Proposal to make health insurance mandatory for long-stay visas

[deepee]

Gotta face facts here folks,
If you fell into the uninsurable category back home would you then expect the Thai health system to carry you ?
Could you then imagine if the Thais did they would be swamped with "visitors" seeking medical holidays.
Probably just have to accept life's deal of cards boys n girls whether you are here or somewhere else , you become sicksadly it's your proble.
I suspect this insurance proposal falls more towards accident insurance rather than trying to keep old farts up and running.

[HHTel]

Nobody expects the Thai system to carry an expat who falls ill. Before retiring here, most people have things covered, be that in 'cash in the bank' or repatriation back to the home country if necessary.

would you then expect the Thai health system to carry you

Certainly where the UK is concerned, any Thai emigrating there are catered for under the NHS at no charge! They certainly don't need insurance.

[T.O.M.]

The OP says O-A visas. Applied for in your home country.
Most people here are on Non-O visas, on which their extensions are based. NOT mentioned in the OP...

[PJG]

Think Deepee is missing then point. The proposal is not for a Thai State Insurance scheme but that expats must have a certain level of private health care insurance(whether in Thailand or International) when applying for a retirement visa. For those over 70 this is very difficult as most companies will not insure or the premiums are prohibitively expensive.

It was suggested on another forum that World Nomads could provide. When I tried to get a quote the reply was not over 65 for new policies.

[deepee]

The fact that the UK, Australia, NZ and the like are so supportive of foreigners residing there within their systems is a credit to them. I know of a Thai woman, a mates mum , who takes very much advantage of these gracious offerings while really spending her life mostly here and only popping over to OZ for frequent medical/dental work free on the system.
BTW she never contributed a single cent to the system that now supports her, but that's another story.
Could not see the Thais being so generous long term as their system battles to cover for the locals let alone blowing.

[HHTel]

This is one subject where reciprocal arrangements fall by the wayside.

[Big Boy]

And Annual Income - sorry, I know we're not talking about that here, but probably for the 2 most expensive elements of life in Thailand, there is no reciprocal arrangement.

[RCer]

Regarding my earlier post. The VA only covers preexisting conditions that are a result of my military service.

The battle I had with them was connecting new ailments as being caused by the preexisting ones.

Quite the opposite in terms of medical coverage.

[hin]

PeteC’s OP says:

Once it comes into effect, foreigners having the visa will be required to have Thai insurance policies covering their entire stay in Thailand with minimum Bt40,000 out-patient medical bill coverage and minimum Bt400,000 in-patient medical bill coverage. 

What everyone seems to be missing here is that the proposed requirement is only coverage of ฿40,000/400,000. Unlike tourists, as we are already required anyway to have ฿800,000 in a Thai bank each year or proven income amounting to that, we should be considered self-insured. Because our proven income or finances illustrates that we can underwrite the requirement.

Hartford Connecticut used to claim to be the insurance capitol of the world. Anyone who has been there could not help but to notice all the insurance company home office buildings because almost every one of them flaunts bright shinny genuine gold leaf covered domes on their roofs. I have never been interested in subsidizing that gold. It appears to me that most people who preach EVERYONE shud have insurance are those who have never had to pay for it themselves. Maybe had military or other careers, usualy government, that provided ongoing life long insurance that was paid for by you and me, thru high taxes or escalated price of goods. And most of those people are quick to trot off to a doctor for any bought of the flu or splinter in a finger, raising costs if you or I want to be insured.

I was mostly self employed and am speaking from the point of view of a person whose home country does not have socialized medicine So being here in Thailand as an uninsured expat does not make me feel lost. Have never had insurance except when working on jobs that provided it and it was never ongoing after the job was finished. But did always pay high cost of liability insurance to protect others and auto liability insurance beyond requirements.

With 4 major spine surgeries, in Malaysia, and 2 others in USA and here, am not unfamiliar with big medical bills. But am ahead of the game compared to if I had been buying insurance all my life and prefer to continue underwriting my own risks.

[lomuamart]

What everyone is missing is that this does not apply to annual extensions.
Have a good Xmas and don't have a heart attack - yet.

[T.O.M.]

What everyone is missing is that this does not apply to annual extensions.
Have a good Xmas and don't have a heart attack - yet.

Not everyone......Look 7-8 posts above yours.
But as usual on social media...posters are just hitting the keyboard without checking facts.

[dtaai-maai]

But as usual on social media...posters are just hitting the keyboard without checking facts.

And as usual on social media, some posters use their anonymity to be unnecessarily acerbic.
A Merry Christmas to you too, T.O.M.!

[oakdale160]

You know what?--we dignify this proposal by discussing it as if its for real--Its just one of those statements that govt departments put out to show that they are still coming to work in the mornings. A country that cant get motor-cyclists to wear a helmet is going to start a sophisticated program to ensure that visitors and /or foreign residents have HI, it is not going to happen.

[lomuamart]

The thing is that as they try and can't control their own populace so their fury and frustration have a habit of rebounding on Non Thais. Just look at the grief Burmese and Cambodians go through.
To think that this mind set can't affect us farangs at some stage is just wishful thinking. And that's why we're discussing the topic - plus we've got nothing else better to do?
It's all about mindset and I don't mean ours.

[Big Boy]

I'd already concluded they're playing mind games with us.

It was about this time last year that another gem was leaked by the Ministry of Silly Ideas. That one said diabetics would not have their driving licences renewed. Shock, horror, outcry followed, then it simply faded away.

Yesterday's timing was perfect again, Christmas Eve, 'tis the season to be merry. Can't have Farangs happy in the Land of Smiles. A quick phone call to the Ministry of Silly Ideas, and Christmas is cancelled!!!

Our politicians are transparent, we can see right through them