Thai Health Insurance System
The Thai domestic health insurance system currently consists of the following three parts:
1: Thai Health Insurance
No matter what the organization the company is required to unconditionally provide health insurance to the staff employed. Here there are two types.
One is the general business to the employee's own medical insurance, there is a ceiling amount, such as exceeding the amount to go through a certain procedure for approval, but generally still approved.
The other is the state institutions and state-owned enterprises, as well as large joint-stock companies and multinational enterprises, in addition to the employee's own medical insurance to the employee's specific relatives to give medical support. In this case, there is no upper limit for the person himself, but there is an upper limit for the relatives.
Both of the above are automatically entitled to no less than six months of coverage in the event that the employee resigns from his/her previous organization, and if the employee (or another person on his/her behalf) continues to pay the health insurance premiums paid by his/her previous company, he/she will continue to be entitled to the health insurance premiums until he/she stops paying them. Employees under this health insurance system are entitled to free access to medical resources at all state-run hospitals and some private hospitals.
The Thai Ministry of Health is now working to establish a health insurance system for foreign nationals, promote the purchase of social insurance for foreign patients who come to Thailand's border areas to receive medical care, and look for legal models for foreign groups to purchase health insurance, such as foreign tourists and foreign Thai pensioners.
2: Thailand's 30 baht medical plan
(equivalent to only 6 yuan)
Any citizen over the age of twelve years who goes to the relevant organization to apply for a medical card with his or her own documentary proof of identity can use the card to enjoy a 30 baht visit per visit to any state-run hospital, which in principle covers all illnesses.
Costs are paid by the state treasury to hospitals at the rate of 600 baht per person per year for outpatient care, and inpatient hospitalization at the rate of the cost of the disease. The insurance mainly covers outpatient, emergency and hospitalization coverage, and the fee to be paid for each outpatient or hospitalization is 30 baht (excluding personal preventive and health promotion services), with the 30 baht exemption for special hardship cases.
In terms of national health insurance coverage, the 30-baht health insurance covers more than 75 percent of the country's population.
The coverage is extensive and the level of guarantee is necessarily low. This kind of hospitals that are enrolled in the health insurance system are given a packaged price by the Health Insurance Board, a sum that is certainly lower than the actual cost of treatment, similar to the wholesale price. This leads to situations where hospitals reduce treatments in order not to lose money, such as not doing instrumental tests or prescribing good medicines.
3: Health Insurance Issues for the Elderly and Small Children in Thailand
Thai citizens over the age of 60 and under the age of 12 are entitled to treatment at state-run hospitals free of charge. All that is required is a simple medical card.
How can foreigners buy medical insurance in Thailand?
All of the above are for Thai citizens in the health insurance system, foreigners can only go to private hospitals. Those who intend to retire in Thailand are advised to buy commercial medical insurance.
Hospitals in Thailand
Thailand's hospitals are divided into public and private, and from the national level up to the village level. There are also various specialized clinics. Public hospitals in addition to the top few royal and government medical school sponsorship background, generally speaking, regardless of equipment and instruments and quality of service can not be compared with private hospitals. So the rich go to private hospitals more, the poor go to public hospitals more, go to public hospitals to spend more time and enjoy poor medical conditions.
There are two options for purchasing commercial medical insurance in Thailand
The first is to choose a local Thai insurance company, which is generally available in the bank for direct face-to-face audits, and the specific varieties can be consulted with the local banks in Thailand, and the claims can only be used in Thailand;
The second is to choose an international insurance policy.
The following AIA as an example of international insurance
The advantages of international insurance are:
1, global claims, back to the country can also be claimed. And if you are in Thailand for a long time, it will be much more convenient to buy Thai AIA claims;
2, AIA's medical insurance mainly includes medical expenses due to accidents, hospitalization and hospital room fees, as well as treatment costs, laboratory fees, minor surgery and other cost claims. However, the general cold, fever and other outpatient can not be claimed, their own initiative to physical examination, dental checkups, etc. can not be claimed;
3, claims procedures are simple, after the AIA insurance can be obtained after an AIA card, you can directly present the card, the hospital directly and the AIA company to settle the bill, as long as in the amount of the claim they do not have to pay first.
But there are a few things to keep in mind.
1. If you are in Thailand for a long period of time and are thinking about getting medical treatment in Thailand, try not to buy domestic insurance, as domestic insurance is likely to be unable to cover medical expenses incurred outside the country.
2, only choose the kind of insurance you need, such as medical insurance if you need medical insurance, fund products may not be cost-effective.
3, find a qualified Thai insurance agent for the process, Thai law provides that foreigners are not allowed to become an insurance agent, any Chinese claiming to be an agent is not a real insurance agent. You need to pay more attention to yourself.
4, medical insurance is mainly for accidental medical expenses or other involuntary medical expenses incurred due to hospitalization or surgery. The insurance policy does not cover pregnancy, childbirth and other medical expenses.
The main types of AIA medical insurance in Thailand
1: The most commonly used AIA insurance for hospitalization in Thailand: H&S Hospitalization Reimbursement Insurance
No matter what your age or gender, as long as you are hospitalized, you will be reimbursed by this insurance.
Take the 2,200 baht medical insurance as an example to illustrate the coverage
Male guests between the ages of 20 and 60 years old choose 2,200 baht, and the premiums for AIA H&S insurance in Thailand range from 4,598 to 9,712 baht.
Coverage includes:
Room + Meals + Nurse Service reimbursement of 2,200 baht/day for up to 125 days;
ICU ward reimbursement of 4,400 baht/day for up to 5 days;
Doctor's daily routine checkups of 800 baht/day;
Medicines of 20,000 baht/trip;
Surgery of 60,000 Baht/trip;
Anesthesia fee of 6,000 Baht/trip;
Use of operating room and operating room instruments of 5,500 Baht/trip;
Treatment of 3,000 Baht/trip at the surgical camera;
Accidental, within 24 hours of the doctor's visit to the surgeon reimbursement of 5,000 Baht/trip.
2: Critical Illness Insurance
The AIA CI Super Care Critical Illness in Thailand is a new product that came out in May 2017 only. You can choose to pay the premium in 10 years or 20 years.
Premiums range from 6,000 baht to 500,000 according to age, gender, and physical condition. There are four types of coverage: 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 dollars. AIA pays 20% of the benefit if a major disease is found in the early to middle stages during medical treatment, and 80% of the benefit if the patient dies and the disease progresses to an advanced stage.
Taking the large package (1 million baht) as an example to illustrate the coverage
Opting to pay for 10 years, the annual premium is 50,490 baht; opting to pay for 20 years, the annual premium is 28,440 baht.
10 years a **** payment of 5049010 years = 504,900 baht, the compensation is 1 million.
In fact, 20 years there are benefits: First, the annual premium can be more than 20,000 baht less, the economic pressure is easier; and then if the insured person in the 12th year of a major disease, or due to any death, the policyholder after 8 years will not have to pay, AIA will still pay the beneficiary 1 million baht.
Coverage of the same type of disease, early 18 kinds + late 44 kinds of compensation early 200,000 + late 800,000 = 1 million baht. If you want to surrender the policy at a later stage, AIA will refund the premium + interest to the customer.
Medical vs Critical Illness Insurance
Medical insurance is a reimbursement type of insurance that reimburses on the premise of incurred expenses that cannot exceed the actual costs, while critical illness insurance is a one-time payment that has nothing to do with the actual costs of the treatment and can be used for long term rehabilitation as well as compensating for loss of income. Medical insurance pays out to the hospital, while critical illness insurance pays out to the person concerned.
Disadvantages of AIA insurance
The only disadvantage is that you can't buy AIA insurance on a tourist visa, a student visa, or a companion visa. Elderly visas, dependent visas can be purchased.
Thailand hospitalization reimbursement insurance that can be purchased on any visa - Thailand BUPA (BUPA) insurance
Thailand BUPA (BUPA) insurance, which was merged with CIGNA insurance in 2018, will be renamed as CIGNA (CIGNA) insurance.
BUPA Personal Care Hospitalization Reimbursement Insurance comes in four packages, with different premiums for each age group. 25,716 baht for up to 6 years of age; 9,300-12,000 baht for 6-40 years of age; and rising premiums for over 40 years of age, with 16,000 baht for 50 years of age.
Introducing the coverage with Package 2 as an example
Firstly, BUPA Thailand reimburses 2,500 baht/day for the mandatory room charge for hospitalization; in case of intensive care unit, BUPA reimburses 5,000 baht/day up to a maximum of 15 days.
Secondly, hospitalization of course requires medication and injections, which are included in the cost of medication. The reimbursement for medication is 30,000 baht per visit. The maximum reimbursement is 30,000 baht per hospitalization.
This medication cost is a little more specific, if you see a surgical outpatient within 24 hours of the accident and are not hospitalized, you can be reimbursed up to 4,000 baht per visit.
Additionally:
Ambulance use reimbursement of 1,000 baht per visit
Surgery reimbursement of 40,000 baht per visit
Doctor's daily checkups of 600 baht per day
Additionally, there is the large medical benefit, that is, the above items, the amount of the exceeding, BUPA reimbursement of the exceeding portion of the 80% of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion of the exceeding portion, except for room charges, and the most The reimbursement will not exceed 400,000 baht.
Finally, BUPA also pays 40,000 baht to the beneficiary in the event of the insured's accidental death.
Other medical insurance products
Can I use my international insurance in Thailand if I bought it from AIA in China or Hong Kong?
Yes, but it should be noted that the types of insurance in China are different from those in Thailand. So you need to use it in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the varieties of AIA bought in China, for example, some diseases can not be claimed, some conditions can not be claimed, etc. You need to read it clearly, and you can confirm with the domestic AIA when you buy it. As long as it meets the part of the insurance terms and conditions that can be claimed, it can be used in Thailand even if it was bought in China or elsewhere.
In addition, many insurance companies in developed countries in Europe and the United States have insurance products that cover Thai medical institutions. Currently, some Chinese insurance companies have also launched similar overseas medical insurance products. And compared to the months-long booking and queuing times for checkups and surgeries at some general hospitals in Europe and the United States, Thai hospitals are more relaxed in booking and treatment.
Introduction of Thailand's medical standards
International standard accreditation
In the entire Southeast Asian region, Bangkok's Komnang Hospital and Sammythai Hospital were the first hospitals to be audited by JCI (an affiliate of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations International for accreditation of healthcare organizations outside the United States) and receive a certificate of eligibility.
JCI is the most authoritative standard for evaluating healthcare organizations, and the certificates issued by the organization are the "gold standard" for healthcare providers worldwide. Currently, there are about 53 hospitals in Thailand that have been awarded the certificate and are open to foreign tourists. Thailand's domestic medical policy environment generally encourages the development of cross-border medical care. Thailand's own technology research and development capabilities are not strong, but access to the world's advanced medical technology and medical equipment is more flexible; there is no world-class medical school, but most Thai doctors speak good English, and many have gone abroad for further study.
High degree of internationalization, good medical services
Taking Bangkok Hospital in the Thai capital as an example, the hospital is equipped with language interpreters from 32 countries. The international consultation area is divided into regions according to the language of each country, and different treatment programs are adopted for patients from different countries. In addition, compared to some other medical tourism destinations, Thailand's general hospitals tend to have a full range of departments, allowing patients to get a more comprehensive examination.
Many Thai hospitals claim to offer five-star service, and private hospitals generally have better infrastructure while emphasizing comfort. Many hospitals offer one-stop services for visas, travel, checkups, surgeries, convalescence, and customized tours, which are more convenient.
Besides Bangkok, many hospitals are located in famous tourist cities such as Phuket, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai, where Thailand's well-developed tourism industry allows for a closer connection between medical care and tourism; many hospitals are also able to arrange outings for patients outside of treatment.
Medicine is relatively cheap
Thailand's international hospitals are able to offer a wide range of high-end and low-end surgeries at cheaper prices compared to developed countries in Europe and the United States, such as cardiac bypass surgeries that are nearly 80 percent cheaper than those performed by many U.S. hospitals.
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