Proposal to make health insurance mandatory for long-stay visas

[PeteC]

Foreigners with one-year Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) will have to compulsorily arrange health insurance, according to new proposals of a key committee.

The criterion under the Immigration Act 1979 was approved by the Medical Hub Committee, Dr Kittisak Klapdee, adviser to the Minister of Public Health, said on Sunday.

Kittisak was assigned by Public Health Minister Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn to join Tourism and Sport vice minister Ittipol Khunplome at the Medical Hub Committee’s second annual meeting, which approved in principle the amendment of the criteria for one-year long-stay visas.

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.

Those already having overseas insurance policies that meet the minimum requirement would be exempted from subscribing to Thai insurance policies. They will be able to apply for long-stay visas using their foreign insurance policies, he said.

Details and guidelines pertaining to the amendment were being jointly formulated by the Public Health Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Immigration Bureau, the Office of Insurance Commission, the Thai General Insurance Association, and the Thai Life Assurance Association. At the next stage, it would be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval as a formal policy, he added.

The amended criterion is aimed at ensuring health protection for long-stay visa holders – mostly elderly foreigners – and also benefit the public and private hospitals in the country, he added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30360990

[deepee]

I can see some good in this proposal Pete .
We have all heard the horrendous stories of people being landed with some scary medical bills here and being unable to pay them out.
Then having even bigger bills to be repatriated
home.
This insurance scheme could avoid these problems.
But will it be simple and will it give effective full cover?
Worried it could be subject to the usual Thai way of buckets of paper work followed by the usual indecision making at claim time.
Would like to see a system that offers a couple of levels of coverage, maybe a basic and superior cover.
Also a registration card one could carry to speed up things when needing treatment

[oakdale160]

Sounds like a reasonable idea, that every foreigner here whether tourist or resident ex-pat have medical insurance but like everything in Thai its the enforcement/verification process that is going to be completely beyond the authorities. Look at other threads--verifying that you either have a chunk of money in a Thai bank or can demonstrate a regular income causes so much agony, now another item to verify.
Can you imagine the further delays at the airport and/or immigration officers pouring over insurance policies in other languages.
Some would have no problems. I mentioned in another thread that the Scandinavians State plan is valid in Thai. They would be waved through easily but for others a nightmare.
How about self-service machines in the airport where you could buy Med Ins for the duration of your stay, but then you run into the 'pre-existing conditions" problem.

[RCer]

After going through the nightmare of getting the US Veterans Administration straightened out over the past 2+ years and then getting BKK hospital in BKK to do direct billing for all services, I completely agree with the idea of making all foreigners have health insurance.

I had BKK hospital doing the direct billing as well, however they neglected to do the paperwork correctly and instead of fixing the problem, they just gave up on direct billing for out-patient care. They still direct bill the VA for inpatient care though. (Oddly, the paperwork is the same).

[oakdale160]

That's an old trick that US hospitals did years ago

"Mr RCer, you need to have some tests done--if we do them as an OP you will have to pay and recover it from your insurer, but if we admit you for a day we can bill directly and you will not have to pay"

[RCer]

That's an old trick that US hospitals did years ago

"Mr RCer, you need to have some tests done--if we do them as an OP you will have to pay and recover it from your insurer, but if we admit you for a day we can bill directly and you will not have to pay"

I tried that idea. BKK hospital wouldn't do it. Something about an outdated thing in the US called ETHICS. They wouldn't even discuss it, just no.

[Big Boy]

In my opinion, another stupid idea from the Ministry of Silly Ideas. Yes people can get insured, but not for pre-existing conditions. So yes, the Insurance Certificate would extend the visa, but if the person became sick, there's a high likelihood they won't be covered. Any spare cash they might have had to pay hospital bills will have been laid out on insurance that won't pay out.

The insurance that was being bandied about earlier this year would have fitted the bill, and would have been affordable, but didn't happen. The preamble to that insurance suggested about 60% of Expats were currently uninsurable.

[buksida]

Agree. It seems like another scam to keep thousands of paper pushers in employment and drain more money from foreigners at the same time. I dont see how or why someone younger on a student, work or marriage visa should be forced to pay for health insurance when they don't need it.

[Nereus]

Like a lot of other brain farts, what's the bet it ends up in the too hard basket?

I have an "accident" policy through Bangkok Bank which satisfies most of what is being suggested here. Not sure now just exactly what is what, as it is all written in that wriggly local hieroglyphics, but for old codgers the table that I am on shows two amounts; one of 30,000 and one of 60,00 Baht. I think it costs around 5,000 Baht / year and can only be used in Government Ospitals. But it says insurance, so may suffice.

[StevePIraq]

Also Hua Hin Hospital Expat Clinic does not accept insurance, you have to pay in cash and claim back yourself, unless of course the hospital is compelled to accept insurance once this proposal becomes law.

[handdrummer]

No company will provide insurance for someone 80 yrs. of age with a terminal condition.
What will the govt. do put them on a plane and send them home thereby destroying their families? Nothing here ever gets thought through and everything ends up in a mess or, if lucky, the whole idea is abandoned.

[StevePIraq]

This plus the new immigration finance requirements will make it all the harder for certain individuals to be able to stay.

[Hahuahin]

The only way for this will be that Thailand change their Visa and Immigration policies.......i.e. connect the insurance to whatever Visa there is applied for which again mean that applicants have to apply and meet the required demands for be granted a Visa at a Thai Embassy in their respective home countries which over time will mean less people coming here for whatever reason they now go here and it mean a lot of people in Thailand, include paper pullers from top to bottom will be out of work. Pros = easier control over who is here/ Cons = less income.

[lomuamart]

At the moment, it's only proposed that the insurance is necessary for those applying for an OA visa rather than those on extensions of stay. (Mind you, I'm not saying that this can't filter down to the "rest of us" at some point).
Or maybe, just maybe, Imm have thought this through and those of us on extensions already will be exempt. After all, Imm must realise that are the large numbers of us who do fall into the uninsurable bracket and have been here for quite some time already.
Or maybe it's just Xmas and I've had a few beers already?

[m_right]

After going through the nightmare of getting the US Veterans Administration straightened out over the past 2+ years and then getting BKK hospital in BKK to do direct billing for all services, I completely agree with the idea of making all foreigners have health insurance.

I had BKK hospital doing the direct billing as well, however they neglected to do the paperwork correctly and instead of fixing the problem, they just gave up on direct billing for out-patient care. They still direct bill the VA for inpatient care though. (Oddly, the paperwork is the same).

Because you have it then it should be mandatory?

In principle I agree but it is the details that may be a problem. Should older people be denied a visa because they can't get it? What should the insurance cover? What limit? etc

It is like the people who have 800,000 in a Thai bank call anyone who doesn't a whiner.