Baby born prematurely abroad - any help with medical expenses?

puddy

what work is he doing is there any support from his employer

niknaks

I shall ask him about whether his employer could help - he teaches English.

I don't know much about his girlfriend, but will suggest that too.

Why didn't they have insurance? Well, as a previous poster said, they were daft - to put it mildly.

Nicki

euronorris wrote: »

If they were paying National Insurance and Tax, they should still be entitled to NHS care AFAIK.

I assume they were doing both (as it would be odd if they were only paying tax and not NI).

OP - If they are living there, why didn't they have medical insurance? Your best bet is to find out what assistance, if any, is available to residents without insurance. There may be charity organisations that can help.

It's a lot more complicated than that. It depends on where you are working and for how long, and on the paperwork your employer has processed and your tax and NI status.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/movingabroad/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Even if he was covered, the mum may well not be unless they are married, and same applies to baby.

puddy

if he is covered (which is unlikely), then of course baby would be covered as it is the child of a UK citizen who is covered

thats like saying that anyone in this country is covered but their child isnt because they havent paid any NI

kazwookie

Thailand medical care is good, depending on which hospital, but the thai's do have to pay for it.

What medical care does the baby / mother need?

As both the mother and father are NOT thai nationals, they will have to pay, the father if working out there should have medical cover with his working travel insurance, but does he have any?

The mother, what is her status in Thailand? does she have travel insurance from her country to Thailand?

I hope neither of them are 'over stays' and have the correct visas / work permits, as the baby will need a passport, if their paperwork is not in order, they could have major problems.

Personally, I think they are 'up the river with out a paddle' if neither has insurance, maybe look to one of the local charities to help them out.

Or the father may have to use credit cards to sort out the medical bills.

samba

niknaks wrote: »

He is currently working out there.

I agree about the insurance, of course, but it is the baby I am thinking about.

I just wondered if there was a emergency relief fund or something to help.

If he was working out there then how did he intend to pay the medical expenses if the baby had been born at full term?

Nicki

puddy wrote: »

if he is covered (which is unlikely), then of course baby would be covered as it is the child of a UK citizen who is covered

thats like saying that anyone in this country is covered but their child isnt because they havent paid any NI

Quite a rude post, which ignores the fact that the man is not married to his girlfriend, so depending on the law in Thailand and the procedures followed when the child was born, may need to prove that he is the biological father of the child to access free medical care. My understanding is that DNA tests take a few weeks to process due to the need to grow cultures.

Or is it completely obvious to everyone except me, that a random bloke with an english passport who isn't resident in the country can turn up with a Philippine woman to whom he has no legal attachment with a newborn baby and be automatically entitled to have that child given expensive medical treatment free of charge on the NHS just because he claims that he is the child's father with no supporting evidence?

euronorris

Nicki wrote: »

It's a lot more complicated than that. It depends on where you are working and for how long, and on the paperwork your employer has processed and your tax and NI status.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/movingabroad/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Even if he was covered, the mum may well not be unless they are married, and same applies to baby.

Yes, sorry. I was assuming that as they (your friends) were living there and paying tax in the UK, that they and their employer would have completed the necessary paperwork to be retain their rights to NHS treatment (among other things).

That is what my OH opted to do (even though his employer is proving to be exceptionally difficult at complying), whereas I opted to leave it all behind and cover myself completely in NL instead (ie, health insurance, pension plan etc). I have to say, as my OH's company are being so incompetent, doing it the way I have has proven to be much, much more straightforward.

I have a travel insurance policy here which covers my trips abroad, including to the UK, so I'm covered for that too.

I'm lucky though, my employer is very hot on being compliant and protecting their employees. The same cannot be said for my OH's company!

Make-it-3

puddy wrote: »

it does matter. if the mother is Thai, then she will use whatever resources she would get from her home country surely?

The reason I said it doesn't matter is because there is no recourse to the UK government for help with health costs overseas for UK citizens. Everyone travelling or working overseas should have appropriate medical insurance cover. Which was the OP's original question.

As it transpires the mother is neither Thai nor UK citizen and therefore if is in trouble financially should be looking to her own government to see what (if any) help they can provide.

OP what plans did the couple have for the birth if it had been full term?

puddy

Nicki wrote: »

Quite a rude post, which ignores the fact that the man is not married to his girlfriend, so depending on the law in Thailand and the procedures followed when the child was born, may need to prove that he is the biological father of the child to access free medical care. My understanding is that DNA tests take a few weeks to process due to the need to grow cultures.

Or is it completely obvious to everyone except me, that a random bloke with an english passport who isn't resident in the country can turn up with a Philippine woman to whom he has no legal attachment with a newborn baby and be automatically entitled to have that child given expensive medical treatment free of charge on the NHS just because he claims that he is the child's father with no supporting evidence?

if he turned up with a baby and a birth certificate with his name on for hte baby and he was entitled to care then the baby would be entitled to care. not sure what is rude about pointing that out. if the hospital have the time and money to do DNA tests then im sure they're welcome to do so. does the gp and hospital ask for your child's birth certificate every time they treat your child for something?