# Philippines medical insurance



## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

Medical care is important, as probably most expats are older retired people.

Correct me if I am wrong:
I assume Philippines has excellent trained medical personnel because Philippines has been exporting nursing workers to other countries for many decades.
I assume Philippines has lower cost for any medical procedure and probably gets some "medical tourism".

Now, I figure a USA expat get cancer - he can fly to the USA and medicare will take care of him.
Same thing for a knee replacement.

But, if someone has a heart attack, or is involved in an auto collision, he needs treatment locally.

So, I figure I would ask a hospital how much it costs for complete care for a heart attack including surgery for stents.
Then either buy that amount of medical insurance, or be sure to have that much money available.

What happens if you are in an auto accident and am unconscious ?
Will the hospital look in your pocket for a VISA card to use ?

What do most expats do for medical ?

H


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

My experience in the provincial areas where I last lived is that the medical care was mediocre(in hospitals) Many things in pinas you will die from without great medical care. I have also experienced a come what may attitude alot so in an overpopulated country you can easily fall thru the cracks. Example......in 2016 I crashed on gravel on my bike. 4 broken ribs and swollen spleen. I waited a day to go to hospital as I am the way I am and my neighbor who had been an army medic told me i should go to hospital as I had coughed up a bit of blood. I agreed and when I went for xrays they only mentioned 3 broken ribs. I said what about the one by my spine? They said no more. I said theres another pinching by my spine and I know because I"ve experienced before. No they replied. Well the next week was my flight back to usa and when I got back I was xrayed again and they said yup..a 4th broken rib next to the spine. Technology is better here in general.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

also,,will someone look in pocket for visa? doubtful......very doubtful


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

lefties43332 said:


> also,,will someone look in pocket for visa? doubtful......very doubtful


Oh I definitely think someone will look in your pocket for a Visa, Mastercard and any cash you may have on hand at the time lol


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

HondaGuy said:


> Oh I definitely think someone will look in your pocket for a Visa, Mastercard and any cash you may have on hand at the time lol


Cash i agree.........The visa I thought he meant to send him home for treatment,,,that much i doubt


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Unless you can pay, usually a down payment you will be left on the pavement. They will also require on going payments or treatment will be suspended until payment is made. If in a private hospital, you only go to public hospitals to die, you will not be able to checkout until full payment is made. They will post a security guard on your door.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Howard_Z said:


> Correct me if I am wrong:
> I assume Philippines has excellent trained medical personnel because Philippines has been exporting nursing workers to other countries for many decades.
> I assume Philippines has lower cost for any medical procedure and probably gets some "medical tourism".


 They have (had before covid) such medical tourism and dental too I know to Cebu. I suppouse to Manila too.

There was a plan to make a complex north of Bacolod where retired foreigners could move in "any" shape, having own doctors, nurses and other caretakers so people could add care when geting older so never need to move of medical reason. 
I dont know if done (probably not because a nurse living in Bacolod hadnt heared of it a yeart ago) postponed or skiped though.. 

Its HUGE difference between quality of hospitals in Phils though. Public hospitals are overvelmed and I guess have less equipment than private hospitals. 
E g first a poor family went to public hospital when a toddler boy got high fever, but they didnt manage. Then they went to a private hospital who found out he was clugged close under the stomach sack so he couldnt get anything to the body so he was dehydratet inspite of drinking. The belly had swollen up by overful, so they suck up the content, gave drip and found out he needed one of the harder antibiotics. I suspect they screwed up the drip because from being skinny he swolled up to look very fat. (I financed the antibiotic part so that cure could be finnished when they couldnt finance anymore.) He recovered and is skinny again 

I have forgot names of good hospitals in Cebu, but got told a good one is St Thomas in Metro Manila, but I dont know if they accept "medical tourists", they have part extra humanitarian approach by they make some serious surgeries FOR FREE for poor Filipinos. (E g they made surgery at a huge water skull at a toddler girl. Parents only needed to pay own travel to there.) 



Howard_Z said:


> What happens if you are in an auto accident and am unconscious ?
> Will the hospital look in your pocket for a VISA card to use ?


 Its risk for they dont bother if they dont exoect to get paid. But someone told he had got use of PhilHealth adding chance being accepted.


LOCK UP! If being hospitaliced and get in dept then its risk the hospital take people - and some even corps when the hospital failed - as HOSTAGE until get paid...
BUT thats *illegal except if the customer had private room* so think before accept such*. *Some hospitals seem to have odd definition of "private room" though. IF the Filipino, who told me, had understood their bill correct that hospital called it that when it was just LOW screens seeing over to the bed of neighbour and OPEN at foot side where many people walk by 🤣




lefties43332 said:


> Cash i agree.........The visa I thought he meant to send him home for treatment,,,that much i doubt


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

Well, I still do not know what to do about Medical Insurance.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Howard_Z said:


> Well, I still do not know what to do about Medical Insurance.


Medical insurance is widely available in the Philippines. Pacific Cross is often recommended. Another company Pacific Prime will give you a range of quote depending on your criteria.


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

Good luck with medical insurance if you are over 60. The only easy one is Philhealth, it is more a discount for services. My doctor does not take it. I pay cash, but the costs are very reasonable. The cost here is like a co-pay in USA. Philhealth will help for hospital stays snd knock some off the bill. The better the hospital the less knocked off.
St Luke's in Manila is typically the go to hospital in the Philippines for foreigners. 
There are a couple of good private ones within an hour of me, with traffic. 
I looked at most policies for older people and the cost is not really a value because of caps on total payout. 
My experience here is they are good at the common illnesses for the tropics, they start to get worse for unique illnesses. 
Either fly home or get to good private hospital with some cash or a good credit-card. 
They expect you to have a person in your room to care for you. It cuts their costs for nurses. Your person feeds you, get meds for you and helps wash you. It is not a bad system if you have someone. You need the person to prevent overcharging. A lot of places try and put in a saline drip for no reason except to pad the bill. 
When my baby was born, the mom had her sister in room. We sent in food from jome and clothes. The sister got the meds and ensured things got done right. You can opt for a birth locally and save money. Like baby shots. If you wait and stand in a long, hot line you get them for free. If you want them on your schedule you pay like 7,000 peso per shot, with there being like six shots.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

At 68 the cheapest Pacific Cross was about $2000 per year and rises rapidly each year. I'm sure most of you Yanks think that's cheap but coming from a country with free at the point of use healthcare that's a big jump.


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## Scoot65 (Jan 5, 2014)

So, if I was out and about on my own without my wife / friends and I took ill / had an accident and I was unable to communicate, would I just left unattended if there was no way of medical staff confirming I had means to pay for treatment? 

I was hoping I'd get basic medical attention and when I was able to inform them that I had means to pay for treatment I'd get the care I needed.......


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## Scoot65 (Jan 5, 2014)

So, if I was out and about on my own without my wife / friends and I took ill / had an accident and I was unable to communicate, would I just left unattended if there was no way of medical staff confirming I had means to pay for treatment? 

I was hoping I'd get basic medical attention and when I was able to inform them that I had means to pay for treatment I'd get the care I needed.......


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Anyone knowing a HIGH SELF RISK insurance, making the fee much lower? Prefered with no max payout, Perhaps only covering emergcy needs.

(Thats what I would want.)


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Scoot65 said:


> So, if I was out and about on my own without my wife / friends and I took ill / had an accident and I was unable to communicate, would I just left unattended if there was no way of medical staff confirming I had means to pay for treatment?
> 
> I was hoping I'd get basic medical attention and when I was able to inform them that I had means to pay for treatment I'd get the care I needed.......


In theory you should receive basic emergency care, in practice probably not. The first hurdle to overcome would be to actually get to hospital as if you were along there would be nobody to take you there.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Gary D said:


> In theory you should receive basic emergency care, in practice probably not. The first hurdle to overcome would be to actually get to hospital as if you were along there would be nobody to take you there.


Yep, more than likely just die at the site of the accident. That's why if you are the person that thinks of this type of thing often then maybe the Philippines is not for you. No such thing as 911 or emergency services (paramedics) here. The ambulance we have in our barangay spends so much time taking employees to the beach and outings that it would never be available for medical transport.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Zep said:


> Yep, more than likely just die at the site of the accident. That's why if you are the person that thinks of this type of thing often then maybe the Philippines is not for you. No such thing as 911 or emergency services (paramedics) here. The ambulance we have in our barangay spends so much time taking employees to the beach and outings that it would never be available for medical transport.


The only time we used a local ambulance we had to put gas in it first. Also Philippines ambulances are just vans, there's no medical equipment on board.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Gary D said:


> The only time we used a local ambulance we had to put gas in it first. Also Philippines ambulances are just vans, there's no medical equipment on board.


Over the years in our Municipality, it evolved from a van to a real ambulance but I think as a back up there's a van with no medical equipment also what Zep had mentioned, I have also noticed that the Barangay uses these ambulance vans with usually no equipment for outings but for an important cause like someone has passed away or an important reason to transport the family to other regions.


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## art1946 (Nov 30, 2017)

Gary is right about paying for medical help. I had an American friend that had an emergency during the night. they rush him to the hospital. They told his wife she had to pay a deposit for they would treat him or give him medication. she had to go and get money they had in their house and come back and pay the deposit. That was in Tagum city. I am not sure but I think it was (THE DOCTORS HOSPITAL.) If they didn't have money he probably would had died. 
art


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## Dten Cfive (8 mo ago)

Howard_Z said:


> Well, I still do not know what to do about Medical Insurance.


There are many you can buy, similar in costs to the US, i.e. Blue Cross Blue Shield


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