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

[bert bloggs]

14 hours ago, baboon said:

You take it incorrectly.

But i was right , thats all that matters .

[Moonlover]

In the UK, where the burgeoning costs of running the NHS has become a daily debate, its citizens are urged to 'live a healthier lifestyle'.

 

Citizens are called upon to exercise more, eat a heathier diet, lose weight, restrict alcohol intake and, above all quit smoking. It all makes sense of course. A healthier population will be less of a burden on the overstretched health system.

 

In Thailand however, the British embassy somewhat paradoxically, chooses to advise the, generally aging expat community, who live on restricted incomes and face prohibitive premiums, 'the importance of health insurance'!

 

Following the lead set by their own government make more sense.

 

 

 

[cornishcarlos]

18 hours ago, Happy enough said:

there's no law that says you need insurance to enter. sure they spoke about it but you may have noticed they speak about alot of shit that's impossible to implement and will never happen so if i were you i wouldn;t worry about it

 

Not going to read the whole thread but what will you do if you are involved in a serious accident ? Costs in ICU and surgery can rack up huge bills very rapidly... Can you afford to pay those ?

[baboon]

6 hours ago, meechai said:

 

It is one thing to say this it is another to follow thru

Lots of bravado in the absence of pain but another ball of wax when the pain twists you

 

Not to mention the chance your unconscious at the time of the problem.

 

Very true. Many folks have this cavalier attitude of 'Oh well, when I die, I die', as if you just go to bed and not wake up again.

Unfortunately mother nature frequently has some protracted and agonising conditions lined up first if you don't get treatment. 

[poohy]

9 hours ago, baboon said:

just keep a uk address

If you have sold up in the UK, use the address of a friend.

keep a bank account, credit card etc in the UK and have all statements, cards etc sent to that address.

Keep registered with the doctor that you had when you came here.

its not that difficult surely?

Been out of UK 22 years

No doctor 

No Bank accounts

Father and sister and friends reside there but i am Not registered  at any address and not a UK resident so not on voter role etc

i visit once a year for holiday for say 2 weeks

 

I will qualify for full pension at 66 but NHS is more important

 

So yes it is a lot harder than that

[baboon]

5 minutes ago, poohy said:

Been out of UK 22 years

No doctor 

No Bank accounts

Father and sister and friends reside there but i am Not registered  at any address and not a UK resident so not on voter role etc

i visit once a year for holiday for say 2 weeks

 

I will qualify for full pension at 66 but NHS is more important

 

So yes it is a lot harder than that

Really, I wouldn't sweat it. They have a difficult enough time attempting to bill our overseas friends - as and when they even bother trying - and are just huffing and puffing in our case. 

The NHS is (y)our birthright and don't forget it.

[baboon]

18 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

In the UK, where the burgeoning costs of running the NHS has become a daily debate, its citizens are urged to 'live a healthier lifestyle'.

 

Citizens are called upon to exercise more, eat a heathier diet, lose weight, restrict alcohol intake and, above all quit smoking. It all makes sense of course. A healthier population will be less of a burden on the overstretched health system.

Then five minutes later they complain we are all living too long and they can't afford the pensions. You can't win with them...

[Sheryl]

Can you tell me where i can get medical insurance at age 78, ? i have found it impossible

Cigna Global. I think maybe also April. A few others. Contact a broker for all options. .

You may have looked only at Thailand based companies. Those indeed do not newly insure past 60-65.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[poohy]

I think its the cost more than anything else

I would be interested  in any affordable  Health insurance i have no pre existing conditions aged 59

However i would consider 5000/8000THB  per  year affordable not the 33000 THB i was quoted recently

[Kwasaki]

 

22 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thaivisa is delighted to have teamed up with the British Embassy

So laughable how about teaming up to unfreeze UK pensions to help paying towards health Insurance.

[Sheryl]

I think its the cost more than anything else
I would be interested  in any affordable  Health insurance i have no pre existing conditions aged 59
However i would consider 5000/8000THB  per  year affordable not the 33000 THB i was quoted recently

The only thing you can get at that rate would be an accident only cover. For a limited amount of maximum vover.

That us a completely unrealistic level of premium. Even a 20 year old has to pay much more than that.

No insurance company can stay in business if their aggregate premiums do not cover actual payouts plus their operating costs and there is no way the sort of premijm you mention would do that.

How affordable do you consider a 3-5 million baht hospital bill? Because without insurance that is what you are risking.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[maybefitz]

Although in reasonable good health, at the age of 80, it is impossible, emphasise impossible to get meaningful health insurance. So any entreaties to do so are not in the realm of reality. All I can do is try and build an emergency fund; but this keeps getting raided as part of normal life.

[simoh1490]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

So the UK pensioner who is living in Thailand on 25.000 Baht per month, and comes back to the UK because of serious health

problems is going to get a bill for their treatment? and when he cannot afford to pay it, what then? 

I know, he has to join the sleeping in the streets brigade.

No possum, we made all of this up just to annoy you. Mother England tells its expats, go ahead, go live at the beach overseas for as long as you like and when you get sick just come back and we'll take care of you, even if you're skint and have been gone for twenty years or more, we know you deserve it and goodness knows we can afford it because the NHS has lots of spare cash, even if it you cost us hundreds of thousands in treatment costs.

[poohy]

22 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The only thing you can get at that rate would be an accident only cover. For a limited amount of maximum vover.

That us a completely unrealistic level of premium. Even a 20 year old has to pay much more than that.

No insurance company can stay in business if their aggregate premiums do not cover actual payouts plus their operating costs and there is no way the sort of premijm you mention would do that.

How affordable do you consider a 3-5 million baht hospital bill? Because without insurance that is what you are risking.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Guess i will take my chance with the NHS...... you can be surprised how sick you can suddenly become on a plane if necessary

[simoh1490]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

Really, I wouldn't sweat it. They have a difficult enough time attempting to bill our overseas friends - as and when they even bother trying - and are just huffing and puffing in our case. 

The NHS is (y)our birthright and don't forget it.

 

It's that kind of attitude matey that pushing the NHS to the wall and risking tax rises to keep them afloat! Birthright indeed, what brand of dinosaur are you for God's sake!! Heads up, the ageing population and poor economy pushed the NHS into crisis mode years ago, that's why the rules on who can access it for free were changed in 2015, please get current with the news on this subject before throwing out one liners that belong in the 1970's.

[simoh1490]

An aside, purely anecdotal:

 

When I was chatting with my new GP in the UK about my medical history we spent much time talking about the way the system worked in Thailand and tests that I'd had done, she expressed amazement that for example an eye exam in a hospital might include dilation and a picture of the back of the retina, just because a person was borderline Type II.....we wouldn't do that here she said, not unless you were confirmed diabetic. When I said I'd had a capsule endoscopy she wanted all the details of how the test was done, what happens to the pillcam she asked (!).....we wouldn't do that here she said. 

 

At the end of the meeting, she asked whether I was really ready to return to the UK and the NHS when the Thai system of doing things seemed so much more complete plus you've got the convenience of no waiting. Ah yea I said, but that's private medicine and it's not cheap, plus there are downsides we haven't talked about I added.

[Fireyfish]

IMHO, having needed to use it 4 times  12 years of sometimes bi-annual visits ... you are a f***ing idiot if you don't have (comprehensive) travel insurance

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, Fireyfish said:

IMHO, having needed to use it 4 times  12 years of sometimes bi-annual visits ... you are a f***ing idiot if you don't have (comprehensive) travel insurance

Read the thread, 70 year old expats resident in Thailand can't get travel insurance.

[poohy]

Ok Let’s think smarter

On my next visit home Ok I say I am living with my sister/friend at her UK address indefinitely

I register with her doctor

Now I don’t need to sign on, don’t need a job etc I have funds offshore (Thailand) so I don’t have to trouble HM Gov for anything else

Don’t need bank account have one here

I can change renew my photo card driving license to her address

Any cost incurred in poll tax etc I would pay to sis!

Then Return to home here

So question? how do they check or can check I am there or have been there, I doubt they would go through immigration records.

Surely there must be a way around this?

[mogandave]

Medical coverage should be free for everyone, everywhere in the world.

 

Food, shelter snd education as well

[billd766]

2 hours ago, geoffrey morris said:

Can you tell me where i can get medical insurance at age 78, ? i have found it impossible

 

I hope that somebody can as I am 74 and in the same boat as you.

[simoh1490]

4 minutes ago, poohy said:

Ok Let’s think smarter

On my next visit home Ok I say I am living with my sister/friend at her UK address indefinitely

I register with her doctor

Now I don’t need to sign on, don’t need a job etc I have funds offshore (Thailand) so I don’t have to trouble HM Gov for anything else

Don’t need bank account have one here

I can change renew my photo card driving license to her address

Any cost incurred in poll tax etc I would pay to sis!

Then Return to home here

So question? how do they check or can check I am there or have been there, I doubt they would go through immigration records.

Surely there must be a way around this?

It's easy enough to do at the GP level, many GP's will let you register and take you on as a patient, perhaps because they are paid on a per patient basis or perhaps because they just will.

 

The problem, from other discussions on this subject in the past, is when you need hospitalisation or treatment other than standard meds being prescribed. Others have said that the hospitals look at the patients medical history and when there's a gap of several years that usually means questions as to why. Other aspects of this include the waiting lists which can be lengthy, even the wait time at the fairly large Infirmary where I live was posted at over three hours the other morning as I walked by. A patient who is on a wait list will need to be notified of an appointment date and time, would you propose to remain in the UK for that wait which could be several months? Flying back to Thailand to sit out the waiting period could get costly and probably wouldn't do your health that much good either.

 

Ah yes, but if they suspect cancer or similar they must see you within X weeks I hear you say. Most of those referral time targets are not being met hence a few weeks could become a month, where will you sit out that wait?

[poohy]

5 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

It's easy enough to do at the GP level, many GP's will let you register and take you on as a patient, perhaps because they are paid on a per patient basis or perhaps because they just will.

 

The problem, from other discussions on this subject in the past, is when you need hospitalisation or treatment other than standard meds being prescribed. Others have said that the hospitals look at the patients medical history and when there's a gap of several years that usually means questions as to why. Other aspects of this include the waiting lists which can be lengthy, even the wait time at the fairly large Infirmary where I live was posted at over three hours the other morning as I walked by. A patient who is on a wait list will need to be notified of an appointment date and time, would you propose to remain in the UK for that wait which could be several months? Flying back to Thailand to sit out the waiting period could get costly and probably wouldn't do your health that much good either.

 

Ah yes, but if they suspect cancer or similar they must see you within X weeks I hear you say. Most of those referral time targets are not being met hence a few weeks could become a month, where will you sit out that wait?

Yes i note all you points 

however this is just plan to be-listed as an ordinary resident as opposed to a Non Resident and to open doors should any be needed at any time

 

“British citizens” have an automatic right of abode in the UK
British Citizens who are no longer living and settled in the UK cannot be said to be Ordinarily Resident in the UK"

[cyberfarang]

21 hours ago, kannot said:

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.

Same for me.

 

Paid into the NHS and State pension all my working life. State pension frozen, not entitled to the National Health Service or any UK benefits and to top it all, the British pound has become the weakest currency in Europe. I would benefit more if I were a refugee or an illegal immigrant claiming political asylum entering the country. 

 

Considering I will be staying in Thailand for the remainder of my life, being a British national and holding a British passport is no longer any use to me, they can shove it where the sun don`t shine. Unfortunately the odds of being granted Thai citizenship that would entitle me to reasonably priced health care are practically minus point zero, so I`m stuck with being British that offers no benefits at all.  I am penalised for being a white, British national, both in Britain and in Thailand. As a pensioner married to a Thai living in Thailand, I receive no concessions whatsoever. Another point, is that I have not emigrated from Britain, I am still British whether I like it or not and I won`t be registering with the British embassy, what for?

 

The OP message is; you`d better start helping yourself, because we, the British government,  have written you off and BTW, thank you for paying into our system and paying taxes in Britain for the last 48 years, money that will go towards good causes such as providing refugees and illegal immigrants with health care, free education, free housing and welfare payments for them and their families, plus supporting all the single mothers and their kids.

 

   

[CGW]

49 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

It's that kind of attitude matey that pushing the NHS to the wall and risking tax rises to keep them afloat! Birthright indeed, what brand of dinosaur are you for God's sake!! Heads up, the ageing population and poor economy pushed the NHS into crisis mode years ago, that's why the rules on who can access it for free were changed in 2015, please get current with the news on this subject before throwing out one liners that belong in the 1970's.

Exactly, birthright indeed, your birthright also includes the right for your government to wage war at will, theres always money for that pursuit ? 

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, poohy said:

Yes i note all you points 

however this is just plan to be-listed as an ordinary resident as opposed to a Non Resident and to open doors should any be needed at any time

 

“British citizens” have an automatic right of abode in the UK
British Citizens who are no longer living and settled in the UK cannot be said to be Ordinarily Resident in the UK"

The abode part is correct but the term Ordinarily Resident has changed and will likely change further. You can be resident for tax purposes but that doesn't necessarily give you the right to benefits or the NHS, the term Ordinarily Resident has been done away with in many circles and replaced by a test which includes time. So a person could find themself landed in the UK with right of abode but not eligible for benefits or NHS until a certain amount of time has passed.

[anon789561]

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Not going to read the whole thread but what will you do if you are involved in a serious accident ? Costs in ICU and surgery can rack up huge bills very rapidly... Can you afford to pay those ?

i have a decent policy through LMG after switching from BUPA which i had through a company here a few years back. if for any reason they said they wouldn't pay out i can access funds if need be and would ask to get transferred to a government hospital. worst came to the worst, and it was getting into the millions of baht then yes i could access funds even if that meant borrowing from family against a property before selling it.

**but i understand as a 40 year old it's a lot easier for me than older people insurance wise, i do feel their pain and understand their predicament

[anon789561]

27 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

I hope that somebody can as I am 74 and in the same boat as you.

i've emailed my bkk based insurance broker about this and should get a reply tomorrow, i'll let you know what they say

[anon789561]

34 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

I hope that somebody can as I am 74 and in the same boat as you.

i used prakarn and emailed to ask but a quick search on their site turned up this . . 

https://misterprakan.com/en/health/plans?gender=Male&age=70&ipd=1&opdf=0&leadid=111959

*that was the only policy that came up on search for 70 year old. 

[0815]

22 hours ago, kannot said:

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.

European governments only care about you as long as you pay taxes so they have enough money to waste and fill their own big wallets.