Hospital price watch

Re: “Ministry stands by price control list”, (Business, Jan 12). As a foreigner living in Bangkok, I am in total agreement with the Commerce Ministry in its plans to set price controls on private hospitals. For too long private hospitals have been able to charge for their services and prescription medicines with little or no thought as to how these sometimes ridiculous charges have an effect on the insurance premiums paid by their customers. How there can be any justification by private hospitals to levy a charge three times the price of prescription medicine purchased in a street side pharmacy needs investigation. The reasoning that their locations and that they are considerably cheaper than American hospitals justifies their charges doesn’t, in my opinion, cut it. We all don’t come from America and what has location got to do with the loaded price of imported medicine? I am reliably informed that what a patient thinks he or she is paying for the doctor’s charge is not necessarily what the doctor gets in payment, with a large percentage of the charge taken by the hospital as a contribution to its overheads and profit. The facts are that there is very little profit to be made by SET-listed international hospitals from selling drugs or doctors fees. The real money is made from lengthy surgical procedures and bed/room rates. Just like any five-star hotel, occupancy numbers are the name of the game and it’s not unusual to see charges ranging from five to ten thousand baht per night, with nursing and meal charges on top. On one occasion I had the unfortunate need, so the doctor claimed, to be admitted to my local hospital’s ICU at a charge of thirty thousand baht per night. Yes, there is a need for price control. BIKER BRI