Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) About How To Travel, Retire, Work or Start a Business and Live in the Philippines
Some of my readers are US Military retirees living here in the Philippines. Others are not. If you are not a retired member of the US military then probably this article is not for you. If you are a US military retiree, better read and learn. Special thanks to the USMRoP group for the work they are doing here in the Philippines to help US military retirees get the services they are entitled to.. Military Retirees are Extremely Happy with Their TRICARE Benefit in the … [Read more...]
(Edited, updated and re-posted) Happy New year to all ... been a little busy with family things here at the ranch, but I hope everyone had a great holiday season ... I for one am really looking forward to 2008 as I begin my second complete year of living in the Philippines (we moved here to Marilao, Bulacan in November, 2006. Regrets? Yes, that I waited do long before I made the move. Those who know me or are regular readers know what an important person my mother-in-law is in our … [Read more...]
One question I hear often, as a foreigner living in the Philippines is, “what will you do if you get sick”? “Medicare doesn’t pay for treatment overseas, you know?” Yes I certainly know that fact regarding Medicare. I also know that there are thousands of readers here too young for Medicare, not US citizens, etc. I also am one of a large contingent of former US servicemen and women who, because they chose to live in the Philippines are routinely den9ied the care they are … [Read more...]
Medical care in the Philippines and medical insurance alternatives. Here’s an interesting comment from a long-time reader, Bob from New York. Quite insightful on several different levels. Medical Care in the Philippines I made a few comments, but Bob pretty much has said a lot that I have been saying for years … Americans tend to be slaves to what we “think” is the best medical care in the world … it’s actually the 37th best care in the world, superior to other countries only … [Read more...]
Medicare and Living in the Philippines? This is a question that comes in pretty regularly here at PhilFAQS.com, where I try to provide the answers to the frequently asked questions (FAQS) about living in the Philippines. I always tend to write too long ... so here's the answer. No. More extensive answers to the question of using Medicare and Living in the Philippines can be found at the official site, Federal Benefits and Federal Agency Services for American Citizens Abroad as well as … [Read more...]
Right now there’s a lot going on in my life regarding TRICARE, which is a program the US Department of Defense put in place some years back. According to the DoD, TRICARE fulfills the DoD’s promise made years ago to us young, impressionable GI’s when we were enticed to join the US forces by the benefit of free medical; care for life. TRICARE in its basic form is free (for US Military retirees only, not available to other US vets), as to the issue of wither or not it lives up to … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Who the heck is TED, and who the heck is Dan Buettner? TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a U.S. private nonprofit foundation best known for its conferences, now held in Europe and Asia as well as the U.S., devoted to what it calls "ideas worth spreading".[2] Its lectures or TED Talks, widely disseminated on the internet, ...... TED Definition on Wikipedia. Dan Buettner is a National Geographic writer and explorer studies the world's longest-lived peoples, distilling their secrets into a … [Read more...]
An American retiree in the Philippines recently asked me a very interesting question about emergency services and medical care in general for retirees in the Philippines. One thing you have to keep in mind, when planning on retiring here, is that in many cases there are no good answers. You have to think this through carefully. Those considering moving to the Philippines mostly ask questions about how much groceries or electricity costs or other minor money issues. I live in the … [Read more...]
This article was originally written a few months ago. It has been significantly corrected, updated and expanded with new, hands-on information. In addition I have added a note about one of my advertisers at the end, a provider who not only offers health insurance in the Philippines, but provides what appears to be very good insurance (and emergency repatriation) at what looks like pretty reasonable rates to me. I just posted about having my eyes fixed while living here in the Philippines … [Read more...]
It’s very nearly Open Season for the US Federal Employee (and Retiree) Health Benefits Plan. This is “Fed Speak” for the special time per year when you can opt-in to the program or change plans, coverage modes, etc. It will run from 9 November through 14 December 2009. This has a lot to do with living in the Philippines for some folks … because if you carry the right plan … I’m featuring one here, the one I have used for years and am very happy with .. you are covered in the … [Read more...]
As regular readers will recall I have been writing quite a bit about my recent cataract removal/lens insertion operation here in metro Manila, Philippines. I promise this will be the last for a while, it’s going to be a bit before I decide if I am going to buy a pair of cheap magnifying half-lens glasses for reading, or get a real reading prescription, get RK-LASIK surgery for near vision only, or, as both me and my surgeon, Alexander C. Santa Maria, M.D still hope, that my left eye … [Read more...]
