Biking to Affordable Health Care in Thailand
David Gilmore of Tucson, Arizona urges Americans to ditch their overpriced health insurance and go to Thailand to get medical care, which he does regularly and affordably: "Join me on a little bike ride through Chiang Mai on the way to the hospital. I got a full day’s worth of medical and dental care for $172."
To supplement what you get at home, when you're already on vacation in Thailand? Great. But to replace your health insurance with, what? an annual trip to the hospital there? Not advisable. What happens when you have a heart attack? Cancer? Get hit by a bus? You're not covered, and suddenly you're hit with a bill for thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Or, you can't pay, so the rest of us wind up effectively paying for you. No, thanks. Absolutely silly advice.
Posted by: Victoria | December 16, 2008 at 08:36 AM
I'll let David reply (but since he's in Thailand don't know how long that will be). I will tell you that he cannot afford health insurance in the U.S., like 47 million other Americans. You and I have health insurance -- and good policies, at that -- because we can afford it. He doesn't, because he can't.
Posted by: Lisa Simeone | December 16, 2008 at 10:55 AM
What does he pay for airfare to Thailand?
Posted by: Joe Klein's conscience | December 16, 2008 at 06:50 PM
I think about 500 bucks. Again, if he gets a chance to log on here, I'm sure he'll let us know. Maybe it wasn't that low, but I remember being stunned at how low it was.
Posted by: Lisa Simeone | December 17, 2008 at 04:09 AM
Hi - I paide $1300 for my airfare. The prices may be coming down b/c of oil prices. But they're destined to go up ultimately. Still, the trip more than pays for itself. I have a great winter vacation - a month in a tropical place and I go home all patched up and fixed. I know it's not perfect b/c as we know, medical things arise daily. I expect that since I'm reasonably young (44) and I cycle for health, I will be able to compress morbidity toward the end of my life and thus I trust that I can go uninsured.
BUT, even if one IS insured, you have no guarantee that you will be covered. First you have your big deductible - usually way more than the cost of a trip to Thailand. Then you have the legal department of the insurance company working to deny your claims. I can no longer feed this failed system and if I end up run over by a car in America and need emergency care, I will perhaps end up in bankruptcy. It's a risk I'm willing to take.
I try not to live with the fear the insurance industry instills in order to keep them in business. And that's just it - health care really shouldn't be a "business" whose ultimate goal is its bottom line, not your health.
Posted by: David Gilmore | December 19, 2008 at 03:52 PM
Yo
How's it going fellaz?
I have a question thats been on my mind for a while.. What is acai berry?
I keep seeing commercials on tv and banners on the web so im finally beginnging to get curious.
I guess its some fruit that is very healthy for you and your skin?
I wouldnt mind losing a couple pounds so i kinda want to buy acai berry .. so if any
of you know any reputable online stores that would be awesome!
I also saw it was featured on OPRAH so maybe there is some truth to this lol.
Posted by: acaiberry | December 30, 2008 at 07:13 PM