Must Read British Embassy Bangkok warns of the importance of having medical insurance

[Jonathan Fairfield]

British Embassy Bangkok warns of the importance of having medical insurance

 

 

Thaivisa is delighted to have teamed up with the British Embassy in order to effectively share messages to both British tourists and expats in Thailand.

 

A fresh warning has been issued to expats and tourists about the importance of having health and travel insurance when staying in Thailand.

 

The warning comes after the British Embassy in Bangkok revealed that many of the people it helped last year did not have insurance.

 

An estimated one million British tourists visit Thailand each year, while according to stats released by the British Embassy in 2016, there are a further 55,000 Brits living in Thailand, including 10,000 retirees.

 

However, many Brits are visiting and living in Thailand without insurance.

 

Image: UK in Thailand

 

In 2017, 50 percent of the people who required consular assistance after being hospitalised were uninsured.

 

And it isn’t only tourists who are uninsured. In 2015, with 80% of British residents in Thailand over the age of 51 were found not have medical insurance.

 

Furthermore, some expats living in Thailand mistakenly believe that they can get free access to medical care if they return to the UK, but this is not the case.

 

In 2015, changes were made to the way visitors from overseas are charged for NHS hospital care.

 

Image: UK in Thailand

 

The changes also affect some former residents of the UK, including expats in Thailand who may now be required to pay should they have to return to the UK for treatment in an NHS hospital.

 

You can read about the changes to the way overseas visitors are charged for NHS hospital care here.

 

The British Embassy is now urging Brits in Thailand to make sure they have insurance and to also ensure they fully understand exactly what they are covered for.

 

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-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-08-18

[Don Chance]

I saw an advertisement for local hospital insurance for tourists, i think it was 6 days @ 60 baht.  Maybe you can buy it at the airport when you arrive?  I was only up to 400,000 baht though.

[ferguston]

Typical.

The British Embassy notice only applies to England.

[Esso49]

1 minute ago, ferguston said:

Typical.

The British Embassy notice only applies to England.

Good to see that the British Embassy is still operating.  With its staffing by Thais and outsourcing of most consular activities to India I am pleasantly surprised there is someone still on the premises who has a grasp of the Queen's English and has the authority to issue emails. Just a shame that the advisory notice issued in 1982 and several times since, that British Nationals should register with their Embassy is totally ignored and these and other circulars never actually get sent to British Nationals resident here.

[overherebc]

Only waiting to see how long it will be before we have to fly to India to pick up a certificate to use in Thai Imm'

 

[eggers]

Yep, have health insurance & the exclusions due to age are ridiculous!! 

Insurers put so many exclusions, benefits are negligible, almost lefty to pay everything yourself!!

 

[theoldgit]

8 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

.....and outsourcing of most consular activities to India......

That part of your post is totally incorrect of course.

It’s only the processing of visa applications that now takes place in India, and even then it’s not outsourced, decisions are made by directly employed UKVI staff.

The Consular Section is still in Bangkok and, as far as I’m aware, they’re no plans to change this.

[anon789561]

bit of a no article really. the stats would be the same for most countries and nationalities no doubt. oh and non uk resident british nationals being warned they can't get treatment back home. well thats BS for a start. you have a serious problem and want to use the NHS you go home and use it, the only stipulation is you tell them you are going to stay in the UK permanently, doesn't mean you have to.

the NHS gets back a tiny amount of money from foreigners who use the NHS who are non british and sure, those not residing in the country should pay especially non brits but enforcement when this announcement came out a few years back was almost impossible.

the NHS said they are not a bank or immigration and if we recieve a patient in need we will treat them regardless and they do, whats the UK government going to do? throw hundreds of pakistani relatives of so called brits in the slammer until they pay up? no, it's the UK not thailand. they just let them go and medical tourism continues paid for by the brit NI contributors.

 

[kannot]

No Thanks, paid into NI for 36 years and   never had anything, now Ive left they wont help. If I cant pay I accept i will die.

Money is put aside for emergencies and I dont want the get out clauses many insurance companies  will trump up. Govt never takes care of you anyway so please govt dont tell me what to do, I accept the risk.

Easier to get people to sign a disclaimer on arrival saying  you accept you may die if you have no insurance.

[helloagain]

26 minutes ago, eggers said:

Yep, have health insurance & the exclusions due to age are ridiculous!! 

Insurers put so many exclusions, benefits are negligible, almost lefty to pay everything yourself!!

 

Yes and if you have already been to a hospital for anything slighty as to what is wrong with you they happy to take your money but will not pay out......almost thieves.

[Morakot]

 

Quote

 

Returning to the UK to settle

Citizens who return to the UK on a settled basis will be classed as ordinarily resident, and will be eligible for free NHS care immediately.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-overseas-visitors-hospital-charging-regulations/summary-of-changes-made-to-the-way-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care

[bert bloggs]

Many years ago i had business in BKK and had to deal with the British Embassy ,they were as much use as a chocolate spoon ,  now????????? oh for the days of the chocolate spoon .

[anon4637435435]

48 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

Good to see that the British Embassy is still operating.  With its staffing by Thais and outsourcing of most consular activities to India I am pleasantly surprised there is someone still on the premises who has a grasp of the Queen's English and has the authority to issue emails. Just a shame that the advisory notice issued in 1982 and several times since, that British Nationals should register with their Embassy is totally ignored and these and other circulars never actually get sent to British Nationals resident here.

sounds like the aussie embassy the last couple times i went. not an aussie to be seen.

perhaps they actualy read there insurance policies and realised its probably safer to stay away entirely and outsource...

[anon789561]

3 minutes ago, Morakot said:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-overseas-visitors-hospital-charging-regulations/summary-of-changes-made-to-the-way-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care

as i mentioned in my post. there's nothing to make you stay after treatment so in fact british nationals abroad can use the nhs if need be

[gamini]

1 hour ago, ferguston said:

Typical.

The British Embassy notice only applies to England.

I have dual nationality. UK and New Zealand. The New Zealand health authorities wrote me a nice reply to my letter assuring me that as a New Zealander I could come back and get subsidised medical treatment. There was no stipulation that I should come back permanently and a few weeks would do.

I have prostate cancer and the  only medicine that works cost about US$12,000 a month. I will get it almost free in New Zealand. Why doesn't the UK treat its nationals the same way. I have paid in a lot of money to the NSH when I worked in England. But now I can't get any treatment.

[gamini]

7 minutes ago, Morakot said:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-overseas-visitors-hospital-charging-regulations/summary-of-changes-made-to-the-way-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care

how long is a settled residence? 

 

4 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

as i mentioned in my post. there's nothing to make you stay after treatment so in fact british nationals abroad can use the nhs if need be

I don't think this is quite correct, I tried to get treatment the last time I was on a visit to the UK, albeit many years ago. I had to find a doctor, register with him and fill in a lot of paperwork. I was advised the whole procedure might take a few weeks and I couldn't stay that long

[Vacuum]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

the British Embassy in Bangkok revealed that many of the people it helped last year

Any stats on that?

[anon789561]

Just now, gamini said:

how long is a settled residence? 

 

I don't think this is quite correct, I tried to get treatment the last time I was on a visit to the UK, albeit many years ago. I had to find a doctor, register with him and fill in a lot of paperwork. I was advised the whole procedure might take a few weeks and I couldn't stay that long

how long is a settled residence. settled, means permanent until you decide otherwise. of course they are not going to treat you as soon as you turn up to the hospital unless it was an emergency in which case they would. there are waiting lists, expats don't jump the waiting lists. what i am saying is if it's serious enough then you would more than likely be there for a while anyway and they would treat you and you could leave the country after treatment. registering with a doc in the UK is one appointment and one double sided a4 paper. form to fill out. takes no time. 

[coppywriter]

I said it here once before, what about those of us who are too old to qualify for travel or any other sort of insurance? Maybe we should go home now before they kick us out...........

[Tuvoc]

14 minutes ago, gamini said:

I have dual nationality. UK and New Zealand. The New Zealand health authorities wrote me a nice reply to my letter assuring me that as a New Zealander I could come back and get subsidised medical treatment. There was no stipulation that I should come back permanently and a few weeks would do.

 

Exactly the same as me. I'd always assumed that would be the case with NZ health system, good to know that is correct. It assumes you are well enough to travel of course.

 

 

[anon789561]

3 minutes ago, coppywriter said:

I said it here once before, what about those of us who are too old to qualify for travel or any other sort of insurance? Maybe we should go home now before they kick us out...........

save some money and if you need to go to a hospital here, which i hope you don't for a long time, then make sure you use a government hospital

**also make sure you have annual health checks so if anything is likely to come up health wise you can better prepare yourself for it, if that means going home for a while then so be it. 

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, gamini said:

how long is a settled residence? 

 

I don't think this is quite correct, I tried to get treatment the last time I was on a visit to the UK, albeit many years ago. I had to find a doctor, register with him and fill in a lot of paperwork. I was advised the whole procedure might take a few weeks and I couldn't stay that long

I returned to the UK mid-July and declared myself resident once again, I had bought a flat, began paying Council Tax etc and went to enrol at my local doctor's surgery. The process was very straight forward and I was up front about what I had been doing previously and what my plans were for the future. We spent twenty minutes going over my medical history of the past 16 years and we agreed the pharamcy I needed going forward and that was scheduled for collection on a monthly basis. I also made it clear that I intended to spend 6 months of each year in the UK and six months in Thailand and that didn't present any problems to the doctor.

 

The NHS rules on this are that returning expats can be considered resident for NHS purposes from day one, as long as they demonstrate they are returning on a settled and permanent basis (six months per year is considered permanent). 

[hobobo]

1 hour ago, Esso49 said:

Good to see that the British Embassy is still operating.  With its staffing by Thais and outsourcing of most consular activities to India I am pleasantly surprised there is someone still on the premises who has a grasp of the Queen's English and has the authority to issue emails. Just a shame that the advisory notice issued in 1982 and several times since, that British Nationals should register with their Embassy is totally ignored and these and other circulars never actually get sent to British Nationals resident here.

The advice to British tourists and expats to register with the Embassy ended some 5 years ago when the Embassy had stopped the register. Anyone who asked about this service since then was advised to follow the relevant news, notices and changes on their website.

[coppywriter]

4 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

save some money and if you need to go to a hospital here, which i hope you don't for a long time, then make sure you use a government hospital

**also make sure you have annual health checks so if anything is likely to come up health wise you can better prepare yourself for it, if that means going home for a while then so be it. 

Yes I understand that but, if letting you in depends on insurance, then what? Having money in the bank won't help.........

[simoh1490]

We had this discussion recently in a separate thread, the conclusion was that those at risk of not being admitted as a result of not having medical insurance would appear, logically, to be those on tourist visa's rather than any other type.

[Morakot]

19 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

registering with a doc in the UK is one appointment and one double sided a4 paper. form to fill out. takes no time. 

 

You may be asked to present a utility bill.

[anon789561]

3 minutes ago, coppywriter said:

Yes I understand that but, if letting you in depends on insurance, then what? Having money in the bank won't help.........

you don't need insurance to go into a hospital. you just pay. i have a retiree mate here and he has some health issues and uses government hospitals all the time and said they are fine and cheap enough. in fact he praises them

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, Morakot said:

 

You may be asked to present a utility bill.

Yes, I was asked to provide proof of Council Tax payment and a utility bill.

[anon789561]

1 minute ago, Morakot said:

 

You may be asked to present a utility bill.

did it 2 years ago over xmas when visiting my sister. no utility bill required. popped into local gp. was given the form. appointment for 3 days later to formally register and see the nurse, that was it. 

[anon789561]

5 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Yes, I was asked to provide proof of Council Tax payment and a utility bill.

wasn't asked for that. so homeless people can't register with a doctor in the uk? that's a travesty

**sorry come to think of it i think i took a bill from my sister and said i was living with her which was fine.

really what does happen with the homeless then?