Private hospitals overcharging: 30-300 percent

[straylight]

Compared to prices in USA?

 

[bluesofa]

5 minutes ago, 300sd said:

Had a visit to Bumrungrad. Had searched out the top specialist for this particular internal problem. I also had brought him an MRI on disc, from Bangkon Hospital for a second opinion. He said the MRI was not good enough for him to read and he wanted to do a endoscopy for 100,000 Baht.

 

I got a second opinion with a top specialist working at Samitevej, at the time, and she read the MRI for next to nothing, said she could read it fine, and said to come back in 6 months for another check.

 

One smart honest young lady, with top credentials and ethics, gets my business.

Perhaps you should have asked the Bumrungrad specialist if he qualified for staff rates for a cataract operation owing to his bad eyesight.

[Benmart]

10 hours ago, MrMuddle said:

The Hospital I used to use, St Louis, Bangkok, started to have separate billing for Thais and foreigners. The foreigners prices for everything, went through the roof. How on earth do they get away with it ?

As with much of the corruption and greed, officials make it possible. Kudos for this Ministry uncovering the sordid tale.

[Benmart]

10 minutes ago, straylight said:

Compared to prices in USA?

 

Perhaps you need eye surgery to improve your focus. This article is about Thai hospital costs. 

[Benmart]

1 hour ago, bandito said:

The Sirikit Naval Medical Center in Sattahip-Ban Kilo Sip is overcharging Farangs by 100%. Asked by my Thai wife why the bill was high like that (137000 baht) did she get as answer "farangs pay double' the farang being me with a broken leg. She got an itemized bill where after each item was written "not thai".

Sanctioned corruption at its worst.

[ttrd]

10 hours ago, MrMuddle said:

The Hospital I used to use, St Louis, Bangkok, started to have separate billing for Thais and foreigners. The foreigners prices for everything, went through the roof. How on earth do they get away with it ?

RE - How on earth do they get away with it ?

 

The same way the rest of the Thai community get away with it especially in tourist areas ...

[griffon2011]

In February my Thai GF was diagnosed with a type of lupus and initially treated for four days at a private hospital in BKK.  The bill was approximately 240K baht for the doctors, tests, a private room and the medicine. She was tested, diagnosed and in a hospital bed within 2.5 hours of us arriving at the hospital so I was happy with the good if a bit expensive service.  About 3 weeks later she took a turn for the worse and we returned.  The steroids prescribed compromised her immune system and she developed some type of infection.  However, this time instead of dealing with two doctors somehow 8 got involved.  Suddenly the amount of testing went up dramatically and now most of the doctors were dropping in each day with a nurse in tow for some reason.  One wanted to do an MRI (70,000 baht) on her hip due to an indication of inflammation and I mentioned that she had a lung infection detected on an X-ray the previous night, perhaps that was the cause and denied the procedure. I also cancelled the physical therapy they wanted to do as she was so sick.  I became suspicious and demanded a bill updated to that afternoon.  I discovered that a drug used for the lung infection Meronem 1gm injection was billed at 49,428 baht.  The price online was 1148 baht.  The price on other drugs were also overpriced by at least 300%. I demanded that they discharge her and drove her to her hometown government hospital.  Incidentally, they also failed to tell me what her problem was for some reason.  She had pulmonary tuberculosis!  One would think that would be important enough to pass along to me or anyone that entered the room!  The bill for 4 days was 450K baht and would have been close to a million if I had agreed to the other treatments and drugs. I had been a customer for 10 years but will never set foot inside that hospital again.    

[faraday]

70,000 for a Hip MRI...

 

I had one two years ago. It was 8000.

 

Hope she's feeling better now.

[faraday]

https://www.drugs.com/price-guide/meropenem

[ebonykap]

7 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

Chula Hospital rocks !!!

Yep, gets my vote!

[Odysseus123]

9 hours ago, sailblue said:

In Sydney local residents get certain minor privileges over non-locals like parking. schools will charge foreigners verses free for residents. Nothing like Thailands huge markup but reflecting the assumed income of the tourist.

 

Absolute nonsense..

 

Apart from local residents parking.

[Hooliganzone]

I can't believe this it has been going on for years and now you publish it.....Old news

Sent from my SM-G950F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[MrMuddle]

11 hours ago, Sealbash said:

These are private hospitals. In business to earn profit. They are not charitable or government run. They will charge what the market can bear. If they price themselves out of the market, they will not make profit due to reduced clientele. If Airbus or Burger King would sell their products at a price the market could not bear, they would soon be out of business. There are alternatives available to any of these products if the purchaser chooses a more economical route.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Actually the St Louis is supposed to be a charitable foundation, it's ran by the Roman Catholic Church.

[MrMuddle]

1 hour ago, griffon2011 said:

In February my Thai GF was diagnosed with a type of lupus and initially treated for four days at a private hospital in BKK.  The bill was approximately 240K baht for the doctors, tests, a private room and the medicine. She was tested, diagnosed and in a hospital bed within 2.5 hours of us arriving at the hospital so I was happy with the good if a bit expensive service.  About 3 weeks later she took a turn for the worse and we returned.  The steroids prescribed compromised her immune system and she developed some type of infection.  However, this time instead of dealing with two doctors somehow 8 got involved.  Suddenly the amount of testing went up dramatically and now most of the doctors were dropping in each day with a nurse in tow for some reason.  One wanted to do an MRI (70,000 baht) on her hip due to an indication of inflammation and I mentioned that she had a lung infection detected on an X-ray the previous night, perhaps that was the cause and denied the procedure. I also cancelled the physical therapy they wanted to do as she was so sick.  I became suspicious and demanded a bill updated to that afternoon.  I discovered that a drug used for the lung infection Meronem 1gm injection was billed at 49,428 baht.  The price online was 1148 baht.  The price on other drugs were also overpriced by at least 300%. I demanded that they discharge her and drove her to her hometown government hospital.  Incidentally, they also failed to tell me what her problem was for some reason.  She had pulmonary tuberculosis!  One would think that would be important enough to pass along to me or anyone that entered the room!  The bill for 4 days was 450K baht and would have been close to a million if I had agreed to the other treatments and drugs. I had been a customer for 10 years but will never set foot inside that hospital again.    

Which Hospital was this ?

[MrMuddle]

2 hours ago, 300sd said:

Had a visit to Bumrungrad. Had searched out the top specialist for this particular internal problem. I also had brought him an MRI on disc, from Bangkon Hospital for a second opinion. He said the MRI was not good enough for him to read and he wanted to do a endoscopy for 100,000 Baht.

 

I got a second opinion with a top specialist working at Samitevej, at the time, and she read the MRI for next to nothing, said she could read it fine, and said to come back in 6 months for another check.

 

One smart honest young lady, with top credentials and ethics, gets my business.

I had cancer and went to Bumrungrad. they tried to talk me into all kinds of expensive tests, that I 'may benefit from" but I had more sense and went elsewhere.

[DaRoadrunner]

10 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Their investigation doesn’t seem to focus on the double pricing for foreigners on top of the overpricing for all.

Well said!

 

I wrote to the Dept of Trade about exactly that. Anyone wishing to do so.... here is their website address

 

https://www.dit.go.th/en/

[griffon2011]

1 hour ago, faraday said:

70,000 for a Hip MRI...

 

I had one two years ago. It was 8000.

 

Hope she's feeling better now.

During a brief trip to my condo for fresh clothes she called me and said they were trying to get her to sign for an MRI for 70,000. I told her not to agree to or sign anything.   I returned to find them trying to get her to sign for treatment with 2 more drugs for an additional 240K baht.  Thanks for the link to Drugs.com.  She is better now but still weak as her weight has dropped from 48 to 37 kilos. Looks like she has a long recovery ahead of her.  

[bristolgeoff]

i,am sure they overcharge farangs because of insurance claims.everyone must know someone who was in hospital and the price of the treatment they had.it is very expensive  we all know.what can we do if you need treatment and drugs your hands are tied behind your back.will the government do anything or wait until the election results,if they ever get sorted

[samsingsong]

10 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

easy to get away with it, some countries have laws to prevent discrimination on grounds of race, disability, gender, etc. i'm no expert but it appears thailand does not, and even if it did it's questionable whether such laws would be effectively enforced by the authorities.

 

i suggest medical insurance, let the insurance companies sort it out.

Following a 700,000+Baht bill from the big 'B' hospital in Pattaya for a 2 week stay due to a leg infection, in future my insurer will only pay for a government hospital. When I questioned this the travel insurer said that the private hospital prices in Thailand 'are out of control'. 

That bill wasn't for intensive care or for an operation, it was just for antibiotics etc.

 

On the way out in a wheel chair, they wheeled me into another cashiers office - I'd forgotten to take off the slippers supplied by the hospital. So they raised an invoice, printed it out and put it in an envelope... 89 Baht! A 700,000 bill and they add 89 B for the slippers!

 

When they took out the needle in my arm, the nurse put a tiny circular 'spot plaster' on it and it wasn't sticking. My wife suggested the obvious - the plaster was too small, use a larger one. The nurse said 'I will have to charge extra'!  

 

 

[griffon2011]

28 minutes ago, MrMuddle said:

Which Hospital was this ?

Due to the libel or defamation laws in Thailand I am reluctant to name the hospital but lets just say it is located in Huaykwang. 

[observer90210]

One one side they drastically overcharge and cheat foreigners and on the other side foreigners leave and don't pay....a sort of balance one may say ...when a cheat meet with cheets !

[DaRoadrunner]

2 hours ago, griffon2011 said:

In February my Thai GF was diagnosed with a type of lupus and initially treated for four days at a private hospital in BKK.  The bill was approximately 240K baht for the doctors, tests, a private room and the medicine. She was tested, diagnosed and in a hospital bed within 2.5 hours of us arriving at the hospital so I was happy with the good if a bit expensive service.  About 3 weeks later she took a turn for the worse and we returned.  The steroids prescribed compromised her immune system and she developed some type of infection.  However, this time instead of dealing with two doctors somehow 8 got involved.  Suddenly the amount of testing went up dramatically and now most of the doctors were dropping in each day with a nurse in tow for some reason.  One wanted to do an MRI (70,000 baht) on her hip due to an indication of inflammation and I mentioned that she had a lung infection detected on an X-ray the previous night, perhaps that was the cause and denied the procedure. I also cancelled the physical therapy they wanted to do as she was so sick.  I became suspicious and demanded a bill updated to that afternoon.  I discovered that a drug used for the lung infection Meronem 1gm injection was billed at 49,428 baht.  The price online was 1148 baht.  The price on other drugs were also overpriced by at least 300%. I demanded that they discharge her and drove her to her hometown government hospital.  Incidentally, they also failed to tell me what her problem was for some reason.  She had pulmonary tuberculosis!  One would think that would be important enough to pass along to me or anyone that entered the room!  The bill for 4 days was 450K baht and would have been close to a million if I had agreed to the other treatments and drugs. I had been a customer for 10 years but will never set foot inside that hospital again.    

Incredible... which hospital was this so we can all avoid it?

[DrTuner]

11 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

But if you go a hospital for treatment and the market value of you treatment is 100k but when you bill it is 300k how is that right? 

This is Thailand, nobody cares if it's "right" if there's baht to be made. Money #1, still and forever. The only reason they don't charge 3M is not many could cough it up.

[DaRoadrunner]

As if overcharging is not enough, malpractice is also common. You are lucky if you find a doctor who knows what he is doing!

[DrTuner]

3 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

As if overcharging is not enough, malpractice is also common. You are lucky if you find a doctor who knows what he is doing!

This is true for just about any job one pays for in Thailand. Correlation between price and quality is near zero. Even when using same service providers it's a crap shoot. DIY FTW, but I'll admin brain surgery might pose a few challenges.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

As if overcharging is not enough, malpractice is also common. You are lucky if you find a doctor who knows what he is doing!

 

Also true...  Twice I've encountered the poor quality of medical practitioners in Thailands Top Hospitals. 

 

Personal Experience 1: I had a back injury (after landing a wake boarding jump poorly) - Dr told me it was a pulled muscle in my back. I didn't like his seemingly dismissive and lazy response, I just asked my Wife to wheel me out. I tried to get out of the chair and hit the floor, my legs just gave way. 

My Wife drove me straight to Bumrungrad A&E who gave me an X-Ray and followed up with an MRI - I had herniated 3 disks. 

 

Personal Experience 2: At 4 months old, My Son was unwell (worryingly high temperature) we took him to the nearest International Hospital A&E. The first Dr was an idiot, too many issues to go into, but I demanded another Doctor who was fantastic and agreed with me that the Jr Dr. attempted course of action was dumb. My son did end up spending 10 days in Hospital on IV Antibiotics for an Upper UTI, other concerns were also ruled out, no unintelligent assumptions were made. 

 

 

So... Experience of good and bad. Probably as with the UK hospitals. But there is a measure of accountability for malpractice and negligence in the UK where as in Thailand the industry protects itself and its almost impossible to sue for malpractice even in a water tight example, thus, there is no incentive for the Dr's to have greater concern about screwing up. 

[faraday]

Richard, how have you treated your back?

[Letseng]

14 hours ago, MrMuddle said:

The Hospital I used to use, St Louis, Bangkok, started to have separate billing for Thais and foreigners. The foreigners prices for everything, went through the roof. How on earth do they get away with it ?

And in some services they are still cheaper than Bkk Christian Hosp.

St Louis prices have gone up but not hugely. My food bill has also gone up.

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, faraday said:

Richard, how have you treated your back?

I haven't been wake boarding since...  I was told that if I did wake-board again I'd be back in Hospital within 2 years needing an operation (fusing the vertebrae). 

In the 8 years or so since I still regularly play football, still ski (snow) each year...  life hasn't changed.

 

I have, however, been back in the (same) ER once when I was paralyzed while putting on my socks !!! (one of the discs must have prolapsed again).... I was given a precautionary X-ray and sent home with pain killers (BTW: Pain killers in Thailand are useless!!)

 

I was told by the Dr's... It's just a matter of time. At some point quality of life will be impacted enough to justify an operation to fuse the vertebrae. That hasn't happened yet, no issues or back pain for the last few years. 

 

I'm led to believe the the procedure to fuse the vertebrae (with small rods) is a common a relatively simple procedure. I've had friends who have had the procedure. I can't remember if they walked out of Hospital the following day, but I think so.

 

Thus: In answer to your question; what have I done?... absolutely nothing other than stop sports which may place excessive strain on my back. I'm actually thinking of taking up wake-boarding again just for the exercise (without the flips & suicidal jumps of course).

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, Letseng said:

And in some services they are still cheaper than Bkk Christian Hosp.

St Louis prices have gone up but not hugely. My food bill has also gone up.

Are you being charged more for your food bill than Thai's for exactly the same products?

 

(we can now overlap this with the Dual Pricing Songkran waterfall thread !!!!)