Pattaya – Swede With Heart Disease Thrown In Thai Prison: Overstay In Paradise

Via: ThaiVisa

Kent Melmblom, 52, got heart problems when he was in Thailand and was hospitalized. So long that his tourist visa in Thailand run out. Then began the worst 12 days of his life.

- I never thought that Thailand could be so dangerous, says Kent Melmblom.

Kent Melmblom from Stockholm rented a house in the town of Pattaya southeast of Bangkok, when he got a chest pain and was admitted to Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya.

When Kent Melmblom was discharged from the hospital, knew that his visa expired. One week after discharge, he went to the police station in Pattaya for advice.

But he did not receive any help – he was arrested on the spot.

- I was thrown into a detention cell. There was one person there. During the night it had been filled with other inmates, 67 people pressed together in five by five meters, said Kent Melmblom.

Chained with other The day after he was brought to justice. He was sentenced to pay 2000 Baht, 480 Swedish crowns, and would be
released within one hour.

- It sounded reasonable.

But Kent Melmblom was not released. Outside the hall was instead a group of policemen waiting for him.

- I was handcuffed, shackled and chained with a lot of prisoners and taken to a cell. I had to live under terrible circumstances, he
says. He was forced to pay another 1800 Baht, but not released. Went lost 16 kg weight.

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Actually it gets worse -  you can read the rest HERE:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/495340-swede-with-heart-disease-thrown-in-thai-prison-overstay-in-paradise/

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personal note:

I know of foreigners who were in a hospital here in Chiang Mai, and the Hospital Administration co-ordinated with Immigration to sort out the visa issue.

Now, why something couldn’t have been done in Pattaya, don’t know.

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U.S. – healthcare has doubled in the last decade

Via: Huffington Post

U.S. healthcare is so expensive that records are broken even when cost increases slow.

According to a new report by Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, the total cost of healthcare for the average family of four, if covered by a preferred provider organization, is now a now a record $19,393.

Trends over the last decade more completely illustrate the toll taken on the average American by rising healthcare costs.

“In 2002, American families had healthcare costs of $9,235, and those costs have now doubled in fewer than nine years,” said Lorraine Mayne, Milliman principal and consulting actuary, in a press release. “As costs continue to gr ow
– and even as the cost trend decelerates — the total cost of care for American families constitutes a larger and larger portion of the household budget.”

Of that $1,319 increase, employers were paid for 48.6 percent of the increase, while the additional 51.6 percent was the responsibility of employees.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/16/us-healthcare-costs-double-report_n_862677.html

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In Thailand:

- I have full coverage, and I STILL pay less than my employee contribution was in 2006.

- In the U. S., without the ‘employer contribution’, private insurance is prohibitively expensive.

- Yes, the premiums have gone up in Thailand, but when you start so low, . . .

- And when I say full, I mean FULL: hospital, physician, and meds.

- NO deductibles, NO denile of services, and NO paperwork hassle.

- It’s good for emergency care, outside of Thailand.

- Because I joined before turning 60, I am covered for life; that’s right, I know, my life.

“Every day in every way, it’s getting better, and better, and better”