In Case You Trip Over Your Shoelaces…Recently by Simon Black: Let’s Talk About Facts, Not Fear
Pattaya, Thailand I’m one of those idiots who pays into a health insurance plan month after month, year after year, and never goes to the doctor. In fact, I’ve had my current plan for years without ever filing a claim. The only reason to have it is the unlikely event that I trip over my shoelace while visiting the US and end up with a $200,000 emergency room bill. Everywhere else, insurance isn’t necessary; the price of healthcare in most places is reasonable enough to pay cash. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in Thailand… home to one of the most advanced, highest quality, and cheapest private healthcare systems on the planet. Every time I’m here, I visit a hospital just to try things out; my experiences have always been stellar. And speedy. Just yesterday I dropped in (without an appointment) to Bangkok Hospital’s Pattaya branch to check my cholesterol. There was zero paperwork upon check-in… no stupid forms, no clipboards. And I went straight to the back. No waiting around.
Afterwards, one of the staff physicians came over to chat. His English was perfect, and it seemed as if I was his only patient of the day. That’s perhaps one of the most important points about healthcare here – the staff/patient ratio is astoundingly high, so you get a tremendous amount of personal attention. The whole experience is also very private. I use an assumed name at the hospital. I’ve never given them any ID. And obviously there’s no insurance company or government agency demanding my records. The biggest benefit, though, is cost. Or lack thereof. The amount I paid for my visit yesterday wouldn’t buy a beer in some countries. And the sticker shock applies universally to all tests and procedures, from imaging to chemotherapy to fertility treatments to elective surgery. The physicians here are excellent. But for those who can’t get over the idea of a foreign doctor, one approach is hiring a specialist in your home country to consult and be the ‘quarterback’ of your care. You get all the expensive tests, imaging, and labs done in Thailand, then send the results back home. October 19, 2012 Copyright © 2012 Sovereign Man
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