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I have worked in the insurance industry for many years, and know a bit about healthcare coverage in Thailand so hopefully the following may be useful.
You do NOT need a work permit to buy health insurance. A work permit will allow you to participate in the Thai social security scheme and any hospital allowance would not be enough to cover the international hospitals in Phuket.
If you are relying on cover from overseas, read the wording carefully. There's a post below ststing that someone's UK cover allows up to 90 days at a time in Thailand. This may be the case but read it carefully. I'm one of the bu**ers that used to write the small print on policies so I'm just advising you to be sure.
The local Thai companies cater for lower income Thais predominantly and their limits are not good enough if you want treatment at Bangkok Phuket for example. Also their wordings won't be in English.
The following international companies sell health insurance cover within Thailand:
BUPA Blue Cross
LMG Pacific
Royal Sun Alliance
Goodhealth (though they are based in Hong Kong)
Allianz
Check their websites. My GF is signed as an agent for LMG (American and Phillipine financed, Liberty Mutual are one of the major U.S. insurers), so if you are interested in their products PM me (blatant plug!). Also you can try an insurance broker.
Finally, there are numerous instances at the moment of hospitals overcharging and even performing unnecessary operations and prescribing superfluous drugs. They make a lot of their money from the pharmacy side. Many hospital directors consider their business as primarily a money making institution and the actual healthcare is secondary. If in any doubt, get a second opinion.
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