There should be a healthy fight over medical fees, and consumers should be the winners, not the hospitals.
The local military hospital dentist in my city charges 280 baht for scaling. In one of Bangkok's private hospitals, I paid 1,200 baht. There is no difference in the quality of work or the equipment used.
I recently paid 35,000 baht for an excellent tooth implant. The price at a private Bangkok hospital dental facility was 89,000 baht.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes two years ago at my local government hospital. I paid 16,800 baht per eye. At a private Bangkok hospital, I was quoted 60,000 baht per eye -- same procedure, same everything.
Who are the private hospitals fooling? I guess someone has to pay their rent, pay for the pristine, comfortable waiting areas, the ushers, the baby-sitters, the quiet air conditioning, the continual sweepers, the receptionists, and whatever else.
Almost Fleeced Mango
Death by diesel
Re: "Messages from the haze", (Opinion, Jan 21).
The use of diesel in car combustion engines is reckoned to be a contributing factor in the premature deaths from lung-related illnesses of approximately 10,000 people per year in the UK. A law has been passed that will fully ban diesel cars by 2030.
In Thailand, the price of diesel oil is capped and subsidised by the state using money from the state oil fund. The state absorbs 50% of any world price increases using this fund.
Surely it is obvious that spraying water to disperse the killer particles in mostly diesel oil, belched out by zero-maintenance vehicles and buses on Bangkok's streets, is not the answer to air pollution. The reasoning behind the diesel subsidy is that it helps low-income vehicle owners. But it is precisely these owners who fail to maintain their vehicles.
The answer must be to remove the diesel cap and make polluters pay. Thailand must grasp that the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered and start building EV infrastructure.
Brian Corrigan
Farmers doomed
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admitted that the PPRP probably didn't comprehend the legal aspects of their proposed populist giveaway of land to rural farmers.
It is also quite evident they understand very well the ramifications of the restrictions placed upon those who receive the land. They are not allowed to develop it or commercialise it, except for agricultural use. This is simply another means for the elite to confine rural farmers to poverty and ignorance, the unchanging fundamental policy of all Thai governments.
Michael Setter
Asylum justice
I agree with Pablo Bateson (Postbag, Jan 22) that Hakeem al-Araibi, who is rotting in a Thai prison, should be allowed to go back to Australia. While we were delighted the 18-year-old Saudi refugee woman was allowed to go to Canada, let's not forget the less-fortunate ones who have been left behind.
Eric Bahrt
Eyes on Prayut
Thailand's PM general of ever-dwindling popularity has promised to respect human rights. He will be happy to make any promise that his politicking calls for regarding Hakeem al-Araibi. Meanwhile, the evidence suggests international attention can work wonders in helping ruling Thai politicians do the right thing.
Felix Qui
Boxed in
Re: "Gems galore in PM's baffling 'box' talk", (Opinion, Jan 19)
I always thought you had to think outside the box, and here we have the PM telling a boy not to think outside the box.
Barry Wallace
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