{"id":1378,"date":"2013-09-13T12:17:41","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T12:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drprem.com\/medical-tourism\/?p=1378"},"modified":"2013-09-27T12:44:41","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T12:44:41","slug":"impact-of-compulsory-travel-cover-on-thailands-medical-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drprem.com\/medical-tourism\/impact-of-compulsory-travel-cover-on-thailands-medical-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of compulsory travel cover on Thailand\u2019s medical tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thailand\u2019s Ministry of Public Health is soon to set up an official medical mediator group. This group would ensure to settle bill payment disputes in which foreigners are involved. The disputes are usually between medical travelers and hospitals in Thailand. The group to solve these disputes would include medical representatives and experts from various private and public healthcare organizations and institutions. There would also be subcommittees to take care of technical and financial issues. Other experts could be included in this group on a case-to-case basis.<\/p>\n

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Considering various financial and medical aspects, the proposed group would review opinions and conduct negotiations. The ministry is also considering meeting international standards in medical dispute settlement so it can give a push to medical tourism in Thailand. However, medical tourism can take a turn in any direction, with Thailand likely to make it compulsory for medical tourists to have a travel insurance cover before entering the country. This is basically the result of huge unpaid bills at various public hospitals at major medical tourism destinations like Phuket. These unpaid bills are leaving these hospitals cash-strapped.<\/p>

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The ministry feels that forming a dispute settlement group would manage the concerns regarding unpaid bills by foreign travelers. These bills are costing around 200 million baht to the country on an annual basis. In fact, the country has been hugely supporting a large number of medical tourists who are either unable to pay for the services or do not have insurance covers. Phuket\u2019s public health office states that it has become an obligation to treat medical tourists, whether they are capable to pay or not. While those with an insurance cover are treated on an urgent basis, those without an insurance cover are referred to public hospitals.<\/p>\n

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The major solution that the ministry finds is to have medical tourists buy an insurance cover of about 500 baht each. The applicability of this insurance cover for medical tourists is yet to be decided. While the proposal has been backed strongly by some foreign embassies, certain tourism business operators suggest that it could damage medical tourism in Thailand or tarnish the country\u2019s image. The ministry might also think of seeking proofs of cover or arrange some travel insurance schemes like those followed in various other countries. After the compulsory travel cover is implemented, it would definitely be interesting to observe the future trends in medical tourism of Thailand.<\/p>\n

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