I may have given the idea that you have to go it alone regarding medical care insurance and health care costs in the Philippines. This doesn’t always have to be the case.
Although it is well known that US Medicare does not pay benefits overseas, there are many other ways for a retiree in the Philippines to keep at least part of his US health care coverage.
First of all, how do you know your present plan doesn’t cover you, world-wide? Many people come to me with the idea that their existing US health care insurance plan doesn’t cover them without even doing their own detective work to find out.
Many US health insurance plans do provide coverage in the Philippines .. since they can save a lot of money by paying Philippine prices instead of US prices, why wouldn’t they?
As a few examples I can quote, many US Blue Cross plans cover subscribers world-wide. You really need to exercise caution here because there is no such thing as a “standard” US Blue Cross plan. Blue Cross is a trademark and an association of more than 50 companies in virtually all the states of the US, so what Joe is covered for, Fred is not, even though they both have “Blue Cross medical insurance”.
How do you know if you fall under the category of Joe or that of Fred? (Shhsssh .. are you cleared for Top Secret here?) This is a trick it seems that no one online seems to know, I hope I don’t go to jail for letting it out, but here goes…) You Read Your Contract. You don’t ask Dave over at PhilFAQS, you don’t ask Bill down at the Union Hall, you look at that piece of paper you have been paying money for all these years and it will tell you. Also, another secret source of health care insurance information that hardly anyone uses .. they have these little things called 1-800 numbers … you can call the plan direct and it doesn’t even cost you anything. Don’t spread this around though, an informed citizenry has to at the very least violate the American Patriot Act, let alone who knows how many other secret laws.
(by the way, a plug here for something I earn a commission on .. but is well worth it I think. Record all your phone calls, playback and download online all with crystal-clear quality with CallRecorderCard.net
. Why would I stick this in here in a post about medical insurance plans? because if you have been lied to as many times as I have on the phone, you might want to protect yourself, no matter where in the world you chose to live.)
Anyway, what if your existing US coverage won’t work for you, I covered some commercial medical insurance plans that are available here in the Philippines in this health insurance quote article, and how you can get affordable health care insurance quotes.
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