Thailand to demand Travel Insurance?

[Goldpanner 399]

Ive put this here as I think this is going to be something thats going to have to be enforced by Air companies and travel agents. Please move to somewhere more suitable if you think it doesnt fit.

 

http://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/814026/Thailand-holidays-travel-insurance

 

Tourism officials in Thailand are calling for mandatory travel insurance for all visitors to the country.

The push has come in a bid to recover losses incurred from unpaid medical bills.

As tourist numbers surge, there has been a spike in uninsured holidaymakers needing medical treatment.

According to authorities, many of these travellers can’t afford to pay for their treatment and often leave hospital without paying at all.

 

I think this is going to be enforced and the only way it can be done is by Airlines demanding Insurance or actually offering it.

It will be the airlines that will be responsible for carrying anyone without Insurance. I think its either that or the end of One way tickets.

 

Didnt the increase in departure tax a few years back cover the extra expense of Hospital defaulters??

 

Someone is going to be made very rich, thats for sure.

 

 

[js007 795]

Sounds like one of those ideas that will prove to be unworkable.

[Butch 3,456]

Bottom line, if a person travels abroad without adequate medical insurance they're a fucking idiot in the first place and don't deserve treatment.

 

If they can afford the flight, they can afford the insurance.

 

In true Thai fashion though, I agree, this is pretty unworkable.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Butch

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

IME insurance companies are very reluctant to pay out, even on genuine claims.

[Grandpollo 366]

Sounds like one of those ideas that will prove to be unworkable.

Works in Cuba. They have pretty good public medical coverage and no shortage of sick mooches arriving so they mandate medical insurance proof on arrival and if you have none or can't prove it you have to buy theirs at a modest price.

 

Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. The airlines have nothing to do with it. You either have it on arrival or buy it (or get the boot if you want to act like a complete cloth eared git about it, one would think - the Cubans are not too unwilling to toss out the protesters).

[js007 795]

Works in Cuba. They have pretty good public medical coverage and no shortage of sick mooches arriving so they mandate medical insurance proof on arrival and if you have none or can't prove it you have to buy theirs at a modest price.

 

Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. The airlines have nothing to do with it. You either have it on arrival or buy it (or get the boot if you want to act like a complete cloth eared git about it, one would think - the Cubans are not too unwilling to toss out the protesters).

 

 

Yea, but think about all the people who have their own insurance, and all the different coverage possibilities. Are they going to do a six week investigation about everyone who enters the country who supposedly has insurance. I suppose mandated Thai insurance would be OK for the person on a two week vacation. But what about those who are staying longer? Retirees?

[jacko 8,815]

The push has come in a bid to recover losses incurred from unpaid medical bills.

 

I was of the opinion that these costs also often came from people whose claims were rejected by their insurers or forced them to pay up first and get receipts. That would mean the insurance itself would need to be inspected an approved.

I just don't see how 8-9 million Chinese can be checked to see they have adequate insurance.

[Grandpollo 366]

 

 

Yea, but think about all the people who have their own insurance, and all the different coverage possibilities. Are they going to do a six week investigation about everyone who enters the country who supposedly has insurance. I suppose mandated Thai insurance would be OK for the person on a two week vacation. But what about those who are staying longer? Retirees?

Anything as a start would reduce the mooch factor. I am surprised that the residency 1 year retiree program hasn't mandated that already.

 

Ecuador which aims for retirees far better than Thailand includes access to social security and health as part of their desire to attract ex-pats. If Thailand won't, since ther retiree program is more of a tolerate expats until they don't want to program, then to limit state risk they should have thought of proof of medical before.

 

Say you start with the tourists. Packages from China should include medical along with the bus and follow the flag guy fees and costs.

[biggles 509]

"Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. "

 

Cuba doesn't have 30 million visitors a year. You cant have this many people arriving at the already over-loaded immigration counters to be checked. How many Immig officers speak or read the languages that may be on the policies. ?

 

Thai hospitals grossly overcharge foreigners for medical treatment compared to the same treatment by locals, probably even more so when they have insurance. Why not just "offset" the overcharged patients to those treated at a "loss". You could even transfer funds between hospitals if there was a severe imbalance between patient types. Thais love paperwork !!

[jacko 8,815]

"Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. "

 

Cuba doesn't have 30 million visitors a year. You cant have this many people arriving at the already over-loaded immigration counters to be checked. How many Immig officers speak or read the languages that may be on the policies. ?

 

Thai hospitals grossly overcharge foreigners for medical treatment compared to the same treatment by locals, probably even more so when they have insurance. Why not just "offset" the overcharged patients to those treated at a "loss". You could even transfer funds between hospitals if there was a severe imbalance between patient types. Thais love paperwork !!

You are effectively asking me to subsidize the tourists who come here without insurance and get drunk and ride motorbikes!

Given a choice I would prefer not to....

[keyman 1,413]

You are effectively asking me to subsidize the tourists who come here without insurance and get drunk and ride motorbikes!

Given a choice I would prefer not to....

 

 

It's what happens in the UK already, Jacko - maybe without the drunken motorbikes but we do have 'health' tourists arriving who come to the UK specifically for medical treatment on the NHS.

 

KM

[Goldpanner 399]

Actually if you think about it, it would be pretty easy to install.It would be for medical Insurance only, they could probably rule out pre existing conditions or specify extra for that.

Maybe a mnimal charge of say £10 on each air ticket would do it.

I also suggest it IS the airlines problem as, if Immigration refuses entry because of no Insurance it would be the airlines responsibility to take them back.

I would suggest with 30 million tourists per year, at, say, £10 a head or its equivalent there would be a lot of insurers willing to take that on.

Machines at the airport, pre-immigration could also sell basic Accident insurance.

But again Im sure I remember that the Hike in Thai Departure tax years back before it was absorbed into the ticket price was done wth the excuse that it was to cover uninsured Hospital visits?

 

I have pre-existing conditions so pay a bloody fortune for my travel insurance.

 

I remember in 1992 2 days before Christmas I was hospitalised with a realy nasty eye infection that made one of my eye sockets swell right up pushing my eyeball out.

I went to Bangkok Christian Hospital and they wouldnt even look at me untill I had handed over my Credit Card details and totally ignored my Insurance Cover, though I did claim it back when I got home.

 

HoweverI did get a realy nice Christmas dinner with lots of nice nursies coming in wishing me a 'Melly Kissmas'

Edited June 8, 2017 by Goldpanner

[wacmedia 277]

Works in Cuba. They have pretty good public medical coverage and no shortage of sick mooches arriving so they mandate medical insurance proof on arrival and if you have none or can't prove it you have to buy theirs at a modest price.

 

Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. The airlines have nothing to do with it. You either have it on arrival or buy it (or get the boot if you want to act like a complete cloth eared git about it, one would think - the Cubans are not too unwilling to toss out the protesters).

 

 

Hi,

 

That seems a great idea. As I've said iinsurance can give you false sense of security when you are dealing with these criminals in Europe. I'd much rather pay a tariff on arrival in LOS.

[nkped 1,208]

Actually if you think about it, it would be pretty easy to install.It would be for medical Insurance only, they could probably rule out pre existing conditions or specify extra for that.

Maybe a mnimal charge of say £10 on each air ticket would do it.

I also suggest it IS the airlines problem as, if Immigration refuses entry because of no Insurance it would be the airlines responsibility to take them back.

I would suggest with 30 million tourists per year, at, say, £10 a head or its equivalent there would be a lot of insurers willing to take that on.

Machines at the airport, pre-immigration could also sell basic Accident insurance.

But again Im sure I remember that the Hike in Thai Departure tax years back before it was absorbed into the ticket price was done wth the excuse that it was to cover uninsured Hospital visits?

 

 

Thailand is a sovereign nation so I won't say that it couldn't make checking insurance a responsibility of the airlines but:

• That would be a significant variation from the standard international practice of holding the airlines for verifying passports and/or visas valid for entry. If Thailand wants to require medical insurance, it can make that a requirement for getting a visa and it would have the option of ending entry without visa for those of us who have it available at present. EDIT Airlines typically do check for outbound/return tickets but that is well within their expertise and can typically be done by checking their computer systems.
• It would be a very hard requirement to implement by presenting proof of insurance to immigration at entry. Travel insurance is only one option. Some number of us have health insurance at home which covers us out of country as well. There are probably hundreds of variation in proof of insurance which would cover an individual in Thailand.

Edited June 8, 2017 by nkped

[Goldpanner 399]

 

Thailand is a sovereign nation so I won't say that it couldn't make checking insurance a responsibility of the airlines but:

• That would be a significant variation from the standard international practice of holding the airlines for verifying passports and/or visas valid for entry. If Thailand wants to require medical insurance, it can make that a requirement for getting a visa and it would have the option of ending entry without visa for those of us who have it available at present. EDIT Airlines typically do check for outbound/return tickets but that is well within their expertise and can typically be done by checking their computer systems.
• It would be a very hard requirement to implement by presenting proof of insurance to immigration at entry. Travel insurance is only one option. Some number of us have health insurance at home which covers us out of country as well. There are probably hundreds of variation in proof of insurance which would cover an individual in Thailand.

 

Agreed, but in the final analysis it IS the Airlines responsibility to see that all travel requirements are met BEFORE departure. It would have little to do with Immigration if the Ticketting computer says that Insurance has been checked and verified, and it would be pretty simple to implement that. Even simpler to implement it at the departure airport. No insurance, no travel.

It would be a simple matter when booking to ask for Policy number of any Personal Travel insurance held. If there wasnt any then the Travel companise could off some sort of minimal Insurance simply for the duration of the air ticket. Yep they can provide machines at Immigration In Thailand but that could create queues lasting days.

 

The potential here for making millions if not Billions is too great for Thailand and Travel agents and airlines not to implement this.

Most travel Insurance is far too expensive in the first place.

The big problem as I see it is that most UK Travel policies dont cover riding Motorcyclesand other relatively dangerous sports that most dickheads get hospitalised for.

[LocalYokul 215]

What happened with this?

Did it really get implemented or just forgotten about?

[Regyai 415]

Went the way of most Thai 'knee jerk' wonder solutions

Edited May 2, 2018 by Regyai

[4wheels 119]

Some countries that require you to have travel health insurance upon entry include:

• The United States: Those traveling to the U.S. on a J1 or J2 visa are required to have medical coverage that meets regulatory standards for the full length of their program
• Schengen countries: Applicants for Schengen visas must prove that they have travel medical insurance to cover any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and/or emergency hospital treatment or death, during their stay.
• Cuba: Visitors to Cuba must have proof of travel health insurance upon entry.
• Russia: Certain applicants for a Russian visa are required to have travel health insurance that’s valid for the duration of their visa.
• Antarctica – Not surprisingly, anyone taking a trip to Antarctica is required to have comprehensive travel health insurance that provides coverage for medical costs in case of hospitalization, evacuation, repatriation and emergency travel.

 

Three Countries that Require Proof of Travel Insurance

• Poland.
• Czech Republic.
• Cuba.