Cost of 17 Blood Tests in Thailand

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Haven't had a comprehensive physical exam since just before ER in fall of '08. Found the list of tests offered by the Bangkok Hospital group. Knew it would be a lot cheaper to have the blood tests done outside their marbled halls. It was.

Test	Baht	USD*
Alkaline	300	9.52
Bilirubin (Total, Direct)	200	6.35
BUN	100	3.17
CBC	150	4.76
Cholesterol (HDL, LDL, Tri., Total)	750	23.81
Creatinine	120	3.81
FBS	80	2.54
Free T4	300	9.52
GGT	300	9.52
HbA1C	500	15.87
SGOT	100	3.17
SGPT	100	3.17
Fecal occult blood	100	3.17
Protein (Total, Albumin, Globulin)	300	9.52
TSH	400	12.70
Uric Acid	100	3.17
Urine Exam	100	3.17
SUM	4000	126.98

Exchange rate used: 31.5 baht per USD.

The cost of the tests covered the fees for nurse, doctor and expendables. No ups, no extras. Also included the doc's interpretation, which lasted about 2 minutes because all my numbers were within acceptable range and I have no chronic conditions that warrant closer scrutiny.

Hua Hin has one of the highest costs of living in Thailand. No idea how that affects blood test costs.

 

[Leonidas]

I just had mostly the same blood work done at the beginning of December in Texas. If I had paid cash without an insurance discount it would have been $252. With the discount it was $25.75.

 

[MichaelB]

I just had mostly the same blood work done at the beginning of December in Texas. If I had paid cash without an insurance discount it would have been $252. With the discount it was $25.75.

That is about the same rate of price reduction we get with LabCorp.

 

[frank]

can anybody explain why there is so much of a discount if u have insurance, whether it covers the problem or not. I get some medications that are covered by insurance and some that are not. the ones that are not covered by insurance you still get a discount that would be cheaper than if you just paid cash.

 

[obgyn65]

As a clinician based mainly in the US, I would be curious to know the treatment used in Thailand.

Hua Hin has one of the highest costs of living in Thailand. No idea how that affects blood test costs.

 

[rescueme]

It just proves to me that I can't afford to live in Thailand ...

Much cheaper here, in the U.S. (speaking for me/DW)...

 

[zinger1457]

I just had my yearly physical and had full blood work done including most of what you listed plus PSA. The lab submitted a charge of $229, the insurance company paid $66. No cost for me.

 

[Nords]

Haven't had a comprehensive physical exam since just before ER in fall of '08. Found the list of tests offered by the Bangkok Hospital group. Knew it would be a lot cheaper to have the blood tests done outside their marbled halls. It was.

When I read the title of this thread I just thought you'd had a really, really, really interesting night in Soi Cowboy.

But... never mind.

31.5 baht. Damn. Was it just five or six years ago that it was pushing 40?

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

31.5 baht. Damn. Was it just five or six years ago that it was pushing 40?

Hasn't been 40+ since 2006. The dollar got weaker.

When the rate drops below 30 the Thai central bank defends the exchange rate because significant percentage of their exports to the US are price sensitive and could be easily sourced from other countries.

 

[Lancelot]

31.5 baht. Damn. Was it just five or six years ago that it was pushing 40?

It was

However, when I sold my well traveled Honda CZi, I was pleased to convert the proceeds- now only 30 Thai baht for one Yankee dollar

 

[Koolau]

can anybody explain why there is so much of a discount if u have insurance, whether it covers the problem or not. I get some medications that are covered by insurance and some that are not. the ones that are not covered by insurance you still get a discount that would be cheaper than if you just paid cash.

I'm not an expert on this subject (so this is a SWAG), but am aware that insurance companies negotiate prices with providers. That way, each provider has a good idea of how much business to expect in a given year and the insurance co. knows how to price their premiums. That way, for instance, a provider knows whether they need to buy another million dollar CT scanner or MRI machine instead of wait until they have folks standing in line. That way, a pharmacy knows how many pills it will need in a year and can negotiate with the drug companies for lower than THEIR base price. And round and round it goes. The larger the insurance company (heard of Medicare?) the better the discount they can demand from providers.

Each provider has a "base" (for want of a better term) price for every procedure. I would assume it is based on the cost of what it would cost if they could not count on another 100 folks needing that service in the same week (i.e., the economics of scale are taken out of the "base" price).

Unfortunately, this practice leads to a couple of anomalies: Those paying cash (who actually HAVE cash) pay the full, un-discounted base price. Those paying cash, who don't HAVE cash, pass the costs on to everyone else (through medicade, charity, write-offs, etc.) and that raises the negotiated price to everyone who has insurance.

Again, just a SWAG but seems similar to the way my time used to be accounted for back when I w*rked performing (non-medical) analyses as part of my j*b.

 

[Nords]

However, when I sold my well traveled Honda CZi, I was pleased to convert the proceeds- now only 30 Thai baht for one Yankee dollar

So you were arbitraging currency and enjoyed free transportation during the holding period?

 

[Lancelot]

So you were arbitraging currency and enjoyed free transportation during the holding period?

Me and my big mouth