The current case of 23-year old British tourist Kieran Martin, badly injured and totally immobile in Thailand after a fall from his hotel balcony is an unfolding tragedy. His family needs a small fortune for an air ambulance to UK for a complex operation on the advice of doctors, illustrating the growing problem of huge medical bills in the Land of Smiles. Medical insurance is optional for all tourists and most expats, but neither the Thai state nor foreign embassies will contribute a penny when ill fortune strikes. Understandably, public and private Thai hospitals customarily refuse to provide unfunded treatment. Their rules are insurance with a written commitment to pay or cash up front.
According to the monitoring portal Statista, there is a worldwide boom in charity crowdsourcing where friends, relatives and well-wishers are invited to make donations via the internet. But the average total donated is less than US$2,000, whilst the typical request via GoFundMe or Just Giving is for between US$30,000 and US$40,000. Moreover, the first 72 hours are critical as most donations are paid soon after the initial publicity. Kieran’s slot on Just Giving is already almost a week old and has raised just 20 percent of the 100,000 pounds requested on that particular website.
Because Thailand has more foreign tourists than neighboring countries, the problem is particularly acute here. International research on charity crowdfunding suggests there is one new advertisement every month for a Brit caught in the cash trap with no known example of complete success. In 2022 Jamie Stanley, who needed life-saving surgery, received 56 percent of the required sum, but managed to negotiate with the hospital. In 2016 Kathryn Williamson collapsed and died in Bangkok. Crowdsourcing brought in only eight percent, but was evidently enough for the hospital at last to release the body for hygienic disposal.
According to Forbes, the global media company, hospital bills are the most common reason for charity crowdfunding. The general advice is to provide full details of the accident or illness, provide updates and photographs and address frankly issues such as why the insurance company (if there is a policy) is not paying. Many keyboard contributors on Facebook comment that they won’t send cash to cases where there is a suspicion of alcohol or drugs playing a part in the injuries. Indeed, drink or substance abuse is a very common reason for insurers to reject a claim. But there are other cancellation clauses such as “faulty buildings” which could cover falls or pushes from balconies without safety rails.
The Thai government is introducing a new tourist tax in the summer and virtually all incoming airtickets will include a 300 baht surcharge. The fund will mainly update or repair tourist monuments and sites, but a very modest percentage will be for unpaid, tourist medical costs. However, the provision will not replace the need for hospital insurance as cash will only be paid in discretionary cases, for example a minibus crash or a boat sinking according to a Thai tourist authority spokesperson. With international hospital costs rising rapidly, faraway travel without comprehensive insurance is becoming a principal hazard of the global tourist business. Post-tragedy crowdfunding is not the answer.
