Assisted living and affordable health insurance – these were the topics of the two presenters at the February 12 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club. First up were Guillaume Roudil and Rasimon Thananchai. They are the co-owners of the newly opened Nursing Resort Pattaya.
Guillaume grew up in France and initially came to Thailand to practice the art of Muay Thai boxing and to teach English. While he was teaching English at a health school, he met Rasimon, his future business partner. Rasimon has a nursing degree and has worked at both government and private hospitals the past 20 years.
Guillaume Roudil and Rasimon Thananchai, co-owners of the newly opened Nursing Resort Pattaya, introduce to PCEC members their resort, which is located in Huay Yai.
Rasimon came up with the idea of a nursing resort because she felt there was a need. While government hospitals are not expensive, they are lacking in quality service. On the other hand, private hospitals provide quality service and care, but they are expensive by Thai standards. Her idea was to have a place where people that really didn’t need to be in a hospital could get both quality care and good service at an affordable cost.
Together, they acquired and built their facility about 15 minutes from Pattaya in the Huay Yai area. Their facility is on about 8 rai of land and consists of 6 houses. Each house is about 140 square meters with air conditioning, fully equipped kitchen, and private bathroom. They have staff available 24/7 to meet the needs of their guests, including medical care and cooking (both Thai and western meals). They have the basic medical equipment needed, but no specialized equipment that you would only expect to find in a hospital.
John Robert Manning, Sr., Investment Consultant with Siam Equity, spoke about the impact he thinks the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”) will have in making health insurance for expats more affordable.
Guillaume explained that they opened about 3 months ago, which was before they had planned to open because there was a need for assisted living care for people escaping the Bangkok flooding. Guillaume says he shares his time between his language school and the Nursing Resort. Rasimon manages the day to day operations at the Nursing Resort.
They wanted everyone to understand that at their facility, you not only get health care and assisted living, but will also have many activities you can participate in while enjoying the beautiful resort surroundings. Most of their services are included in the basic price; but if more is needed, arrangements can be made and the price negotiated.
They pointed out that their facility is not just for the elderly that need assisted living, but is also available for those that may need to recuperate from surgery, illness, or injury that requires some assistance. Their website www.nursingresortpattaya.com provides more information.
PCEC Board Member Judith updates members on plans for the trip to Chiang Mai. Open Forum MC Roy Albiston looks on.
After Guillaume and Rasimon answered several questions, the second presenter, John Robert Manning, Sr., investment consultant with Siam Equity, spoke about the impact he thinks the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”) will have in making health insurance for expats more affordable. John described some of the features of the Act, which are scheduled to be fully in place in 2014. He provided some statistics about the current number of insured in the USA and the rise in premiums in relation to health costs. He briefly discussed some of the Act’s provision to provide tax subsidies and rebates to lower income persons as a mechanism for those people to purchase health insurance.
His opinion was that many smaller health insurance companies in the USA would not be able to compete because of the Act’s provision that health insurance cover pre-existing conditions. He felt they would move offshore. Further, the competition of these companies with existing international and Thai health insurers will result in better coverage at more affordable premiums for expats and others. As such, it was his opinion that better coverage at lower cost is on the horizon for expats.
John noted that his company is not an insurance broker, but in offering financial planning, they have surveyed the international market for health insurance and can offer suggestions to their clients on the best value available. John is available to provide more information by calling him at 038-300-075 or email him at [email protected].
After the presentations, Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg called on Roy Albiston to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous open forum, where questions about living in Thailand and Pattaya in particular are asked and answered.
The Pattaya City Expats Club meets every Sunday at the Amari Orchid’s Tavern by the Sea Restaurant. Read more about the Club’s activities on their website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
