Thai insurance companies may soon offer packages that cover Covid-19 treatment for mild symptoms that would cover international tourists and permit more "hospitels" under the hotel-isolation scheme.
The Department of Health Services Support said Thursday the main issue that foreign visitors face is that their health insurance does not cover treatment costs if they exhibit moderate symptoms.
Director-General Tares Krassanairawiwong said the department proposed that the Office of Insurance Commission allow health 0insurance companies to introduce packages that cover Covid-19 treatments in order to help foreign tourists in making faster claims for treatment expenses, as it would normally take 7-10 days for some foreign health insurance companies to claim expenses.
Meanwhile, the director-general stated that the department is expanding hotel isolation for patients with mild symptoms due to an increase in hotel business owners requesting that their facilities be converted into "hospitels" under the hotel isolation scheme.
He noted that Chonburi Province has launched a home isolation scheme for international tourists who have no symptoms and expects that hotels in tourist areas will be allowed to function as hospitels in the future.