Volume 14, Issue 17
16 - 31 May 2015
30 BAHT
What’s Inside:
Expats’ worst nightmare A
ccording to the leading British insurance brokers’ association, the most common fear of foreigners living abroad is their health. Younger and working expats can usually insure for private hospital care as it is paid for by their employer. But what happens when expats are in their 60s,70s and 80s and living in a country such as Thailand without the safety net provided by the European Union network? In greater Pattaya alone, there are thought to be around 40,000 expats, the majority from European countries, who are living here most or all of the year. Three-quarters are retirees and only a tiny proportion is covered by comprehensive medical insurance. This is partly because they have never been insured on the dubious belief that ill-health is something that happens to other people, or because their home-based insurer has raised their annual premiums beyond what they can afford. British expat Phil Summers, 75, said “The fear of long-term ill-health in Pattaya has made me seriously think about returning to the UK. But expats are not automatically able to register for the National Health Service and I have nobody and nothing to return to. Like many others here, I burned my boats years ago.” He has now registered at the new Pattaya City Hospital on Soi Buakhao, a public sector institution, because the pricing structures are much lower than at private hospitals. Continued on page 6