why waste money trying to keep someone alive when it's futile. Whereas having insurance gets you the better system.

If there is indeed no hope, perhaps the government system is the most humane for the patient and their families.

So if your married to a thai you would need no insurance other than free BULLSHIT. As a retired person living in LOS I pay at a higher rate to start with and the hospital's here have tried in no way to accept out of country insurance plan's I went as far as getting all the information and forms for BGH to fill out and return which would only mean a phone call from the hospital to the insurance provider and was told it was too expensive to call on each farang to get approval. Once again Bullshit take your proposed plan and your visa and put it where the sun does not shine. Now that the rant in over ; enough is enough and beware if at first the retired then what or who is next.

Originally Posted by Norton

If there is indeed no hope, perhaps the government system is the most humane for the patient and their families.

I beg to differ on that.

i'm always surprised at how cheap farangs are with their own kind until I realized how kee-neo they are with thais

farang kee-nok

Originally Posted by pascharay

farang kee-nok

These days I have to admit I am. Due to raising 3 kids and thinking of their education, choice isn't necessary an option.

Originally Posted by The Master Cool

Why would any country want foreign retirees (not paying tax on earnings) to reside in their country?

They spend money which originates outside Thailand, net effect is the same as exporting manufactured goods.

Originally Posted by navynine

So if your married to a thai you would need no insurance other than free BULLSHIT. As a retired person living in LOS I pay at a higher rate to start with and the hospital's here have tried in no way to accept out of country insurance plan's I went as far as getting all the information and forms for BGH to fill out and return which would only mean a phone call from the hospital to the insurance provider and was told it was too expensive to call on each farang to get approval. Once again Bullshit take your proposed plan and your visa and put it where the sun does not shine. Now that the rant in over ; enough is enough and beware if at first the retired then what or who is next.

I had a different experience with BNH in Bangkok which is owned by BGH. I went in for a minor op with an overnight stay - cost B70,000. I gave the hospital a claim form from AXA PPP in the UK and BNH billed them direct. The billing must have gone smoothly as I never heard anything more about it.

Originally Posted by Lorenzo

Originally Posted by The Master Cool

Why would any country want foreign retirees (not paying tax on earnings) to reside in their country?

They spend money which originates outside Thailand, net effect is the same as exporting manufactured goods.

Correct. The income from retirees' expenditures should go into the tourism account which is exports of services. Unlike manufactures which usually have a significant imported input component that offsets the export income, tourism dollars don't have this, TAT's overseas staff and advertising aside. However, there is a cost in terms of the domestic infrastructure consumed by retirees and tourists, e.g. their wear on roads, use of airports, immigration officers, police, prisons & etc. This is not normally a huge cost relative to the income but foreign retirees getting into the news by refusing to pay bills at government hospitals creates an emotional cost out of proportion to the size of the unpaid bills.

Now that the foreign retiree population has grown quite large with minimal regulation, it is inevitable that the government will step in sooner or later to regulate it more closely and medical insurance is probably a no brainer on that front. A time when tourism has recovered nicely, like now, could be a good time to start. Any type of clamp down on foreigners is usually a good vote getter at election time. Doing something about farangs is a good way to distract attention from the fact that the government has no coherent policy to handle the 2 million Burmese, Khmers and Laotians they are now dependent on for sweated labour without human rights.

Originally Posted by Krumble

e.g. their wear on roads, use of airports, immigration officers,

We pay annual car registration tax
We pay airport taxes
We pay for extensions of stay

Originally Posted by Krumble

The income from retirees' expenditures should go into the tourism account

Should being the correct word but I have yet to see any evidence that it is.