Mandatory health insurance

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Gaybutton
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:28 am
Undaunted wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:28 pmMore of the same maybe?
More of the same? Certainly! And more confusion!
Posting more videos about this, especially when none of them are official releases, is absurd.

I will delete any more such videos.

Folks, I have no problem if you want to continue speculating and discussing this, but to me it seems pointless until after July 1 if and when this goes into effect. No farang has any way of knowing what will be happening until it happens, and that includes these people who apparently think they are being helpful by making these videos.

So, NO MORE VIDEOS on this board unless they come directly from the Thai authorities.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Undaunted »

To reiterate what I've said before the only verifiable comments will be those coming from expats seeking renewals or first timers applying from July 1 onward, everything else is sheer speculation and no one is served by the continuation of this thread till such a time.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 1:08 pm To reiterate what I've said
And to reiterate what I've said, I have no problem if people want to continue discussing this, speculation or not, whether you think anyone is served or not.

As far as I'm concerned the only change is no more videos unless they come directly from the Thai authorities.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Dodger »

MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE

During my visit to Jomtien Immigration yesterday I was fortunate enough to have met with the Colonel of Immigration who apparently runs the Jomtien operations. During my short discussion with him I opened up my passport - showed him the O-A stamp on the first page - and then flipped to the back and showed him the last few Long Stay Extension Stamps (marked Retirement), immediately followed by the question; "Do I need to show poof of insurance or not". His immediate and direct answer was "No", although after a slight hesitation said that "at least now it's not required" indicating of course this may change in the future.

In summary, it doesn't matter what type of visa you had when you retired (O-A or O). If you are currently retired in Thailand and have at least one Extension of Stay stamp in your passport no proof of insurance is required at present.

For those who have decided to get health insurance anyway, it has been determined that the new so-called Long Stay Visa Insurance Polices being offered by a handful of Thai insurance company's do not provide Free Choice of Hospitals, meaning they primarily use State Hospitals due to the much lower cost. Anyone considering one of these polices needs to be aware of this. There are much better alternatives.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Undaunted »

Dodger, I wish the above conversation had taken place after July 1, as this is the date set to begin the new rule!
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by 2lz2p »

Dodger wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:39 am MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE

In summary, it doesn't matter what type of visa you had when you retired (O-A or O). If you are currently retired in Thailand and have at least one Extension of Stay stamp in your passport no proof of insurance is required at present.
You currently do not need health insurance if you entered on an O-A visa and are applying for your first one year extension of stay. As noted by the Ministry of Public Health official in the initial announcement, it will be at least until July before any requirement is imposed (this also goes for applying for the O-A Visa from a Thai Embassy/Consulate in your country of residence). The MoPH Official stated that although the Cabinet had approved a requirement for health insurance for O-A Visa applicants and renewal (?? this has been unanswered question since the announcement since there is no such thing as a renewal of an O-A Visa - the question being will it also apply to those that entered Thailand on an O-A Visa and apply for an extension of stay or continued renewal of such extension), they still had to confer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (govern the issuance of O-A Visas by Thai Embassies/Consulates) and Immigration (governs extensions of stay) to work out the details of implementation. He expected it to be put in place in July.

As to health insurance -- good advice re the Government Hospital provision in policies of Thai companies that are linked from Thai Embassies/Consulates as offering such insurance (a health insurance from a Thai company is required for applicants for the O-X Visa) - the link having also been included in numerous message boards when commenting on the health insurance requirement expected for the O-A Visa. However, the MoPH Official in his initial announcements mentioned a minimum cover for the health insurance, but stated it could be from a non-Thai Insurance company - if I recall correctly, he also said they would have to work out what may be needed if the expat could not acquire health insurance (e.g., age, health condition).
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Undaunted »

All these replies are rubbish till we see what happens to anyone applying for a 1 yr extension after JULY 1 :!:
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Dodger »

Zlz2p wrote:
The MoPH Official stated that although the Cabinet had approved a requirement for health insurance for O-A Visa applicants and renewal (?? this has been unanswered question since the announcement since there is no such thing as a renewal of an O-A Visa - the question being will it also apply to those that entered Thailand on an O-A Visa and apply for an extension of stay or continued renewal of such extension),

I have to disagree when you say there is no such thing as a renewal of an O-A visa because this is done all the time. I traveled to and from Thailand for years on an O-A visa which I renewed every year. I never requested or received an Extension of Stay until the time came for me to retire and live here full time.

Those who have O-A visa's, and those renewing their O-A visa's, are required to show proof of insurance beginning in July. Those who are currently retired on Extensions of Stay do not.

As far as your question: Will health insurance be required for those who enter Thailand on an O-A visa and request an Extension of Stay? My assumption would be yes, they will be required to have health insurance for the mere fact that they are holding an O-A visa. The line in the sand has been etched. Those with O-A must have it - those with EOS don't.

Once a person receives an Extension of Stay (EOS) for Retirement purposes, that EOS takes the place of the original visa. That EOS stamp you get in your passport is technically considered a type of visa. The fact that this is not clearly described in Thai visa literature has led to a lot of confusion.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Dodger »

Undaunted wrote:

All these replies are rubbish till we see what happens to anyone applying for a 1 yr extension after JULY 1.
I'm afraid I don't agree with that assumption for the mere fact that policy changes like this in Thailand don't start or stop on a dime like we would prefer. Nothing magic is going to happen on that July 1st date you keep mentioning. There will still be different immigration staff interpreting things differently, people talking in the media who don't know what they're taking about, different districts applying the same policies differently, and farang who don't know which way is up. None of this will disappear on July 1st.

You're either going to be on top of these changes and understand how they may effect you proactively, or just keep believing that everything will be as clear as crystal on that magic date. As they say in Thailand...Up2U.
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Re: Mandatory health insurance

Post by Undaunted »

Dodger, you have been a driving force on this thread and it is apparent you want to see theses changes as you want to see them, I stand bye what I’ve said before about you being in denial and as the government has stated these changes will begin as of July 1, at such time those that renew subsequent to that date will either be asked to show evidence of coverage or not so before you continue on this path why not wait till we see what happens then!
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