What should we do about healthcare and medical insurance when moving to Thailand on a retirement visa with pre-existing conditions?

The only pre-existing condition of blood pressure prevented me from getting any health insurance in Thailand.

Just get a dtv visa and self insure. Assuming you have sufficient funds to support yourself? We all know insurance can be difficult to claim on.

Apply for a non o visa in Thailand which doesent require insurance. Come in on a 90 day and then do the 12 Month retirement extension when in Thailand.

However there is always a risk that government may change the rules at some stage to make insurance mandatory.

No insurance company in their right mind will insure you for the pre-existing conditions. They are a business not a charity. Any company who does insure you for these is probably a scam business, otherwise everyone will be sponging off the insurance companies to get there existing conditions sorted for "free"

Use government hospitals - some have special clinics - a little more expensive but less waiting. I use them all the time and get excellent treatment here in Chiang Mai for muscular dystrophy, migraines and heart check-ups after stent insertion 20 years ago. - as a safeguard I also have what, at 83 years old, is very expensive insurance which I only use in emergencies such as a knee replacement some years ago or cataract removal with multifocal implants.

I am not sure if health insurance will cover all health problems that you already have before buying insurance. It's normally exclude.

Fake account 🙄

I have looked into this quite extensively for our business and spoken to numerous national and international insurance companies regarding these situations. It is sad to say but it most likely will simply not work. I am not sure where you are from but you will end up spending a fortune here on self insuring with those kind of pre-existing conditions. If you are from the US it is most likely better to stay and use medicare/medicaid.

Even the higher end medical insurance companies who will even talk to you with pre-existing conditions, will use exclude any payment for ANYTHING relating to said conditions, and they are insurance companies.... and with that many issues, they will find a way to exclude almost anything.

Unless you have I dont know how many millions of baht saved up to self insure, even then its still a gamble.

You can buy health and from America for over sea

They won't cover pre existing medical conditions. And probably won't payout on things that could be potentially be linked to those pre existing conditions. If you have an accident they will probably pay out. If you are.looking for a policy for visa reasons, get the cheapest and except that covers accident and yourself, but except that you are going to have to self fund for your husbands medical care.

Try SBC

Best doctors CHOOSE to work in Bangkok, at a push Chiang Mai or Khon Kaen because of medical universities. Do not believe what you read. Shiny expensive hospitals do NOT mean doctor competence. I know countless people who died, because they 'assumed' competence. There are some brilliant doctors in Thailand. 90% of them teach (hence medical universities). If your thinking of some idyllic island, forget decent Healthcare, they have to get you to Bangkok. Incidentally even places like Bumrungrad are substantially cheaper than the tourist resort hospitals. I would choose where to live based on accessibility to Bangkok personally.

All pre-existing conditions will be excluded. Looking at your list ...

The Healthcare here is outstanding. Regarding insurance, there is no ACA type law requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. You can get coverage and it will either include medical exclusions, be more expensive, or both. Or as others have commented you can get whatever coverage you can and self insure for everything else.

Try Cigna they offer insurance over seas. We had a meeting with them.

If you want to move, move to Canada.

Same language and our Healthcare is free.

🇨🇦

Honestly you are in a bind here. I think with that list of preexisting conditions you will not find an insurance company who will take it on...

Medical insurance is all about risk management.. And you fall right in the High risk catagory

I looked at this some time ago. With T2 they excluded heart attack stroke kidney liver and eye and a few other things and wanted 60k per year. I could not see the value from this and take out regular accident insurance. Bangkok Pattaya have a good diabetes clinic which is not expensive and meds are cheap over the counter. Extra bllod work if required is also cheap from many clinics around town.

You can pretty much forget a reular health policy.

As an American with a preexisting condition I found it easier to just self insure. Before I moved here I saved $50,000 for any future problems. Since healthcare here is th of what the US would be things can easily be covered. Also I didn't come here as a overweight farang, that helps as well.

Pre existing conditions, will this be an issue in the Philippines or other neighboring countries?

Are you looking at the OA visa that requires mandatory insurance? Do you know about the O visa that doesn't require insurance?

Hi. I'm 77, originally from California, and I've been living in Thailand for over 40 years now. I have the same problem with insurance. I finally canceled my insurance policy because everything I wanted them to cover, they would not cover. They said it was a preexisting condition, so I just canceled it. Now I go to the government hospital at Chula Longhorn, and I pay their fees, which are quite reasonable.

In the event I need something serious, like a knee replacement—I had one a year ago—I go to India, which is only two and a half hours away. In India, the cost of medical treatment is about 10 to 20 or 30 times less than in Thailand, and you get very quick care. The price of medicines is at least 80 to 90% less than in Thailand. A flight to India costs a couple of hundred dollars, and the savings are made up very easily. At least that's what I'm doing now.

For an emergency, obviously, I have to go to a hospital. But I'm going to Chula Longhorn Hospital, which is first class in every way—expert doctors, beautiful facilities, and prices that are a fraction of what they are in the private hospitals.

Health Insurance policy usability depends on the verdict of the underwriter investigation of your medical history. The exclusion list of non-coverage for many will shock them, especially when the premium is so high and it’s possible only half of you is covered! The insurance companies don’t want to lose money. Many older expats go the ‘self-insured’ path when they see what their true coverage is and cancel it.

Get Non-O Visa in order to be self insured.

Here’s a good broker that can advise you.

Get the AXA O A Insurance

Worth talking to these guys



Give the mobile number a try and Mark will answer your queries. Not 100% sure he can help but definitely worth a shot

Best to self ensure with pre-existing conditions - probably best option. And then find a good hospital - does not need to be private …

My opinion. Basic Healthcare is cheap in Thailand. Try getting a major med policy with a large deductible. 50,000 to 1 million. Pay most expenses out of pocket and still be covered for a major amount

Come if its way cheaper than your home country, but good care here is expensive and the other things to factor in is that if you go private you will be billed for everything, and they will insist on many check ups and strict protocols, all of which bump up the care. Its a way of milking the cash cow, yes you are healthier, and yes the care is first class, but its overkill . Of course if you ignore that...you are in trouble with your insurers anyway, so anything that goes wrong they won't pay for, and if you do follow the rules and have every check up and medication they suggest...they will bump up premiums again.

Nobody will give warranty on something that is already broken

High risk liability don't bother !

Does in Thailand mean Thai Insurance or Insurance bought somewhere else for Thailand? The two things are very different. For instance early age cut-off alone is normal in Thai policies. Bought elsewhere much older is normalised, even no end age in some cases. I just chose the easy one. Pre-existing conditions is much more variable and complex, including overseas supplied/purchased policies that require no health declarations but are initially inoperative for whatever stated period from the outset of the policy, meaning payment.

i have diabetes, insulin dependent , ptsd , cognitive issues from septic shock. clinical depression and now an enlarged prostate, so i have inpatient cover with wr life , they have a three year moratorium on complications caused by pre existing conditions and insures upto 99 years of age. look for mike connolly or his facebook is expat Mike, i manage my pre existing conditions by the government hospital, all the doctors etc speak english and it’s far cheaper than paying in a private hospital, yes you have to wait 2-3 hours but the care is excellent, far better than the nhs , medications aren’t expensive nor are tests and checkups.

look at getting a nomad insurance policy true traveller it covers you for travelling and you can get 18 months immediately then just keep renewing

The only option I can think of is getting basic insurance that won’t include your pre-existing conditions and pay out of pocket for services you’ll need. While it’s much cheaper than the US, for example, I’m not sure that it’ll be affordable for you considering you’ll be required to prepay for any service needed. Good luck in your search

Not knowing which country you come from I'd try your own country first. Thailands health insurance industry is something I wouldn't want to deal with.

without wanting to be negative but you will never get any health insurance with that many pre-existing conditions. Even when you do with exclusions, the combined total of these conditions will 99% of the time result in a denial of payment due to one or more pre-existing conditions. You have two options for your husband; 1. self insure and have 5 million THB in a safe place for medical treatment or 2. if you still maintain healthcare in your home country, return there for treatment.

Your best bet will be to buy the cheapest policy you can from axa and then self insure. Insurance isn't going to cover pre existing conditions in Thailand. Get the visa then cancel the policy and use the money you save by not buying expensive insurance to self insure.

Put yourself in the insurers shoes ... Would you give someone insurance with all those health issues.

They are in business to make money ... Not subsidize someones health pmts. Pretty clearly you are going to claim a lot. On the other hand most don't claim until something unexpected happens. I suspect they will exclude all pre conditions or your premiums will be massive.

I doubt you can get coverage for pre existing conditions here

Any insurance would rob you of 1,000 US$ a month and even excluding pre existing conditions.

Do you already have a Visa for Thailand

& in Thailand ?

If you are applying from home country looking at a Non-OA Visa - they require health insurance selected & organised at the time of application, before leave home country

If you apply for a Non-O Visa , there is no pre required of purchasing Health Insurance as part of the Visa - that can be done once you arrive in Thailand & is your own choice

How old is your husband??

On the bright side medical care is probably about 10 percent of what you are paying now ... its top quality with no waiting involved

Plenty of options but with health insurance in Thailand preexisting conditions are normally excluded. With so many is it even worth looking at insurance?