Phuket begins to enter peak tourist season. But with Thailand's largest resort island hospital, the coming months are not a holiday.

Vachira Phuket Hospital receives thousands of foreign patients every year, most of whom come to Phuket resorts during the tourist season lasting from November to 3 years later. Most patients are injured while playing water sports or due to a traffic accident. Others were hospitalized because of a dog, monkey or snake bite.

"The situation of foreigners not paying hospital fees is increasing. We are really hopeless because we do not know where to find them," said Hospital Director Vachira Phuket, Mr. Chalermpong Sukontapol.

Not only at Sukontapol's hospital, unpaid hospital bills are piling up throughout Thailand as the country seeks to boost economic growth through tourism. Policymakers in Japan and other popular travel destinations in Asia are also grappling with this issue.

Chalermpong recounted the recent case of a young American who suffered a serious head injury after a traffic accident. He was taken to the intensive care unit and then moved back to his normal room for several months. Because he did not buy travel insurance, after he left the hospital, he owed 800,000 baht ($ 26,400). Vachira Phuket Hospital is still waiting for him to pay.

Collecting unpaid hospital fees is extremely difficult, especially after the patient is discharged. "We tried many ways, including visiting friends in Thailand or having the embassy search. All were hopeless," said Mr Chalermpong. "But we cannot refuse to accept foreign visitors because it is the ethical standard of medicine. We are a public hospital and a team of doctors and doctors serving foreign patients similar to the indigenous people."

"The number of tourists is increasing, but the quality of tourists is declining. They prepare money to pay for hotels, food and parties, but do not set aside any money for illness or accidents," Sarayut said. Ramarn, the nurse responsible for international customer service at Vachira Hospital Phuket, said.

More than 14 million foreign visitors came to Phuket in fiscal 2018 and Vachira Phuket Hospital received about 9,000 visitors from various countries including Russia, France and China. However, nearly 50% of their hospital bill has not been paid.

Thailand welcomed 38 million tourist arrivals in 2018, double that of 2010. The Ministry of Health report showed that unpaid hospital bills nationwide increased to 448 million baht in the fiscal year. course 2019. Akom Praditsuwan, deputy director general of the Thai Health Ministry's Health Services Support Agency, said even if foreign patients leave their contacts, they are rarely found because they often provide Providing fake information.

Compared to Thailand, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has increased faster. Japan attracted 31 million tourists in 2018, a three-fold increase from 2010. The Japanese government expects to increase this number to 60 million by 2030. However, many hospitals are burdened by the development. of the tourism industry.

At the National Center for Global Medicine and Pharmacy (NCGM) in Tokyo, at least 3 foreigners have not been able to pay for hospital fees since April. One person has been charged more than 10 million yen. (91,630 USD). Another person disappeared after treatment costing more than 1 million yen.

"In recent years, we have received more foreign patients. Currently 13% of outpatients are foreigners. Some people do not buy travel insurance or have but not enough to make up for it. covering actual costs, "said Yasuo Sugiura, director of NCGM's overseas patient care department.

Japanese law prohibits doctors from accepting patients, leaving hundreds of hospitals in trouble. The results of a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2018 showed that 18% of 2,174 hospitals had a foreign hospital bill that was not paid within 1 month or more from the time of delivery. hospital, an average of 433,000 (3,968 USD) per hospital.

The government encourages travelers to buy insurance, but about 27% of foreigners are uninsured, according to a recent Japan Tourism Agency report. Therefore, many hospitals have to buy insurance for themselves to prevent money loss.

Insurance company Aioi Nissay Dowa in Tokyo launched in April a hospital compensation program for foreign unpaid patient bills. To date, more than 10 hospitals participate in this insurance program.

"Hospitals appreciate the insurance package because it helps reduce the burden of collecting money from patients," according to Aioi Nissay Dowa.

In the face of this situation, governments of Thailand, Japan and South Korea have begun to take part, forcing foreign nationals to buy insurance if they stay longer.

As of October 31, foreigners living in Thailand with one-year visas, most of whom are pensioners, are forced to have insurance. The Korean government in July adjusted the national health insurance system, requiring foreigners living in the country for more than six months to pay premiums. The Ministry of Health stressed that this measure is to help South Korea solve the situation of hospitalization.

However, for short-term visitors, the government has not taken strong measures because of concerns affecting the tourism industry. The Thai government is considering forcing all tourists to buy insurance before coming to the country. But travel companies are concerned that if they apply the regulations, the tourism industry, which contributes 20% of GDP, will be threatened.