Health insurance in Thailand

Talen — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 01:26:04 +0000

I’ve been checking into many things concerning a possible move to Thailand and the most important would be health insurance. The majority of American companies will not cover you overseas and if they will the premium is high, so I started with the 2 biggest Thai Health insurance companies and here’s what I found.

BUPA- Their platinum plan that covers up to 2 million baht per disability for hospitalizations and Out Patient Benefits up to 50,000 baht total per year. The premium for this coverage is 50,202 baht in the age band of 41 to 45 years of age. If you want coverage for hospitalization only, the premium is much lower at 28,111 baht per year. There are different rates for hospitalization coverage per disability of 1 million and 5 million baht respectively.

Exclusions :
- Coverage is worldwide, but in the United States BUPA will only cover medical expenses, which are the result of an accident
- Annual Check up (one visit per year) covered up to 700 baht
- Emergency Medical Assistance fully covered
- Overall maximum coverage of 2 million baht applies (per disability)
- Pre-existing conditions are NOT covered
- Not covered (this is not a complete list) : Birth control, treatment for infertility, hormone replacement therapy, congenital abnormalities, mental illness and stress related conditions, dental treatment, sexually transmitted diseases, alcoholism, drug abuse, transplant surgery, renal dialysis, treatment for injuries resulting from dangerous sports. Interestingly not more than 200,000 baht will be paid for injuries occurred while driving a motorcycle (or being a passenger). Bacterial infections after an accident are not covered.

IAG -Now known as NZI ( I think). Their Comprehensive insurance package in the age band of 40 to 44 years. Premium is 59,589 baht per year. With increasing age, rates go up . For example between the age of 60 and 64 you would pay 135,897 baht per year.
This package has a standard co-pay per medical condition applicable to out-patient claims of 1,800 baht.

Exclusions :
-Overall maximum of coverage is 80 million baht
-Out-patient treatment is covered up to 340,000 baht (an excess as stated of 1,800 baht per condition)
- Dental treatment covered up to 34,000 baht (but insured person has to pay 25% of the costs incurred per claim)
- Medical check-up covered up to 10,200 baht
- Chronic medical conditions covered up to 34,000 baht per year
- Organ transplants covered up to 13,600,000 baht
- Nursing at home covered up to 170,000 baht
- Emergency evacuation and repatriation covered in full
- Emergency medical treatment outside are of cover up to 2,040,000 baht
- Exclusions (this is not a complete list):
Pre-existing medical conditions. After 2 years of continous insurance some pre-existing conditions may become eligible again
Chronic medical conditions.
Hormone replacement therapy, congenital abnormalities, kidney dialysis, injuries due to professional sports, sleep apnoea, sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS)

Several things being excluded are worrisome, such as Dialysis and STD’s.

The pre-existing condition part can be a bummer for most people over 40. High blood pressure is a biggie that leads to many other problems so it seems if you have a heart attack and you had high blood pressure even if it was minor the heart attack wouldn’t be covered. Then what about kidney stones and discectomies? I’ve had both!

Neither seem to have a requirement for a pre screening physical but I’m sure if something happens it can point to another ailment that would leave you high and dry.

I guess I have a lot of looking around to do.

Moving to Thailand?

Talen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:33:30 +0000

There’s something about Thailand that seems to draw people from around the world like a beacon. I can’t put my finger on it but I felt that irresistible draw myself a couple of years ago. I’ve always wanted to visit South East Asia but throughout all my research on where to go I kept coming back to Thailand.

Having made the decision I booked my flight and arrived in Thailand for the first time a little over a year ago…wide eyed and ready for anything. The two weeks I spent in Thailand were incredible and seemed to last forever. The sights, sounds, and smells of bangkok had me mesmerized and then there was Pattaya! Even though it all seemed to be coming at me at once, I never felt more relaxed.

Well, all good things come to pass and before I knew it I was home in the states and very fuzzy. It took me a good month to come down from the high…all I could think about was Thailand. I thought I hid it well but obviously I didn’t. Work suffered and I kept falling back into the daydream. Eventually I snapped out of it and was back to myself but the thoughts lingered and the beacon was still calling. I decided the next trip would be sooner rather than later and much longer than the previous trip.

The second trip found me arriving in Thailand in late June of this year and with a healthy allotment of vacation time the trip was set for five weeks. My first trip I made some good friends in Pattaya and decided that was the place to stay. You can’t beat a beach town with about 3000 some odd bars and 30,000 some odd beautiful women. Of the friends I made my first trip a few already lived in Pattaya, some were in the process of moving to pattaya, and at least one was contemplating the idea….he gave up contemplating and moved there this summer. The five weeks went by pretty fast but I got to see a lot of the things I missed my first trip such as the Sanctuary of Truth and Nong Nooch Gardens. Made many new friends and had a great time…even met a girl…but thats a story for another time.

Coming home was hard but I didn’t have the same daydream type effect this time but the beacon was still calling. After coming home from the second trip I started planning the third for January of 2008 and also a fourth for either May or August. The January trip will be brief, only 2 weeks which really isn’t enough but will have to do. The May trip might not happen because it depends on what I decide for the August trip….and the August trip…well, lets just say that might be a very long trip.

My heart made the decision months ago, now I’m just waiting for the brain to give in. The brain is still going over all the possibilities and contingency plans but for all it’s arguements it’s not gaining any ground. My brother has known for a while what I’ve been thinking and even told me my mother suspects it, which was confirmed tonight when I went by the parents house for dinner and mom basically asked when I was moving to Thailand…she expects an announcement any day!

There won’t be any announcements soon but mom knows me too well and my heart usually wins. This is a big decision and one not to be taken lightly but all things considered I think a change would do me good. When I figure it out I’ll let you know…but not before I tell mom!

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Health insurance in Thailand

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