We’ve mentioned this subject before, especially within the living in the Philippines or retiring in the Philippines context. Medical care seems to be one of the top areas of concern to everyone planning a move here to the Philippines. And of course, medical care and the costs you have to pay for it should certainly be an area of concern … but I often wonder just how much of an area of concern this should be … and further, if many of my fellow Americans are spending too much time obsessing over this issue rather than making it just a part of the overall decision plan.
As Americans we somehow have become attached to the idea that US health care is the “best in the world”. Well, it’s just find to believe that the USA id “number one” in everything … but it isn’t always the fact of the matter.
Actually under current, independent assessments … like the rankings of the Word Health Organization .. the USA comes out a distant 37th or so in overall citizen health rankings. I’ve written about this before … one article worth reading comparing the US health care costs and Philippine health care costs is here. I attached an appropriate graphic, and further down a music video … it’s informative, funny and sad, all in one.
But regardless of what Americans are spending right now, an operative question which often comes up is, what can I do about health care insurance if I decide to move to the Philippines.
So here are some answers, presented to the best of my abilities … you always need to check the facts for yourself because, as they say, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
PhilHealth:
First of all, let me remind you about PhilHealth. I’ve covered it extensively and I don’t want to make this article too long, so you might want to read up on PhilHealth benefits or visit their site themselves. One way or another it is available to all, not just Filipinos and the cost, for the groups who have to pay, is very small … P 100 a month. $27 USD per year at today’s rate. If that is the sort of amount you need to budget carefully for, I don’t think you are a good candidate to read the rest of this article, sorry.
Recommendation: Whatever other choices you make, get PhilHealth for yourself, your spouse, minor children and for elderly Filipino relatives (it’s free for the aged, like US Medicare). I can’t believe how many people ignore this insurance, especially when they have elderly relatives back in the Philippines and then are staggered by Lolo or Lola having to go into hospital. It’s a no-brainer to me, get it.
Your Existing Insurance:
The first big bugaboo regarding moving to and living in the Philippines that concerns foreigners the most seems to be the fact that they immediately assume their current medical insurance will not cover them here.
That may be true, but in many cases it is not … and each of you making this decision needs to carefully check, independently, the facts on this regarding your very own policy.
I often get questions like “Will my Blue Cross” cover me there? The answer is, definitely, I don’t know. “Blue Cross” is not a single company, it’s a consortium of more than 50 companies in every US state as well as multi-state components such as the “Anthem” product line which provides the insurance most Federal employees call “Blue Cross”.
All plans may differ and you can not afford to make a decision based on what “Joe” says, or on “Mary’s experience”, etc.
Many US policies do cover pan members living overseas. For example, my own Federal GEHA plan does… in fact it pays claims at the preferred provider rate … a good deal for me. You MUST check for yourself.
Other Commercial Insurance Options:
OK, let’s suppose you can’t use existing coverage. Would you be able to buy insurance to cover yourself and your family here. And what kind of prices are we looking at? here are just three possibilities I have found. I don’t recommend any of these outfits, but I chose them carefully because I know they have, overall a very good rating with their policy holders, and they all have the modern outlook of giving you access to rates and coverage online, so people can make good comparisons for themselves. They are presented in alphabetical order.
Blue Cross Philippines:
Yep, not only is that name used all over the USA, but all over the Philippines as well. Here’s the main website for Blue Cross Philippines. They have a lot of offerings. They also make it plain what their offerings and restrictions are on the really elderly … something that many Filipino companies are a little ‘shy’ about owning up to.
There are many different options here, mainly having to do with three things … policy holder’s age, how much coverage the policyholder wants to buy, and where the policy can be used.
It’s very important to notice with this and any other company ho offers the option … if you ask for full coverage within the US,a s well as the country you are thinking about moving to? be forewarned .. the cost for US coverage is shockingly high. But for Philippine-only coverage,the costs are very reasonable … often a few hundred USD per year … that’s right, per year. For us Medicare-eligible persons, it seems very reasonable to just rely upon Medicare when we are back in the US, and buy Philippine-only coverage. Certainly worth checking out.
Bupa International:
This is an old-line international health care provider, based in the UK, who provides coverage to expats virtually world-wide. In looking up their various plans, I find they can fit very easily into many budgets … if, again, you exclude US coverage. Example, for a person my age, 64, coverage outside the US and also including the pre-paid option of repatriation to the US or another country for medical attention, is only about $3600 USD per year, or three hundred US per month. Many commercial plans that people already pay are in this price range, so while they are not cheap, they certainly fall within reason. As an interesting illustration … when I changed the requested quote to include US coverage. the cost jumped to almost $12,000 USD per year … yep, that’s how much extra you folks are paying extra back there in the USA for 37th place health care. Sad.
MEDEX Global Group, Inc.:
This is a US-based company. i sometimes run ads for them on the site, but I notice that they don’t attract much attention. They do not even provide coverage for US residents, but their coverage for US citizens residing in other countries seems pretty reasonable.
As with all these companies you need to look closely at all the plans, but as an example, their basic full coverage, including emergency repatriation, comes in at a slow as $1.16 per day .. about $36USD per month or roughly $436 a year. Certainly well within reason.
Conclusion:
It’s certainly well within reason to get your own health insurance in the Philippines. I’m afraid the US medical insurance, doctor’s promotional agencies, outrageous drug profits protection lobbyists and other such scum have perverted the thinking of many of my fellow Americans. remember, you all hail from a country who used to be brave and used to be self-reliant. Believe it or not, you still can be today … you don’t need “permission” to use the brains and courage God gave you.
I’ve also written on this subject before, listing other possible “freedom of choice” for health care candidates.
By the way, it’s also OK to laugh at ourselves. Many of the expats I know who are my age … even some younger … are letting themselves become so consumed by worry and “fear of the future” that they are already on blood pressure medicine, tranquilizers and who know what all else to make the drug companies rich. Relax and stop taking everything so seriously for a while … you’ll still live just as long, maybe even longer. This will help.
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