Details of mandatory health insurance for Non-Imm O-A visas to be announced next week

[macgver]

The relevant ministries must make it clear, so that everyone can follow. 

 

My wife is the civil servant and I am cover under the government insurance package. Therefore I don't need to buy any insurance. I still wondering whether they still need me to buy the insurance. 

[Sheryl]

With all the talk of the,allegedly, very high insurance premiums being touted - has anyone actually seen them?  If so what sort of premiums are we talking about,  not the level of cover it buys but the actual monthly premium?

Not private insurance premiums per se  as that easily researched but the insurance the government, and many posters, are talking about. 

The only details I have seen is for 40k outpatient and 400k inpatient coverage. Not much cover so I would expect the insurance would be cheap. Purely guessing but maybe a couple of thousand or less than 10k baht yearly?

Sure it may not cover pre existing conditions but you will be paying for that anyway right now. 

I'm beginning to wonder if there is a massive over reaction to this by many forum members. 

 

Not remotely that cheap. Depending on age I would say 80-120k a year. 

Which makes it lousy value. For less than that you can get USD 1 million in cover ftom a reliable intetnational company.

 

Two reasons why do overpriced:

1. The (unnecessary/ridiculous) inclusion of outpatient cover.

2. These are special policies specifically designed for retirees. So the pool of insured persons is both small and entirely elderly.

 

This was a completely idiotic way to go about it. They should simply allow regular health insurance policies rather than trying to create a special indurance product.

 

Let us hope the O-A rules are better.

 

 

 

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[looplaw]

4 hours ago, Cucuy said:

Honestly if you’re living here full time or even a tourist here you MUST HAVE insurance it’s extremely important. I’m just lucky because I have access to good and almost free insurance through oconus TRICARE because I’m retired military and that’s one of our retirement benefits. And my TRICARE does cover me at my local hospital I’ve been using my TRICARE insurance here for many years now. I’m retired military so it’s a little easier. But this rule is just for new retirement Visas not extensions anyway so it doesn’t even effect most people already living here on a retirement visa extension. But you really don’t want to find yourself here with a very serious illness or injury without insurance coverage it’s dangerous. I don’t think it should be a requirement for even a new retirement visa but maybe it should be because there are way too many uninsured expats here and uninsured tourists visiting here who end up in the hospital needing help fast.

 

If medical  insurance becomes mandatory for all long term expats. Will Thai Immigration  accept TRICARE?

I will not be surprised if it is required for those on retirement extensions in the near future.

[Cucuy]

If medical  insurance becomes mandatory for all long term expats. Will Thai Immigration  accept TRICARE?

I will not be surprised if it is required for those on retirement extensions in the near future.

I don’t see why not it more than meets their standards and immigration said that foreign insurance policies would be accepted when they first started talking about it. But I don’t care I’ve been here for years on marriage extensions but I am retired here but regardless I know I’m covered either way with enough medical insurance.

[looplaw]

7 minutes ago, Cucuy said:

I don’t see why not it more than meets their standards and immigration said that foreign insurance policies would be accepted when they first started talking about it. But I don’t care I’ve been here for years on marriage extensions but I am retired here but regardless I know I’m covered either way with enough medical insurance.

Thanks.

[MRToMRT]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Not remotely that cheap. Depending on age I would say 80-120k a year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starts at 40k a year (under 60, no preconditions). Company I used was Viriyah.

 

But coverage is so bad you would really need another "real" policy if one was serious about one's health coverage. 

[Thaidream]

8 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

Starts at 40k a year (under 60, no preconditions). Company I used was Viriyah.

 

But coverage is so bad you would really need another "real" policy if one was serious about one's health coverage. 

Yes, and that sums up the absolute absurdity of any policies  that are designed like the ones listed at the longstay website.

 

If a person is serious about  adequate coverage- none of the policies are of any value except to the insurance industry and their board of directors.

[ThaiBunny]

58 minutes ago, Cucuy said:

foreign insurance policies would be accepted when they first started talking about it

My guess is that that's what's holding them up. They simply can't settle on a simple way of verifying foreign insurance policies the way they can just look at money in the bank in Thailand for a visa

[Cucuy]

My guess is that that's what's holding them up. They simply can't settle on a simple way of verifying foreign insurance policies the way they can just look at money in the bank in Thailand for a visa

Like I said I’ve been using my oconus TRICARE insurance here in Thailand for several years at Bangkok hospital and they have always accepted it but I’ve been living here for years on marriage extensions. But I am retired here.

[Thaidream]

4 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

My guess is that that's what's holding them up. They simply can't settle on a simple way of verifying foreign insurance policies the way they can just look at money in the bank in Thailand for a visa

If they are only going to  apply the insurance requirement to the O-A Visa- it would be the Thai Embassy in the person's home country that could easily verify the insurance- a letter or insurance card with a phone number attached.   

 

It gets more complicated when the person is in Thailand and asking for an extension-  Immigration will most likely request a document with the name of insurance company- coverage and dates of coverage.  I can't imagine them calling each company to actually verify it.  They may require an affadavit from one's Embassy  indicating the coverage is in force and that would open up a whole new can of worms for citizens of 3 English speaking countries.

[fforest1]

1 hour ago, looplaw said:

If medical  insurance becomes mandatory for all long term expats. Will Thai Immigration  accept TRICARE?

I will not be surprised if it is required for those on retirement extensions in the near future.

I dont think Tricare or any other non Thai policy can be trusted....( To help line the pockets of the right Thai insurance companies that is)....This is a real problem they are working hard to figure out a solution too....

[mike787]

Just another Ridiculous hoop Thailand invented to make it more impossible and painful for expats to remain in here...it's ok, many are leaving because they have had it.  Choose the path of least resistance.... 

[looplaw]

6 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

I dont think Tricare or any other non Thai policy can be trusted....( To line the pockets of the right Thai insurance companies that is)....This is a real problem they are working hard to figure out a solution too....

You have a point. I think  they are looking for ways to force everyone to purchase  insurance  from a local Thai company.

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

Yes, and that sums up the absolute absurdity of any policies  that are designed like the ones listed at the longstay website.

 

If a person is serious about  adequate coverage- none of the policies are of any value except to the insurance industry and their board of directors.

Check out Pacific Cross located in BKK. 

[Max69xl]

25 minutes ago, looplaw said:

You have a point. I think  they are looking for ways to force everyone to purchase  insurance  from a local Thai company.

There are not many Thai owned insurance companies.

[KiChakayan]

58 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

If they are only going to  apply the insurance requirement to the O-A Visa- it would be the Thai Embassy in the person's home country that could easily verify the insurance- a letter or insurance card with a phone number attached.   

 

It gets more complicated when the person is in Thailand and asking for an extension-  Immigration will most likely request a document with the name of insurance company- coverage and dates of coverage.  I can't imagine them calling each company to actually verify it.  They may require an affadavit from one's Embassy  indicating the coverage is in force and that would open up a whole new can of worms for citizens of 3 English speaking countries.

At Bumrungrad when I give them my Cigna/WIPO card they get full access to all my details including the yearly balances for deductibles and/or co-payments and I pay only small share. They can do this for most major international insurers. So I don't see  any need to go to embassies abroad.

[roobaa01]

8 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

There are not many Thai owned insurance companies.

true

34 minutes ago, looplaw said:

You have a point. I think  they are looking for ways to force everyone to purchase  insurance  from a local Thai company.

no farangs married to a thai public servant are covered as a family member by the spouse, the same applies now obviously to the thai free economic sector if the thai spouse is working there.

 

wbr

roobaa01

[ThaiBunny]

19 hours ago, john west said:

I know Bermuda does and also other Countries have departure tax a bit different I know.

Yes, it's a tax attached to the airline ticket and applies to everyone, including citizens. Imagine the outcry if Thailand attached a health insurance levy to the tickets of Thai citizens (including those who live abroad)

[Thaidream]

40 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

At Bumrungrad when I give them my Cigna/WIPO card they get full access to all my details including the yearly balances for deductibles and/or co-payments and I pay only small share. They can do this for most major international insurers. So I don't see  any need to go to embassies abroad.

Yes, they cater to International patients and have access to any and all  major insurance policies but I doubt they are going to verify  Insurance eligiblity for  Thai Immigration.

 

 

[fforest1]

They have been struggling mightily for a few years now trying to figure out how to get the untapped heath insurance gold mine flowing into Thai bank accounts...

No telling how many man hours they have already sunk into this project...

But this is a very complicated problem....Lots of different visas, lots of different age groups, lots of people from many countries,lots of different languages, lots of different risk factors, lots of different preexisting conditions....

 

And the one visa that insurance was required on ,the O-X, it completely bombed out...

 

Sure they may only be talking about the O-A visa right now but you just know they would like to get everyone paying into some sort of insurance...

 

But they are between a rock and a hard place....Because if the insurance was any good they just might have 100s of thousands to millions of foreigners looking to cash in on their insurance policies over night to fix what ever ails them...

So they are only left with the option of writing scam policies that would not cover much of any thing.....Or just not requiring insurance at all....

 

 

 

[ThaiBunny]

5 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

But they are between a rock and a hard place....Because if the insurance was any good they just might have 100s of thousands to millions of foreigners looking to cash in on their insurance policies over night to fix what ever ails them...

It's amazing to me the number of posters who think that this is a simple problem. I'd like them to produce a decision tree of all the scenarios that would need to be covered

[Melbun]

2 hours ago, mike787 said:

Just another Ridiculous hoop Thailand invented to make it more impossible and painful for expats to remain in here...it's ok, many are leaving because they have had it.  Choose the path of least resistance.... 

Yes, it seems that way. But to not have adequate cover and financial resources as well is indeed very ill advised.

 

Insurance 101 Case study: A British fellow is on top of the world in Thailand and showing friends his lovely Sunday roast beef and Yorkshire pudding - all for 200thb. The following week after a few symptoms and visit to outpatients dept of a large hospital in Thailand. Tests were conducted and a large mass was detected. Biopsies revealed the mass was cancerous and diagnosed as esophageal cancer. Almost immediate hospitalization was required to commence chemotherapy. The fellow had no insurance (after all these things happen to other people only). Claims he cannot return to the UK - as he no longer qualifies and in any case would be put on a waiting list. After weeks of treatment out of pocket cost in excess of 1 million baht. Afterwards the surgeons strongly advised followup surgery (estimated to cost in excess of 1 million thb). He said he can only muster up 850,000 thb. Maybe with the help of friends he can find the money. And this estimate excludes any on going treatment - assuming everything goes well. The point is: It would be a very lonely experience to live in a foreign country, completely skint and in very poor health.

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

Yes, it's a tax attached to the airline ticket and applies to everyone, including citizens. Imagine the outcry if Thailand attached a health insurance levy to the tickets of Thai citizens (including those who live abroad)

Thai people invited to many countries in Europe needs a travel/accident insurance since years back when they apply for a visa.  It has to cover a certain amount of money and has to be valid the whole trip. No insurance,no visa.

[Melbun]

2 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Thai people invited to many countries in Europe needs a travel/accident insurance since years back when they apply for a visa.  It has to cover a certain amount of money and has to be valid the whole trip. No insurance,no visa.

Sounds entirely sane and appropriate.

[St George]

2 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Thai people invited to many countries in Europe needs a travel/accident insurance since years back when they apply for a visa.  It has to cover a certain amount of money and has to be valid the whole trip. No insurance,no visa.

 

 

It also only costs a few hundred Baht.

[Melbun]

1 minute ago, St George said:

 

 

It also only costs a few hundred Baht.

Really? I know of no travel insurance for older people costing "a few hundred baht"

[Max69xl]

29 minutes ago, Melbun said:

Really? I know of no travel insurance for older people costing "a few hundred baht"

We're talking about travel/accident insurance for a Thai. Not farang.

[Max69xl]

33 minutes ago, St George said:

 

 

It also only costs a few hundred Baht.

Yes,my point was that an insurance is needed. Not expensive for a Thai person, but also not expensive for a Westerner going somewhere on holiday. 

[patinchis]

What is the insurance cost in Malaysia for obtaining the MM2H visa I wonder


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[looplaw]

13 minutes ago, patinchis said:

What is the insurance cost in Malaysia for obtaining the MM2H visa I wonder


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Wrong forum.