When it comes to health insurance for teachers in Thailand, there are a few important factors to consider, whether you are already here or still planning to come teach here.
People who come to teach in Thailand are often not sure how health insurance works, and honestly it can be a bit confusing because your employment situation can be completely different from that of another teacher.
Since you’ll be working here, it means that you’ll have a work permit and a social security card. In this article, I will discuss how Thai social security works when you get sick, the coverage, and the drawbacks.
I’ll also explain how some employers provide group insurance, which provides teachers with a small additional health insurance benefit.
Finally, I’d also like to discuss the advantages of purchasing your own personal health insurance while living in Thailand.
Hi, my name is Eim and I help arrange health insurance for teachers in Thailand. There is a lot I want to cover in this article, so let’s get into it.
Introduction to health insurance in Thailand
Health insurance is important in any country that you live in, and Thailand is no different. You may have heard that Thailand can be dangerous, and while that can be true, Thailand also has an excellent health care system with a modernized hospital network.
Most cities in Thailand have both public hospitals and private hospitals. As you may expect, public hospitals can be quite busy with longer queues, and private hospitals can be pricey. I’ll explain more about the differences later.
All foreign teachers who want to work legally in Thailand must have a work permit, and a standard requirement for the work permit is for your company to register you with the Social Security Office (SSO).
The benefit of social security is that it entitles the teacher to the same health benefits that Thais receive.
Article Highlights
- Public school teachers get Thai social security and the hospital benefit that it provides. However, this medical coverage is not always the best due to being limited to public hospitals. Private school teachers fall under different regulations and are usually not eligible.
- Not all teachers get employer group insurance, it really depends on your school. You can see this benefit as an additional perk if it is provided. If your school doesn’t provide it, don’t worry, that’s also very normal.
- Personal health insurance is something that most foreigners get when they stay in Thailand on a long-term visa (1 year+). Personal health insurance allows you to use private hospitals and receive treatment at a hospital that has better facilities, staff, and experts.
- At the end of this article, you can also read more about public vs private hospitals in Thailand.
Types of health insurance for teachers
There are three types of health insurance for teachers in Thailand, and all three provide quite unique benefits that help teachers pay for their medical expenses.
The three types are:
Social security and health insurance
When you come to work in Thailand as a teacher at a public school, your employer will apply for social security on your behalf with the Social Security Office (SSO).
Social security in Thailand is mandatory for a work permit, so if your employer doesn’t provide social security be careful it’s a red flag.
You can visit the Social Security website if you’d like to read in detail about all the social security benefits. Such as;
- Sickness and illness
- Maternity and child allowance
- Death
- Retirement
- Unemployment
On the SSO website, you can change the language to English and read more about the Social Security Fund under the Benefits and Compensation menu heading.
However, in this article I’ll focus more on the health insurance benefits in the Sickness and illness section.
First of all, in Thailand when people get sick they go to the hospital, not a private doctor (GP) at a separate office like many western countries do.
When you receive your social security card, you’ll also be provided with “some” free health coverage at Thai hospitals.
Before I explain you should understand how the different medical expenses in Thailand work. Let me explain.
In Thailand, you have out-patient treatment (OPD) and in-patient treatment (IPD), which are different types of medical expenses at a hospital. Insurance policies will provide different amounts of OPD and IPD coverage.
Basically, if you are feeling sick and you go to a hospital you’ll be checked by a doctor, given some medication, and sent home. This is a good example of out-patient treatment.
However, if the doctor diagnoses that you are very sick and you need to stay a night or more at the hospital, then that is in-patient treatment.
But why does this matter? It’s because using social security for sickness usually covers outpatient expenses (at public hospitals) with a maximum 700-1000 baht per night room rate for in-patient expenses.
Later in this article, I’ll give you some examples of cases I’ve had where my customers claim for accidents, so that you can better understand some of the costs involved if you get sick.
Advantages of Thai social security
Overall, having social security is an advantage and as a teacher you can be happy that the Thai government allows foreigners to be part of the fund.
The advantages are:
- Cover for out-patient treatment
- Affordable health coverage
- Additional benefits
1: Cover for out-patient treatment
This is your day-to-day hospital expenses, such as a doctor’s diagnosis, medicine, nurses fees, and hospital fees. If you are someone who goes to the hospital regularly for less serious problems, then having social security will save you a lot of money.
2: Affordable health coverage
In comparison normal health insurance, social security provides quite affordable health coverage.
Social security will cost you 5% of your salary.
The maximum amount can be 750 baht a month, and is deducted from your salary by your employer. Besides health insurance, having social security has additional benefits as well, so it’s well worth the price.
3: Additional benefits
One very nice thing about social security is that it also has some benefit coverage, although limited, that even major insurers don’t offer. For example, there is a small dental benefit, free health checkups, a child allowance, and maternity benefits.
Many insurers in Thailand don’t even include these types of benefits, and those that do are usually too expensive.
Disadvantages of Thai social security
The disadvantages of Thai social security aren’t meant to imply that having social security is bad, but rather that it’s lacking some important health benefits or perks.
The disadvantages are:
- Limited choice of preferred hospital
- Queue time
- Waiting time for treatment
- Doctor expertise
- Hospital room experience
1: Limited choice of preferred hospital
The Social Security Office (SSO) will assign a hospital to you. Your residence is taken into consideration and you will be assigned a primary hospital nearby. When you visit your primary hospital, your expenses will be paid directly by the SSO.
If you have an accident and are in critical condition, you will need to make a decision. If you go to a hospital not assigned to you by the SSO, you will have to pay for any medical expenses first and try to reclaim them later from the SSO.
While you may consider this just an inconvenience, for some people it can cause problems while living in Thailand.
For example, if you decide to go traveling around Thailand or go on holiday and you get very sick or get into an accident. If you are in critical condition with Thai social security you’ll be sent to the nearest hospital and have to pay for your expenses out of pocket first.
With some help it is possible to change your preferred hospital once a year, but the reality is that the hospital you want to change to can be considered full and not available to choose from. This is usually the case with good hospitals.
2: Queue time
Public hospitals have very long queues, and it’s advised to go very early in the morning.
It really depends on the hospital and the day that you go, but it’s very easy to queue for at least three hours. After you see the doctor you need to queue again to get medicine and to clear the bill. It will probably take the whole day, so you might have to apply for a sick day from your school.
But what about private hospitals? Some private hospitals can be selected for social security to accept patients with social security, however, the hospital separates you from paying customers.
But what about private hospitals? Some private hospitals can be selected by social security to accept patients with social security, however, the hospital separates you from paying customers.
In private hospitals, social security patients have their own “wing” where you also have to queue with other social security patients.
Unfortunately, the process can take just as long as public hospitals, so come prepared.
3: Waiting time for treatment
So let’s say you finally see the doctor, and he or she says that you need to come back for either a day surgery, minor surgery (like a biopsy), or an operation.
Because public hospitals are so busy, there is almost always a long wait time to get treated.
You may have to wait weeks for a simple surgery or sometimes months to use more specialized equipment.
I have a customer who had to wait four months at a public hospital to use their MRI machine. He also only got the appointment because someone had cancelled and opened up a slot.
4. Doctor expertise
Maybe you don’t mind waiting, but doctor expertise is something you should consider.
Thailand has very good doctors but like with any occupation, the most skilled doctors and nurses move to hospitals with a better work environment and pay.
Social security hospitals also have so many patients that doctors are often rushed, or they tend to postpone treatment or diagnoses.
5. Hospital room experience
As I mentioned earlier, staying over at a hospital is an in-patient expense (IPD). The social security room rate is 700–1000 baht, depending on the type of hospital.
Is this enough? Mostly, but only because you’ll be staying in a large shared room. You might have to pay extra, depending on your assigned social security hospital.
But do you want to stay in a shared hospital room in Thailand?
That will completely depend on you, but from my experience, sick or injured people usually want to get a private room.
Just note that:
- Throughout the night the nurses will come check on your vitals and take your blood pressure. However, you will be disturbed less in a private room.
- With a private room you’ll also have your own bathroom and facilities.
- It will have a couch where friends or family can stay with you over night.
- Social security hospitals don’t have many private rooms available.
So even if you don’t mind paying extra for a private room, you usually don’t have the option. This is a big drawback for a social security hospital.
Employer group insurance benefit
Some employers in Thailand, schools included, sometimes like to offer group insurance for their employees.
Companies do this as an additional perk to employment, but they don’t have to offer it so not all schools will offer it to you.
What is group insurance?
Group insurance is when a company in Thailand arranges insurance for all their qualifying employees to receive an insurance benefit.
The group insurance policy may include health insurance, critical illness insurance, and life insurance.
- Not all companies get group insurance because it is not a mandatory requirement from the government.
- Therefore not all employees will be offered group insurance.
The company will arrange the group insurance with an insurance agent representing a health and life insurer in Thailand.
If your company provides group insurance you can speak to someone in HR to learn more about the specific benefits on the group insurance plan purchased by your company.
Group insurance benefits
As mentioned above, the group insurance benefits include anything from health to life insurance.
As a health insurance benefit, it may cover a limited amount of outpatient and inpatient medical expenses. The exact amount of the benefit will depend on the insurance plan that the company chooses.
Just as an example, the group insurance plan may allow you to claim up to 1,500 baht in OPD expenses and 40,000 baht in IPD expenses per year. Again, it can be more or less depending on the plan your employer purchases.
Sometimes group insurance also has a critical illness (CI) benefit. A critical illness is something like cancer, a heart attack, stroke, MS, Alzheimer’s disease, disability etc.
The big difference between regular health insurance and critical illness insurance is that if you get a critical illness, you will get a once-off payment, or lump-sum payment as they call it in Thailand. The exact amount will vary depending on the group insurance plan.
You can read more about critical illness coverage on our AIA CI SuperCare.
Are pre-existing conditions covered by group insurance?
Usually, customers who have pre-existing conditions may be denied health insurance or have the condition excluded.
Although with group insurance, the insurer is sometimes more lenient and may not be so bothered if you have a pre-existing condition. But this really depends and varies from case to case.
If you have a minor pre-existing condition, I would really not worry about it. However, if it is serious I would definitely recommend speaking to the insurance agent about it.
Serious conditions often require on-going medication, so it’s not something that should be withheld when your company applies for you.
Is group insurance enough coverage?
If you work as a teacher in Thailand then luckily your OPD expenses are covered by social security.
In addition, you can use your group insurance OPD allowance at other hospitals that are within the insurer’s hospital network.
This is because you need to stay over at the hospital, sometimes for many days, and your normal OPD expenses aren’t covered anymore.
For example, even if your group insurance pays 50,000 baht IPD per year, one serious illness or accident can set you back much more.
I’m not trying to scare you, but to pay for a big operation with a surgeon and a few nights stay can cost over 200,000 baht easily. Cancer treatment alone can cost more than one million baht in Thailand.
With social security you get very little IPD coverage, so at least with the group insurance IPD benefit it definitely helps. Group insurance IPD also doesn’t limit you to only one public hospital as social security does.
But why work in Thailand as a teacher without proper health insurance coverage?
Most foreigners living in Thailand struggle with the same problem. This is why long-term expats turn to non-government Thai health insurance providers to fill the gap in their health insurance coverage.
Personal health insurance
We’re finally at the third type of health insurance coverage for teachers.
Personal health insurance in Thailand is a very large industry, and there are many different insurers offering a range of policies.
In this section I’ll discuss:
- The cost of a good health insurance policy
- Choose a comfortable hospital
- Where to buy personal health insurance,
- And other benefits of arranging your own health insurance.
Buy a good health insurance policy, not the cheapest.
Health insurance in Thailand is not like travel insurance where you just look for the cheapest policy and think that it will have you covered.
A cheap insurance policy will exclude important benefits or provide limited expense coverage. You can look at the hospital you want to go to and check their rates online to get an idea of the medical expense coverage that you need.
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer that I can give you, such as pay this or that amount. Everyone has different incomes and expenses.
There are so many different health insurance policies available in Thailand, and each has different plans with different benefits.
If you are not sure what to get, the best advice I can give you is to start looking for an insurance policy based on your teacher’s salary. For instance, some teachers work at public schools while others work at private or international schools.
Also, buy enough based on how important it is to you personally. If you think that you may be at higher risk of an accident or illness, then get more. If not, then less. But always make sure that you have something to cover for IPD expenses.
After three months in Thailand your travel insurance will end, and you don’t want to be stuck in Thailand without proper healthcare.
I think that after understanding the differences between public and private hospitals in Thailand, you’ll see the importance of having personal health insurance for a private hospital.
Private hospitals just have so many benefits.
It is very likely that your assigned social security hospital won’t have the expert doctors you want or, in some cases, the specialized equipment to properly diagnose an illness.
Health insurance providers, such as AIA Thailand, have a large hospital network across Thailand, which includes private hospitals and clinics.
Clinics are sometimes more convenient to go to because they can be less crowded, and they are easier and faster to access for a quick diagnosis or check-up.
So with your own personal health insurance, you’ll have more freedom to choose the medical facility you want, which is one less thing to worry about.
Where to buy personal health insurance
Before I offer a few suggestions, I’d like to suggest you read my article on finding the best health insurance in Thailand. It’s a long read, but it explains many factors that you’ll need to consider.
I personally work as an AIA agent for a company called AIA Thailand. They are the largest life insurer in Asia and have a very large market share in Thailand.
While there are quite a few products I can offer, for teachers working in Thailand I usually recommend either the AIA Health Happy or Health Saver.
AIA Health Happy
This is AIA’s best value for money mid-tier health insurance policy. It covers IPD treatment, as-charged, and has plans starting at 1 million baht, up to 25 million baht. If your salary permits, I would definitely recommend having a look at this plan.
AIA Health Saver
I would recommend the AIA Health Saver to teachers with a slightly lower disposable income because it still offers great value and covers IPD treatment as charged from 200,000 to 500,000 baht, depending on the plan you choose.
AIA Personal Accident Insurance
An alternative to health insurance is the AIA personal accident insurance. The health insurance above will include accident insurance, but if you are a very active person, like to explore Thailand, or you ride a motorbike, I would strongly suggest having personal accident insurance.
Personal accident insurance is affordable, and it only costs a few thousand baht for a full year. The medical expense cover is between 40,000 – 100,000 baht and it also includes some other benefits such as disability or death.
Other benefits of arranging your own health insurance
When you arrange your own health insurance, it is independent from your employer and can benefit you in quite a few ways.
Such as:
- If you change schools, your personal health insurance goes with you.
- If you leave your school, you lose the group insurance. But you won’t lose your personal health insurance.
- With personal health insurance, you have an agent who you can directly ask questions to.
- Unlike social security and group insurance, you can use your personal health insurance expense as an income tax deduction.
- You are in control of the type of cover you have, and you can adjust or reduce it anytime you want.
- You have peace of mind knowing that while you work in Thailand, you can afford proper care at a private hospital.
The last point is probably the most important benefit because it will affect you the most. It is so important that in the next section I will talk more about the differences between public and private hospitals in Thailand.
Public vs. private hospitals
If you have a serious accident or get a serious illness or disease, you want to go to a good hospital, right? You’re not alone, Thais and expats all feel exactly the same.
Everyone wants access to private hospitals because they are better in so many ways. For example, they have:
- English speaking staff and more English signage.
- Much better level of service and less waiting time.
- Modern hospital facilities and specialized equipment and machinery.
- Better qualified staff, experts, and specialists.
- Better medication and take home medicine.
- Clean, private, and comfortable hospital rooms.
The big disadvantage of using private hospitals is of course the much higher cost. All the nice benefits mentioned above come at a premium, and you will pay with either personal health insurance or cash out of your own pocket.
But here is an important tip. Not all private hospitals are so expensive. Some private hospitals, such as Bangkok Hospital, can be 2 to 3 times more expensive than other private hospitals. That’s a big difference!
Having an accident in Thailand
Thailand has the 5th highest traffic-related death rate in the world. The highest in Asia.
I would like to give some examples of my customers who have had an accident in Thailand, so that you can get a better idea of how the hospital system works and some of the costs involved.
An example of a motorcycle accident
Not long ago, a motorcycle struck one of my expat customers who was walking on the street. He wanted a good doctor, so he decided to go to a private hospital instead of a public one. But because he stayed over at a private hospital, he now had to pay himself. The expenses that he was charged for included a room charge and food for two nights, medicine, doctors, nurses, and hospital fees. Luckily, the accident wasn’t too serious. He was charged just over 10,000 baht a day, so 20,000 baht total. He was also lucky because he had some extra insurance that paid for his CT scan.
An example of a fall
I have another customer who fell one day and broke her collarbone. After a diagnosis, she found out that she had to have surgery for a replacement implant. She didn’t want to go to a public hospital, so she went to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, which is a very good private hospital in Chiang Mai with many specialists. After her surgery she had to recover for three days. When she inquired how much everything would cost, the hospital told her to prepare 400,000 baht. But when she was discharged, she was happy to find out that they only charged her 210,000 baht.
An example of an illness
Sometimes an illness can come just as fast as an accident. This is a personal case that happened when my father’s memory started to get worse. He is Thai and has social security, so I took him to his assigned hospital near our house in Bangkok. The public hospital doctor couldn’t make a diagnosis at all and just said to come back every few months. My father’s memory got worse, and we urged the doctor to get a CT scan. However, after the CT scan the doctor still couldn’t give us a diagnosis or any medicine to help. After another 8 months of no treatment from the public hospital doctor, we decided to take him to a private hospital that also specializes in Alzheimer’s and neurology. They performed a bunch of tests, such as blood tests, eye sight, movement, and memory. The doctors and nurses were extremely helpful and even taught us how to deal with the situation back at home. We were so happy that something was finally being done. Later we had to pay for an MRI scan which cost 12,000 baht, but then finally the doctor could prescribe some medicine to slow his mental deterioration. Besides the tests, the general visits to the private hospital cost around 2,000 baht OPD per visit plus the medication, all of which we had to pay ourselves.
From the examples above, I wanted to demonstrate how having an accident or getting an illness in Thailand can be quite a difficult experience. It can be both traumatic and costly.
Costly because when you have an accident, you’ll most likely want to get the best treatment possible, and unfortunately in Thailand that means having enough to go to a private hospital.
But the good news is that the process doesn’t have to be difficult. Read more in the next section.
Getting help from an agent
As an AIA agent I’ve helped many foreigners with their insurance and helped support them when they got sick or injured.
Let me explain how it works.
As I mentioned earlier in the article, in Thailand you can buy insurance through a broker or agent. Brokers can be helpful when comparing different insurers, but agents play more of a supportive role.
When you get sick, agents can help you with:
- Finding a nearby hospital
- Booking and checking you in at the hospital
- Speaking with the staff (in case they don’t speak English)
- Completing hospital forms
- Submitting claims
- Arranging follow-up appointments
- Following up with claims
Trust me the last thing you want to worry about when getting sick is stressing about forms and hospital expenses.
If you’d like to learn more about your insurance options, you can send me a message at any time. I know that all this insurance talk is a lot to take in, and good job on making it to the end of this long article.
In conclusion
If you are planning to come teach in Thailand, you should consider your health insurance situation and make a decision on whether it’s enough to cover you during your stay.
As a teacher, you’ll have social security which will provide you with general day-to-day hospital expenses. However, it doesn’t provide enough cover for serious accidents or illnesses that result in you having to stay overnight at a hospital.
Hospitals, especially private hospitals, can be extremely pricey and overpriced in Thailand. Nevertheless, foreigners still choose to pay for private hospitals because of their English speaking staff, facilities, and medical experts.
You can arrange your own personal health insurance with an agent. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it can be in line with the pay from your teacher’s salary.
If you ever plan to work as a teacher Thailand I’d be happy to advise you on different health insurance policies from AIA Thailand.
