Thailand to demand proof of health insurance for 'risky' long-term visitors

[OJAS 2,296]

5 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

Does UK also require Expats with long term Visas to deposit 20,000 Pounds into a UK Bank for 6 months (and keep 10,000 pounds there for the other 6 months)??

No. But it does require its long-term expat retirees living in Thailand to pay for (normally free) non-emergency NHS treatment at 150% of the going rate, even though said expats have, for the most part, already contributed towards the costs of the NHS throughout their working lives back in the UK!

[phka 112]

Is this a new one or does it only apply to people with extesions to AO visas

[TallGuyJohninBKK 16,843]

9 hours ago, Lovethailandelite said:

There will be an announcement over the coming weeks regarding Health Insurance being a mandatory requirement for ALL Non Immigrant visa extensions.

 

1. Do you understand the coming changes to apply to ALL non-immigrants visa and extension holders, or only the population of those age 50 and above?

 

2. If you're correct about the coming changes, what's that going to mean re: health insurance requirements or not for current and future holders of the Thailand Elite visas?

 

[Isaanbiker 3,153]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:37 AM, uncleeagle said:

This is how nasty, small minded, dishonest, probably racist and definitely illogical this new insurance requirement is.

 

They say there are $16 million dollars of unpaid hospital bills...lets call that 500 million baht...roughly 30 baht to one US dollar...and they have roughly 40 million arrivals per year most of whom will have bought a ticket electronically...a tax of 12 baht per ticket would cover the paltry bill they are whinging about. 

 

But instead of doing that they have decided that, without a shred of evidence shown to justify it, the entire bill should be paid by a quite vulnerable and generally well behaved group of people who are already subjected to an onerous and strict visa extension application procedure...i.e., retirees aged above 50.

 

Do younger people not get sick and have accidents...or do the vast numbers of migrant workers never require medical treatment and leave without paying?

 

This is abject nonsense, it is nasty, racist, illogical, xenophobic idiocy and I truly hope it motivates a good number of people to move on.

 

Here is some more simple arithmetic...the $16 million of unpaid bill they claim is roughly equivalent to 600 multiplied by 800,000 baht...800,000 is the amount of money needed for a retirement extension but many spend far more...so all it will take is 600 retiress to leave and they lose the entirety of the claimed unpaid bill. I suspect many more will leave so the net result is these idiots are just shooting themslves in the foot. What if 6000 leave? My guess is it will be even more. The maths is really quite simple. Not only are they not going to filter out the vast majority of the non bill payers, they are going to cost the country far more than the unpain bill they claim.

 

 

We all know how well structured the Thai statistics really are. 

 

   The unpaid bills are not only caused by Farang, I'm afraid they're using a number that includes all Laotian, Burmese, Cambodian, African and other nationals who need(ed) medical assistance and it's not the truth what they're telling us.  

 

   But it's easier to take the cash from people who usually have some dosh. The whole thing stinks to heaven and soon there'll be all types of visa and extensions included that need such a freaking insurance.

 

  I understand that health systems are often misused, but it should at least be fair. 100,000 baht plus per year is just insane. 

 

   The first step is done, the next will follow soon. Be prepared. 

[metisdead 6,927]

Off topic posts and replies about Schengen visas have been removed.

 

Some troll posts and replies have been removed. 

[Scot123 581]

So I've been going to Thailand since 2002 trained and finally worked in the scuba diving industry on Kow Tow so saw lots of scooter crashes and patched up divers etc, taught in Bkk sor a few years and moved to live in Thailand in 2010 left 2019. In all the time I've lived in Thailand I have never known one single farang who as bumped a hospital Bill, for god sake they basically hold you to ransum till you pay. I do not believe these figure. I can't ever remember seeing a post/story on Thaivisa saying this (plenty of gofundy me but never left without paying).. Lying, lying and lying. Oh, I have heard of a hospital refusing treatment until a credit card was handed over and that guy had bupa health insurance. 

Edited 18 hours ago by Scot123
Remembered an old friend who I had to help out.

[Scot123 581]

3 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by Scot123
Sorry miss read.

[MRToMRT 971]

On 10/13/2019 at 10:48 AM, AussieBob18 said:

Dont get caught mate - we are very hard on them. And we are known to tell the Thai Authorities who catch them on the next run and they shoot them

 

Obviously you have not been following the Thai news and the BBC's digging into Sydney court records. Worth a google, interesting story.

[DUNROAMIN 379]

On 10/10/2019 at 3:23 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

I do not have a problem requiring visitors to have health insurance; it is simply a good idea.

 

However, the quote above leaves me speechless. Are there any valid figures to show a lack of repayment? Especially by long-stayers? Generally all I hear about are tourists, not long-term stayers, who don't have insurance and end up with a 'Go fund me' page.

 

Add a few Baht tax to all plane tickets/landings, use the money to aid foreigners hurt in the Kingdom, and problem solved.

 

It doesn't need to occur like this, and thus makes me wonder what else is at play...

 

TIT, the whole country runs on corruption, lets cut a deal with the health insurance companies, for every new farang customer you sign up we get 10%,