Public hospital, private hospital, and the gold card

Thai citizens without other cover are registered with a hospital under universal coverage, still called บัตรทอง 'the gold card' or 'the 30-baht scheme'. Formal-sector employees, including foreigners with work permits, use social security at the hospital they chose. Everyone else pays directly or through private insurance. A โรงพยาบาลรัฐ, especially a university or provincial hospital, has many of the country's leading specialists and much lower prices, but expect early queues, crowded corridors and Thai-only forms. Many run an after-hours clinic (คลินิกนอกเวลา) with shorter waits for a higher fee. Private hospitals are faster and more expensive, so ask for a written cost estimate before a planned admission. Moving between hospitals within a scheme normally needs a referral letter, ใบส่งตัว.