My two cents. This article says that we could use insurance from our countries but I will believe that when I see it. Two years ago when I went to renew my retirement visa they told me I needed health insurance. I was ready for that and told the I had my Canadian Health care, some very good extra health insurance I was paying for from Canada, and I was covered by my Thai wife’s health insurance. They told me it wasn’t good enough and that I had to get insurance through one of the Thai health insurance companies from their list which they provided. I then went through the paperwork a trip to Cambodia to change over to a marriage visa. I have since canceled my Canadian ‘extra’ insurance. I would also like to point out that although we don’t pay directly into the Thai government health scheme, most of us pay a substantial amount of money while living here. Much more than the vast majority of Thais I would think. If you want to purchase anything from outside the country that might be considered luxury (I don’t believe a good coffee machine is luxury…it is a necessity!) we pay even more into the coffers. I also pay for first class car insurance which am assuming covers accidental injuries from a car accident but I could be wrong. In all, I believe most of us pay our fair share and I honestly don’t think we are a drain on the Thai coffers. It would be interesting to see the true burden we cause.
