Proposed increase to Mandatory Health Insurance.

[lawatcher99]

I have the 3,500,000 Baht, Including COVID, 90-day (for Non-Imm O Visa, 90-day retirement, not O-A) insurance from TUNE Insurance in Thailand which has been used by many traverlers and is legitimate and they have issued me the certificate which I confirmed is same used by many travelers.  Unfortunately the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles is saying that they do not accept ANY insurance company generated certificates and the insurance company must fill in and sign the blank form available on the Embassy website.  Insurance companies, not just mine, are saying they NEVER do that, they issue their certificate and it is acceptable for Thai Visa.  The Thai Embassy in Los Angeles is not disputing the validity of my insurance, just saying certificate must be on their form not ANY insurance company form.  ALL travelers are telling me they just used the certificate sent by the insurance company that is "signed and stamped" as mine is.  

Anyone ran into this?  

[Faz]

4 hours ago, lawatcher99 said:

I have the 3,500,000 Baht, Including COVID, 90-day (for Non-Imm O Visa, 90-day retirement, not O-A) insurance from TUNE Insurance in Thailand which has been used by many traverlers and is legitimate and they have issued me the certificate which I confirmed is same used by many travelers.  Unfortunately the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles is saying that they do not accept ANY insurance company generated certificates and the insurance company must fill in and sign the blank form available on the Embassy website.  Insurance companies, not just mine, are saying they NEVER do that, they issue their certificate and it is acceptable for Thai Visa.  The Thai Embassy in Los Angeles is not disputing the validity of my insurance, just saying certificate must be on their form not ANY insurance company form.  ALL travelers are telling me they just used the certificate sent by the insurance company that is "signed and stamped" as mine is.  

Anyone ran into this?  

See my reply to your other post in https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/7796-insurance-certificates-not-accepted-los-angeles-embassy/?tab=comments#comment-100619

 

What you are now demonstrating is the Medical Insurance requirement for entry to Thailand of $50,000 USD.

The Non O Visa application requires a different and separate Health Insurance policy covering 400K THB inpatient, 40K outpatient for medical treatment.

What your presenting to the Embassy for your Non O application is the $50,000 USD policy which includes the treatment of Covid 19 and is required for entry to Thailand as part of the Thailand Pass application process, NOT the Non Imm O Visa application process.

Two different policies.

[ramubond]

On 10/25/2021 at 6:33 PM, palooka said:

Gets a bit frustrating when they keep moving the goal posts though, that may drive a few away or elsewhere.

Originally the 800,000 baht in deposit for visa was for the unexpected etc.  Then Insurance for the same unexpected, now Covid Insurance for the expected.  Think it will touch everyone eventually some how.

Me, I'm here for the long term or maybe short term depends on that bloke upstairs giving me a tap on the shoulder or Covid short short changing him.

 

[ramubond]

 agree palooka ....frustrating but after 18 years as an expat there always seems to be a solutions

.....yeah solution if u know what i mean....get a non imm O or etc etc.

[palooka]

4 hours ago, ramubond said:

 agree palooka ....frustrating but after 18 years as an expat there always seems to be a solutions

.....yeah solution if u know what i mean....get a non imm O or etc etc.

Probably have that in their sights also, when money gets tight they will go after anything.

[Bertik]

    Not meaning to put the cart before the horse, but If  and when they impliment the 3,000,000 self insurance requirement, does that mean we will have to park an additional 3,000,000 in the bank that cannot be used like the portion of the 800,000 we cannot use if we want to keep our 1 year O-A extention valid?   That would mean that an amount amount  between 3,400,000  and 3,800,000 would have to remain frozen in our bank accounts.  This also bcomes problematic when you consider any amount over 1,000,000 will not be recoverable should the bank become insolvent.

[oldcpu]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:07 PM, Bertik said:

    Not meaning to put the cart before the horse, but If  and when they impliment the 3,000,000 self insurance requirement, does that mean we will have to park an additional 3,000,000 in the bank that cannot be used like the portion of the 800,000 we cannot use if we want to keep our 1 year O-A extention valid?  

My suspicion is the answer is YES, it will need to be parked with some clause saying it must be there for some TBD part of the year (speculation on my part - I don't think all details have been provided yet).  For some of us that amount is not a problem. For others its a disaster and not achievable.

If I understand it thou, at present, that 3,000,000 self insurance is ONLY for those who can prove an Insurance company will NOT give them Health Insurance, and they need to provide a letter from the Insurance Company proving Health Insurance denied.

While I'm age-68, I am too too healthy and no insurance company would give me a denial letter. At most they would propose to exclude one or two items for coverage.   So its nice to be healthy, but it means I can't self insure myself to Thailand requirements, no matter how much I put in the bank.

Hopefully with time, the Health Insurance proof requirements will be improved.  I believe there is more work to be done to reach a satisfactory level of acceptable proof (and not demand such proof that is not attainable due to Insurance companies policies).

Edited February 15, 2022 by oldcpu

[Bertik]

On 2/15/2022 at 8:49 PM, oldcpu said:

My suspicion is the answer is YES, it will need to be parked with some clause saying it must be there for some TBD part of the year (speculation on my part - I don't think all details have been provided yet).  For some of us that amount is not a problem. For others its a disaster and not achievable.

If I understand it thou, at present, that 3,000,000 self insurance is ONLY for those who can prove an Insurance company will NOT give them Health Insurance, and they need to provide a letter from the Insurance Company proving Health Insurance denied.

While I'm age-68, I am too too healthy and no insurance company would give me a denial letter. At most they would propose to exclude one or two items for coverage.   So its nice to be healthy, but it means I can't self insure myself to Thailand requirements, no matter how much I put in the bank.

Hopefully with time, the Health Insurance proof requirements will be improved.  I believe there is more work to be done to reach a satisfactory level of acceptable proof (and not demand such proof that is not attainable due to Insurance companies policies).

Thanks for your input. Like you indicate, more work to be done. Time will tell.

[Faz]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:07 PM, Bertik said:

    Not meaning to put the cart before the horse, but If  and when they impliment the 3,000,000 self insurance requirement, does that mean we will have to park an additional 3,000,000 in the bank that cannot be used like the portion of the 800,000 we cannot use if we want to keep our 1 year O-A extention valid?   That would mean that an amount amount  between 3,400,000  and 3,800,000 would have to remain frozen in our bank accounts.  This also bcomes problematic when you consider any amount over 1,000,000 will not be recoverable should the bank become insolvent.

What self Insurance requirement?

 

[longwood50]

On 10/20/2021 at 11:06 AM, Faz said:

The Thai cabinet have approved in principal to increase the current 400,000 inpatient, 40,000 outpatient to a minimum requirement of 3 million baht from September 2022 for Non O-A Visa applications.

Does one part of the government ever talk to or coordinate with the other?  You have one side saying they want to encourage foreigners to reside in Thailand and the other part of the government introducing impediments making it less attractive to reside here. 

The entire issue of insurance in my mind is a false narrative.  

In my experience if I go to a hospital I don't get treated unless I pay.  I even have friends who have very expansive European health care insurance that covers in Thailand and they have to pay in advance and get reimbursed.   

The idea that somehow hospitals are losing money by foreigners skipping out on paying bills I find is a stretch.  This is from an article saying that the total was 448 million baht in 2019.  Now that is both Tourists and foreign residents.  During normal times Thailand receives between 38 and 39 million tourists.  A 25 baht fee on each tourist would generate twice as much in revenue as necessary to cover unpaid medical bills and not be a significant impediment to foreigners. 

The Public Health Ministry said unpaid bills at hospitals across the nation came to 448 million baht in a year through September 2019.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Tourism-proves-hazardous-to-Thai-hospitals-financial-health