PHOTO: Are they going to paint the hospitals in the coded colour?

Three hundred Thai hospitals are being labelled green, yellow, or red, based on how much they charge patients for drugs and services. The Deputy of Internal Trade, Prayoth Benyasut, confirmed the move, with medical facilities labelled “green” having the lowest impact on your wallet.

“We have listed 164 hospitals as green since the price of their medicines was low. The department is preparing a certificate for them.”

The Nation reports that hospitals categorised as yellow or red have prices ranging from acceptable to expensive. In some private hospitals over 5,000 services have been found to be priced too high, with the department saying it’s planning to carry out a costs review for around 200 to 300 services.

Prayoth says yellow and red hospitals will be issued with guidelines early next year.

“At the beginning of 2020, we will hold a meeting to create guidelines for hospitals in these two groups. We expect to announce the cost appraisal in the next year and the price of medical supplies will be specified last, as there are no appraisals we can use for reference. The medical supplies price is currently being coded and the estimated budget for this project is around 4 to 5 million baht.”

It was not explained how potential patients will know how to identify where the coding will be displayed. Perhaps they’ll paint the entire hospital?

SOURCE: The Nation

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PHOTO: This year’s #1 city for expats – Taipei, Taiwan – Time Out

Bangkok has dropped from #5 (in 2018) to #20 this year in the annual Expat City Ranking – a big drop from its former position as a darling of the world expat community. But Asian cities continue to dominate the annual global Top 5 in the Expat City Ranking 2019. Italian cities Rome and Milan join Kuwait City at the bottom of this year’s rankings.

Taipei managed to defend its first place from last years list. Kuala Lumpur is rated the best city for getting settled and is second overall. Ho Chi Minh City ranks first in the Finance & Housing Index but third in the overall survey. Singapore and Montreal fill out the top five spots this year.

Bangkok experienced a significant drop compared to the 2018 edition of the list, where the Thai capital ranked 5th worldwide and 4th in Asia.

“Poor environmental management and horrendous traffic conditions eventually took a toll on Bangkok ratings.”

Bangkok, as an “expat-friendly city”, now faces fierce competition with Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City taking the lead ahead of the longtime favourite.

Ranking fifth out of all the cities surveyed in Asia, Bangkok ranks third in the Finance and Housing Index, but the Big Mango’s rankings were shot down by poor scores for environmental quality and political stability. 59% of the respondents in the survey say Bangkok’s environment is poor, and 36% worry about political stability.

Singapore’s fourth place further adds to Asian destinations dominating the Expat City Ranking 2019. The four top cities all do very well regarding finance and housing, with Singapore receiving the “worst” result here – a 15th rank mostly due to the expensive housing in the city-state.

Bangkok, the Thai capital, stays in the top 3 in the Finance & Housing Index for another year although the city has dropped from second place in 2018 to third place in 2019.

With regards to how easy it is to find housing in Bangkok, 80% of respondents give agreeable answers. The ease of finding a new, reasonably priced home appears to be an attractive aspect for expats moving to Bangkok; 58% of respondents find that the housing in the city is affordable.

With its second place in the Expat City Ranking 2019, Kuala Lumpur makes it into the global top 3 after consistently ranking among the top 10 cities in the past few years. Expats rate Kuala Lumpur as the city where it’s easiest to get settled, as well as one of the best cities worldwide when it comes to finance and housing.

Following a 4th place out of 72 cities in 2018, Ho Chi Minh City manages to further improve its result to rank 3rd out of 82 in 2019. Expats rate Vietnam’s most populous city as the best place for finance and housing, with the city ranking first for all but one of the underlying factors. HCMC places second regarding the affordability of housing.

In the Expat Insider 2019 survey, over 20,000 participants were asked not only to rate their respective host country but also to share insights regarding their city of residence. Respondents rated more than 25 different aspects of urban life abroad on a scale of one to seven, with the rating process emphasising expats’ personal satisfaction with these aspects.

SOURCE: Internations.org

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PHOTO: The Nation

Police were called to a condominium block on Sukhumvit Soi 79, Phra Khanong, following a report that man had fallen from the 27th floor last night (Friday).

They were joined at the scene by emergency responders and volunteer rescue workers and a medical examiner from Chulalongkorn Hospital. They arrived to find the body of a caucasian male, approximately 180 centimetres tall, dressed in a purple T-shirt and black shorts, laying dead on the ground.

The deceased man was 49 year old Roland Helmut Cunz from Germany. Witnesses said they saw him falling from the 27th floor of the condo. The body of the deceased man was later sent to Chulalongkorn Hospital for an autopsy.

Police have been checking CCTV footage and questioning witnesses to determine more details about the sequence of events leading to the man’s fall from the condominium’s balcony.

SOURCE: The Nation

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