Koh Phangan hospital backtracks after pregnant English tourist is unable to pay medical bill

[Strange]

15 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

I rekon the low lifes are the cheap charlie tourists that have left the hospital and Thai taxpayers poorer.Will she send the money when they get back to UK?

 

The hospital was private. Not government. Nothing to do with "Thai Taxpayers" whatsoever. Furthermore, over 100K baht? For what? Its more than clear that the hospital was gouging the tourist, holding her passport hostage, made her miss her return trip, then backtracked completely under media exposure. 

 

10 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

A private hospital on Koh Phangan backtracked on a 100,000 baht hospital bill

 

[louse1953]

32 minutes ago, boooker said:

First of all nobody as third party has the right to withold your passport as it still belongs rented service to you by Gov.

Read last page....secondly if you have a travel Insurance read the small print...exclusion of treatment...thirdly Hospital can claim fee from patient after policy not cover you.And last then it becomes a legal case between 2 parties with regards to payment.

Passport can only be claim by authorities such Police by criminal cases ....not pay is a civil case afterall.

Anybody whom give a passport aka motorbike rental is aswell in the wrong as you not entitle to hand over your passport to a third party ..read your own GOV law.

Despite practise is here by doing so but it is wrong if you go along with it by giving your passport instead of copy ...and if you do so than you legally spoken negligence your own International Law rights yourself.

Hospital here loosing a large amount every year because no insurance or policy is not known by themselves ....so if you do not have coverage in any event whom is to blame.

But Hospital practice withold passport is a violation under the International Law ..as claims admin is not a state police and prostecuter this is the court.

You need to know at least a little of your Law rights and duties.

55,you do know where you are don't you.When blood is pouring out of you one day and they wont admit you without handing over your passport,what will you do.Will you ask them to drive you to the next hospital 50 klms away or meekly break your countries law and hand your passport over.I would suggest the latter.Reality over rules International law any day.

[thetruth revealer]

38 minutes ago, boooker said:

First of all nobody as third party has the right to withold your passport as it still belongs rented service to you by Gov.

Read last page....secondly if you have a travel Insurance read the small print...exclusion of treatment...thirdly Hospital can claim fee from patient after policy not cover you.And last then it becomes a legal case between 2 parties with regards to payment.

Passport can only be claim by authorities such Police by criminal cases ....not pay is a civil case afterall.

Anybody whom give a passport aka motorbike rental is aswell in the wrong as you not entitle to hand over your passport to a third party ..read your own GOV law.

Despite practise is here by doing so but it is wrong if you go along with it by giving your passport instead of copy ...and if you do so than you legally spoken negligence your own International Law rights yourself.

Hospital here loosing a large amount every year because no insurance or policy is not known by themselves ....so if you do not have coverage in any event whom is to blame.

But Hospital practice withold passport is a violation under the International Law ..as claims admin is not a state police and prostecuter this is the court.

You need to know at least a little of your Law rights and duties.

POST *7

[IamNoone88]

You can't fix stupid. Pregnant, full moon party, spends all the cash having a great time, doesn't read the insurance policy. Time for some reflection young lady.

[evadgib]

19 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

I rekon the low lifes are the cheap charlie tourists that have left the hospital and Thai taxpayers poorer.Will she send the money when they get back to UK?

What Thai taxpayers? The offending establishment is a private facility, hence the inflated price!

[callaway]

31 minutes ago, Straight8 said:

3 months - would have missed at least 2 if not 3 period cycles, in all of that having unprotected sex during that time. Wouldn't be concerned?? Was she really that clueless or just didn't give a toss?

any possibility the holiday was booked prior to the 3 months? Most holidays are booked far in advance. Maybe her crystal ball was not working at the time, so was not aware she was to become pregnant just prior to her trip to Thailand. She Is 3 months pregnant and has been here for a month. My missus is due to have a baby in March and once the hospitals seen the insurance cover we had their eyes lit up. They went straight to the top drawer for the gouging tools. They are heathens. For an ultrasound and consultation should be around 4000 baht. I see on the bill she was also sent to Samui hospital so they could get their cut. Still at 103,000 is totally over the top. Slimy pr#%#&

[Don Mega]

Why was the insurance not confirmed when she first presented herself to hospital ?

 

[thetruth revealer]

22 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

so running up a bill you cannot afford is ok...

People make mistakes onceinawhile. And, at least she had this Insurance. Which she wasnt aware of that they wouldnt pay for pregnancy.

 

Why condemn a person in difficulties instead showing some emphaty??????

[Strange]

3 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

55,you do know where you are don't you.When blood is pouring out of you one day and they wont admit you without handing over your passport,what will you do.Will you ask them to drive you to the next hospital 50 klms away or meekly break your countries law and hand your passport over.I would suggest the latter.Reality over rules International law any day.

 

Fair enough, but what about if they overcharge you by like 4-5X the amount, hold your passport hostage, threaten you with legal action, all while you are sick & recovering in the hospital and venerable? 

 

Nothing like being sick and bleeding and being taken advantage of for it right? 

[manhood]

So what???

Thailand has so many touists that can't pay their bills and the country of Thailand (taxpayers) have to cover the costs!

You think this is fair????

In USA nobody treat you without prepay the treatment!

 

So lovly tourists: take care you have the proper insurance and dont blame anbody if things go wrong as i'ts your (the tourists) responsibility to have enjough money or insurance!

[jacko45k]

31 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

She had valid travel insurance, valid travel documents, probably had tickets, and probably had enough money to continue "slumming it" for the last couple days. 

 

Now I don't have a lot of sympathy for the woman, but take it easy. 

 

 

 

 

She likely knew she was pregnant, and either did not read the T&Cs or knew under the terms of her insurance, medical cover was invalid. How do you presume she had 'insurance', it refused to cover her, so she did not!

What method can the hospital employ to ensure patients pay their bills? It doesn't sound like she had her Amex with her. Even if she did have valid travel insurance, it is likely it will not pay the hospital directly, and will only refund when she returns to the UK on production of receipts.  Hence she would need some finances.  It is these types of tourists that put up medical bills for those who do pay.

[louse1953]

19 minutes ago, F4UCorsair said:

 

Agree entirely.  Stupid woman on multiple counts, not knowing her travel I nsurance didn't cover pregnancy, pregnant at a full moon party, Insufficient money for an emergency, expecting a foreign hospital to take a loss, and no doubt will walk away with no Intention of paying the balance.

 

Just Imagine the IQ of the kid with that as a mother.

 

I'm outraged by the moral outrage at the hospital trying to secure what was owed to them.

 

Her behaviour will be to the detriment of others In the future.

Exactly.Everybody will have to have compulsory insurance sooner or later and that is gunna cost the oldies big time.Low acts like this only hasten it coming in.Remember the TVF translation debacle and how many seniors could not or couldn't get insurance.

[Strange]

Just now, manhood said:

So what???

Thailand has so many touists that can't pay their bills and the country of Thailand (taxpayers) have to cover the costs!

You think this is fair????

In USA nobody treat you without prepay the treatment!

 

So lovly tourists: take care you have the proper insurance and dont blame anbody if things go wrong as i'ts your (the tourists) responsibility to have enjough money or insurance!

 

No. So much. Just No. 

 

The hospital was private. Has nothing to do with "Thai Taxpayers"

 

In the USA, ANYONE will be treated even if you are a tourist or a completely illegal immigrant. You will be left free to go at the end of your treatment with a bill for services. Dont even need a an ID card for emergency services. The bill will be huge, and yes, the actual US Taxpayer & Hospital will have to absorb the cost, but nobody is going to be held hostage, unlike Thailand. 

 

Please, get your facts right. 

[manhood]

7 minutes ago, manhood said:

So what???

Thailand has so many touists that can't pay their bills and the country of Thailand (taxpayers) have to cover the costs!

You think this is fair????

In USA nobody treat you without prepay the treatment!

 

So lovly tourists: take care you have the proper insurance and dont blame anbody if things go wrong as i'ts your (the tourists) responsibility to have enjough money or insurance!

 

No. So much. Just No. 

 

The hospital was private. Has nothing to do with "Thai Taxpayers"

 

In the USA, ANYONE will be treated even if you are a tourist or a completely illegal immigrant. You will be left free to go at the end of your treatment with a bill for services. Dont even need a an ID card for emergency services. The bill will be huge, and yes, the actual US Taxpayer & Hospital will have to absorb the cost, but nobody is going to be held hostage, unlike Thailand. 

 

Please, get your facts right. 

 

Well I have my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! experiance falling sick in USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before seeing a doctor in hospital i had to pay !!!!!!!

And yes it was in Thailand a privat hospital: but the hell who pays the unpaid bills?????

 

[captspectre]

full moon party? three months pregnant? what was she doing at the party? drinking cool aid! and she should have read her "insurance" papers! people like her feel that they can go anywhere do anything and the country they are in will take care of them? The Thai's should have been harder on her but they caved! no sympathny here!

[evadgib]

37 minutes ago, bkk_mike said:

 

The UK embassy will visit their citizens that are in jail and proclaim they're giving them "support", but you get the distinct feeling it's only because they're expected to do that as a minimum.

 

For normal citizens they exist solely to charge them large-ish amounts of money for a piece of paper essentially saying that our citizen has said he earns this much / lives at this address because the Thai government demands a letter from the embassy.

 

They've sold off some of the land they were given by Chulalongkorn for the express purpose of building the embassy, so they are just doing the usual job of post-Thatcher era civil servants - that is extracting money from assets, and their citizens are simply another asset for that purpose.

They're not in the habit of despatching black-clad commandos crashing through windows with a box of milk tray under each arm to retrieve something that was never a bargaining chip in the first place, but will issue a replacement or travel document enabling citizens to return home.

 

Has anyone stopped to consider how many elaborate tales are heard (at any Embassy in bkk)  explaining how idiots and passports part company each month, particularly after a full moon party? 

[mushroomdave]

When I was handed my current Canadian passport, the office told me 2 things.  They said to never send the information page by email / electronically, unless the passport # and all other relevant information was redacted.  And secondly, to "NEVER" give the passport to "ANYBODY" other than a government office, and if so, have the receipt given to you beforehand to show they have retained it.  They would never have gotten my passport, that's for sure!!  Good rules to follow and I have.

[Strange]

1 minute ago, manhood said:

Well I have my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! experiance falling sick in USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before seeing a doctor in hospital i had to pay !!!!!!!

And yes it was in Thailand a privat hospital: but the hell who pays the unpaid bills?????

 

If you went to a clinic (not a hospital) you have to pay to see a doctor. If you go to an actual hospital emergency room, you are not pre-charged. You do not know what you are talking about. Im sorry but I have to point this out. You have no clue at all. 

 

In a private hospital the hospital absorbs the cost. Not the Taxpayer. 

 

Please, you must educate yourself before barfing up nonsense like this.

[Dan5]

7 hours ago, ParadiseLost said:

Most likely the hospital saw an insurance document, thought they hit the pot of gold, so gouged the hell out of her expecting an easy payday. Standard practice in the medical industry, no?

 

Once they realised the victim/patient had no cash and started making a noise they obviously decided better to make it go away. No point getting bad publicity.

 

One of the good things about social media.

Pot of gold? Interesting. In the USA its just the opposite. If you have insurance, they have to deal with the insurance company and they generally give discounts  to the insurance companies. If you don't have any insurance, they really sock it to you. Everything gets marked up big time. $100 tooth brushes etc.

[Strange]

2 minutes ago, Dan5 said:

Pot of gold? Interesting. In the USA its just the opposite. If you have insurance, they have to deal with the insurance company and they generally give discounts  to the insurance companies. If you don't have any insurance, they really sock it to you. Everything gets marked up big time. $100 tooth brushes etc.

 

Woah- you have that 100% completely backwards.

[FolkGuitar]

Which was the part that cost 100,000 baht? The Ultra-sound or the ferry to Samui? Perhaps it was the paracetamol?

[alfalfa19]

they tried to skin her alive because she's a farang.   oh, the stupid farang have so much money, they won't even notice 3000 dollars.  i wonder if they would have charged a thai citizen the same amount. 

[12DrinkMore]

Thailand is officially the Hub of Medical Tourism.

 

I am sure she got a smile when they gave her the bill.

[Suradit69]

10 hours ago, z42 said:

Absolute thievery by some of the hospital brass foiled seemingly... Or am i missing something (itemised bill maybe)? And also a glaring example how travel insurance in a lot of instances is pretty worthless when it is actually needed. 

Glad to hear the girl will be getting home without any extra undue stress

 

" Absolute thievery by some of the hospital brass foiled seemingly "

 

And those of us who do pay our hospital bills will end up covering the losses the hospitals suffer due to uninsured patients . "Thievery" is taking something you haven't paid for.

 

Maybe those of you who are so sympathetic for those patients should volunteer to pay a 10% surcharge on your hospital bills to cover those who stiff the hospital.

 

Tourists should be required to have proper insurance coverage. 

[williamgeorgeallen]

11 hours ago, Strange said:

 

Never, EVER, give up that passport. 

 

Single most important thing to a foreigner here in Thailand, second is bug-out cash and credit cards. They get you by the balls (or uterus).

 

Also its a real chickenshit maneuver/probably illegal to take someones only travel document and hold it hostage. Let alone its wasn't even an official person, just hospital people. Pretty pathetic on the hospital and infuriating just reading it. 

 

As for the rest of the topic, well, Full Moon Party, 3 months pregnant, no money..... 

 

i agree traveling with no back up funds is a silly thing to do. a credit card with a few thousand dollars available money is a great idea. i would gladly hand over a passport if i was in some medical strife. single most important thing is your or your kids life.

[Vermor]

Of course, The Hospital has no right, and no power to hold their passport. This is the property of the foreign governement. (Here British)
Hospital has to give up the charge as they break the law...and could have more problem.

[Docno]

1 hour ago, Strange said:

 

I pay my bills, but if someone is trying to screw me, I'm gonna take care of #1, and thats myself. No loyalty to a scammer. 

Have you ever been scammed by hotel like this? I stay in dozens of hotels a year, and it's never happened to me once. On those rare occasions where there has been a 'discrepancy' (e.g., they say some item is missing from the fridge), the hotel has always accepted my (true) assertion that I took nothing. Also, every hotel I've stayed at has expected me to turn in the key(s) at check-in, so I'm not sure how you check-out then go back to room to collect your stuff. Of course, the hotels also want to do a room-check for missing items before you leave, so I don't understand how they freely allow you to go back to the room after your bill has been finalised ...   

[evadgib]

3 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

Tourists should be required to have proper insurance coverage. 

 

And Thailand should bill for nature of injury rather than ethnicity of patient.

[Vermor]

2 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

Tourists should be required to have proper insurance coverage. 

This would be "thievery". What about freedom ? Insurance are expensive, and has a lot of exception. They are the thieves! 
The whole thing could be much more simple : if a patient can't pay. just send the bill to the right embassy who will follow up to the tourist in their own country...
The girl is actually lucky that she's got admitted....because if you can't pay, they won't take care of you...not like in our (my) country where they MUST take care of you even if you can't pay. ( they don't check that before anyway and if you can'tt they will find a way : monthly payement, or in 2-3 times).
I remember the story of a man, in Thailand, who lost two fingers. He came to the hospital with his two fingers in a bag with ice. 
The doctors ask him which one he want back because he can't pay for both...
 

[hdkane]

11 hours ago, Strange said:

 

Never, EVER, give up that passport. 

 

Single most important thing to a foreigner here in Thailand, second is bug-out cash and credit cards. They get you by the balls (or uterus).

 

Also its a real chickenshit maneuver/probably illegal to take someones only travel document and hold it hostage. Let alone its wasn't even an official person, just hospital people. Pretty pathetic on the hospital and infuriating just reading it. 

 

As for the rest of the topic, well, Full Moon Party, 3 months pregnant, no money..... 

 

These are the kind of stories that everyone contemplating a trip to thailand needs to see...in the LOS, the smiles end when the money runs out...ruthless people actually.