Employer Provided Health Insurance in Thailand?
To most westerners, provisions for medical insurance are considered as much a part of employment as a salary. And, to the most part, schools here in Thailand that are recruiting native-English speakers do offer some basic type of medical coverage – or so they say in their job advertisements. However, discussions with my colleagues (who have many more years of experience teaching in Thailand) seem to indicate that problems of employers providing inadequate insurance options are a lot more common than not.
Admittedly, costs of healthcare here are much, much lower than what I’m used (in the US). However, this is Thailand -- the bird flu threat, dengue fever, and, of course, the dreaded maniac motorcycle taxis. Also, more and more teachers (especially in the rural government schools) are nearing their “golden years” and would likely feel a lot more comfortable having a bit more assurance about their insurance.
One “tactic” that some schools like to use is the “offering” of the Thai-worker insurance card. Administered by the Thailand Ministry of Labor, medical benefits include medical examination and treatment, hospitalization, medicines, ambulance fees, rehabilitation, and other necessary expenses under the capitation system. However, the insured must register with a contracted hospital, and benefits are delivered by the hospital with which the insured is registered. Medical care outside this hospital can be sought in case of emergency and accident only, and costs are reimbursed according to fixed rates in this case. Cost for this program is 1.5% of your salary and it should be deducted from your paycheck.
A couple of downsides to this program:
- You have to register a hospital with your employer – and, depending where you live, it may not be the best one for any particular ailment that you might suffer. I lucked out – my building is right next door to a respectable hospital at the end of Silom.
- Coverage does not include medications, although drugs here aren’t ridiculously expensive as they are in the US.
- You’re not covered overseas – a real problem if, like me, you travel home pretty frequently.
So, what should you do if you find yourself in this “under-insured” situation? There are a several large, international insurance companies with Thai affiliates that offer packages specifically with the expat in mind. AIA (an affiliate of AIG) and BUPA Thailand are the ones that come to mind. If you’re already working here, you can stop by their local offices to pick up their expat info packet. Premiums are pretty low compared to elsewhere. However, one major problem with the local purchase of expat medical insurance is the inordinate number of coverage exclusions. One conspicuous omission in a BUPA policy: any accident resulting from you being a passenger or driver of a motorcycle taxi will only be covered for 50% of your expenses. Read the fine print to make sure you know what you’re getting into.
Of course, you could always purchase coverage before you get here. Most US and European insurance companies that offer basic coverage will also sell you travelers insurance or long-term, overseas insurance. Goodhealth
is a British company that caters directly to expats (any nationality, not just British), but its nearest Southeast Asian offices are in Hong Kong and Jakarta, though you can purchase coverage online for virtually any country. For Americans, an excellent option would be Travel Guard
, with travel insurance plans starting at US$30, that offer coverage for trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays, emergency medical expenses, lost baggage and more.
You could also use one of these multi-company comparison quote services: Netquote.com and HealthInsuranceSavings.com both offer free, no obligation, online quotes.
Working LEGALLY in Thailand -- Visas and Work Permits
Getting a work permit needed to work in Thailand legally can turn out to be an adventure on its own. If you find a job with a reputable school, it should be absolutely no problem, as long as you provide the necessary legitimate documents. You will undoubtedly hear of the so-called “visa run”, in which teachers (or any foreign employee, for that matter) need to actually leave the country every 90 days in order to re-enter the country with a fresh tourist visa. This is technically illegal, although many schools (or should I say MOST), in their desperation to fill positions with “native speaking” teachers, do resort to this tactic.
Anyway, if you’re a genuinely certified teacher, from a genuinely English-speaking nation, there’s really nothing to worry about. This holds especially true if you end up at an international school (or at least a reputable one) as they typically hire a law firm or a visa/work permit specialist to deal with this.
Documents YOU will need to provide when YOUR EMPLOYER makes arranges for you to obtain your work permit:
- Copies of EVERY page of your passport, INCLUDING ANY BLANK VISA PAGES, with your signature on each page.
- Non-Immigrant Visa. This should be obtained before you enter the country.
- Departure Card TM.6 – when you most recently entered the country, this should have been stapled to one of the pages in your passport.
- A signed copy of your university degree.
- A signed copy of a your valid teaching certificate.
- CV or Resume detailing your past positions, duties, length and place of employment.
- Three (3) full-face pictures, 5x6 cm, wearing business attire. This is NOT a passport photo AND (believe it or not) you CANNOT be smiling (!) in the photo.
- If married to a Thai National, you will need the original and a signed photocopy of your Marriage Certificate. Include wife’s (or husband’s) Thai ID card, birth certificates of your children and your household registration.
Later, I’ll have a short write-up on the often confusing world of visa extensions, re-entry permits, 90-day reporting, etc.
"So you want to be a teacher?"
There is an article in the most recent Learning Post section of the Bangkok Post (one of Thailand's English newspapers) that provides excellent examples of why the teaching profession in this country is in the dire situation it finds itself in. As many current undergraduate students of education feel, teaching is considered "a tough, financially inferior profession and (the students) enter into training without any clear goal of actually becoming teacher."
On top of that "it remains unclear as to what direction teacher training is taking, as the country still lacks a central organization to monitor the overall production of teachers."
The article also points out the obvious shortage of math & science teachers, which is actually a
worldwide problem and not just a Thai one. In addition, Thailand lacks qualified (English) language teachers, especially in rural areas.
If you are even thinking about making the move here, take a look at this:
"So you want to be a teacher?" --
Bankok Post, 24-Jan-2006
It will give you an idea of what kind of system you are heading into.
Mid-Range to High-End Accommodations - Silom Area
My newest
IGoUGo.com journal has just been published!
On my t
our of the various accommodations available in the Silom area, I divided the group into two. Last week, I had published
Bangkok Budget Hotels - Silom Area. This evening, I just finished my journal
Bangkok Mid-Range to High-End Hotels -- Silom Area. Properties covered include the
Dusit Thani,
Sofitel Silom Bangkok,
Narai Hotel, along with a couple of serviced apartments: Saladaeng Colonnade and Saladang Place. I know I've missed a few properties and perhaps I'll go back to take care of them, time permitting.
Mr. Ray's 8th Grade Class
I was very lucky this year to have a reasonably small class -- just 13 in my 8th grade class and 15 in my 7th grade class.
Finding a decent place to live -- on a teacher's salary?
Before I moved to Bangkok, I was always under the impression that the cost of living here was, simply put, dirt cheap. With the average Thai salary substantially below 10,000 Baht/month, how could one expect the locals to survive if living costs weren't drastically lower than in the states? Why, then, does it seem that my fellow teachers are always "short on cash"? Well, like anywhere else in the world, how much it actually costs to live doesn't necessarily fall in line with the region's average cost of living. It obviously depends more on the spending habits and lifestyle of the individual, ie. what they're used to, what they're willing to sacrifice in terms of "western luxuries", etc. I suppose an English teacher at a government school making 30k to 40k B/mo could live pretty comfortably in Bangkok, depending on what you consider comfortable. But I could only guess. Though I certainly could survive on that salary, I'm too irresponsible, and perhaps a bit too spoiled, to actually consider that as an acceptable way of life.
So, what are the expenses that need to be considered? Well, let's take a look at the biggest one -- rent. I don't drive and I do not like long commutes, so I'm severely constrained in terms of location. Basicly, I need a place in town, in reasonably close proximity to the city's mass transit system (either the BTS or MRT). I'm single, but I still need space, so one of those 20 to 25 sq. meter studios just won't do. I need at least 40 sq. meters, preferably more, and preferably a one-bedroom rather than a studio. Finally, in terms of comforts, I need air conditioning and western plumbing (as in TOILET). Now for things that would be nice to have, but are NOT considered necessities. An in-house gym -- I'll settle for a decent gym within walking distance (no more than 5 minutes). Cable TV and internet (DSL) capabilities -- I don't really watch that much TV and, if I had to, I could always head to a nearby internet cafe. I also have internet access at school. Maid service -- ok, I know I should be able to clean up after myself. But if it's truly affordable (or if it comes with package), why not take advantage of it?
All these things considered, I actually found an okay place for the first half of the school year -- House by the Pond, on Soi Sainumthip 2, off Sukhumvit Soi 22. Positives? It was reasonably close to work, though I still had to take a taxi or motorcycle at least part of the way. It was a one-bedroom apartment, modestly furnished, with a kitchen area (no stove -- just a microwave and hot plate). And maid service daily. The setting was very nice, considering it's in the middle of the city -- a Thai water garden, with lots of greenery. Negatives? Mosquitos. I hate mosquitos. And, no matter how much I tried to explain to the maids, they simply would not CLOSE THE DOOR while they were servicing my apartment! Also, despite being one-bedroom, it was still quite small -- just 32 sq. meters. And the price. After doing some research, apartments of comparable size with comparable service in a comparable area were going for quite a bit less. Of course, when I had mentioned I was moving at the end of the year, management tried to coax me into staying by offering to lower my rent. But, there were a few other "minor" things that I just did not want to live with anymore: 1) The advertised "fitness room" was simply a cheap, rusted, broken-down Weider machine and a stationary bike; 2) No internet and the nearest cafe was more than a 5-minute walk away; and 3) The daily walk to/from Sukhumvit took me past an unbearably smelly area -- trash bins on both sides of the street, so it was unavoidable.
So, where am I now? Well, I was lucky enough to run across a condo at the State Tower at the end of Silom Road, owned by one of our school's office staff. Still considered a bit pricey compared to other places, I've accepted it as necessary in order to maintain my "modest" lifestyle. It's large enough for a single male -- 65 sq. meters -- and, though technically a studio, it has a divider that clearly seperates the living room from the bedroom, and a breakfast bar to seperate the living room from the fully-equipped kitchen. Walking out onto the balcony, I have an excellent view of the Bangkok skyline as well as the Chao Phraya River -- 350+ feet below! Currently, I'm actually staying on the 39th floor in a serviced apartment until the end of February. I then move into the condo described above, on the 32nd floor with the same floorplan and on the same side of the building as the one I'm in now. Needless to say, I LOVE THIS PLACE! So, can I afford this on a teacher's salary? Well ... let's put it this way -- after all the basic expenses (rent, food, transport, utilities, gym membership), I'll have about 30 to 35k Baht/mo. considered as "disposable income". It might not be a lot, but hey -- I really don't spend much on entertainment (ie. bars, side trips, fancy dinners, etc.). Besides -- I'm a teacher. Am I suppose to have a life outside of school?
State Tower -- photo taken from across the Chao Phraya River.
"No, I am NOT Thai ..."
As you can see from the picture, I'm not the your typical "farang" teacher -- I get mistaken for a local all the time! In fact, if I want to get away with all the lower prices that local Thais get, all I have to do is keep my mouth shut, or perhaps mumble what little Thai I do actually know.
Proud Contributor -- IGoUgo.com
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have this thing for touring and evaluating various points of interest, particularly hotel accommodations, etc. I eventually publish my experiences on the web in the form of "travel journals" via IGoUgo.com
.
My most recent journal,
Bangkok Budget Hotels - Silom Area, has just been published, so please check it out! I spent last weekend walking down Silom Road and was able to evaluate several budget hotels: Silom Plaza Hotel, Silom Village Inn, the Regent Silom, Suriwongse Hotel, and the Wall Street Inn. The last two are actually on Suriwong Road, a block north of Silom, but they're still considered within the Silom District. I also stopped by several mid-range to high-end properties: Holiday Inn Silom, Sofitel Silom Bangkok, the Narai Hotel, Dusit Thani, Pan Pacific Hotel, Saladaeng Colonnade, and Saladaeng Place. I'll let you all know when I'm done with these reviews.
The Big Move
Okay -- This is my first post so I'll make it short and sweet. Last July, I made my move to Bangkok after my 12-year stint as a physics teacher at Kapa'a High School. No need to explain the circumstances responsible for the move, but let's just say it was a "good" thing for all parties involved.
I was able to secure a decent-paying position at a relatively new international school her in Bangkok -- Wells International School -- teaching science to middle school students (grades 7 and 8) with the intention of moving on to higher levels as the school expands each year.
Well, one semester has gone by, so I'm a bit late on starting this blog -- but that's okay. The first few months weren't too eventful. Mostly getting adjusted to a new city, new culture, new school, new friends, new
everything. Homesick? You betcha! But that's life, and I've committed to making this work.
What do I plan to post here? That's easy -- READ THE BLOG'S TITLE! It's pretty much as simple as that, with my take on a variety of things that I've become involved in: the teaching environment here in Bangkok; my (limited) social life outside of school; my eventual travels
outside of Bangkok; and my rather unusual hobby of touring, photographing, evaluating, and ultimately writing reviews of anything that may be of interest to travellers visiting Bangkok (most notably any form of tourist accommodations -- hotels large & small, serviced apartments, etc.).
Anyway, if you've made it this far through my first post -- thanks for the visit, and by all means stop by again in the future. I promise try my best to keep this blog updated regularly. So, until next time,
sawatdee krup!
