Dave Hounddriver Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 I have (had) an emergency plan in the event I was hospitalized with no cash. I have a Philippine credit card with a limit that is sufficient to tide me over until I can get gather funds to pay the bill. That may work in a big city like Cebu but guess what, it does not work in small city (town) hospitals because the hospital and the pharmacy do NOT take credit cards. It is cash only and it is cash on demand. That means you show up at emergency and they give you a 'scrip for some meds and you need cash NOW at the pharmacy or you wasted your time bothering to go to the hospital. Then you make arrangements for what kind of room you want, private or ward, and again .. no credit card accepted. And by the way, make sure you have 125 pesos in your pocket to pay for the hospital gown. It may be that Phil Health or other insurance plans will help you but right then you will need hard currency. My 'higher power' decided to give me a life lesson today. It is at the lowest financial point in my cycle, which means I am broke from my last payday, the current payday is on the way, but it is Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada and financial matters are at a standstill. Add that to the ATM being 'out of stock' on cash so I could not even access my overdraft. This was the moment my wife picked to have a medical problem that required her to go to hospital. When I found out all this info I have been relating I ended up scratching for odd 20 peso notes buried in the pockets of clothes I had not worn in a while. Fortunately they restocked the ATM early today so I have a bit of a reprieve. So its time to rethink the 'emergency plan' and I am sharing this for others who may be as nonchalant about it as I have been. BTW. Its a bit soon to say for sure but it looks to be a mild medical problem in that she will be home in a couple of days. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 Well Dave, I'm sure you're not alone on this one and I'm sure it's on the back of everyone's mind, but chooses to ignore it for the time being until the unthinkable and unexpected happens! You know, it's the Filipino "bahala na" syndrome where one can put off doing things for later on! As a last resort if one doesn't have any cash and has any assets like a motor bike, car or house or land that's paid for, one can initiate a "Promissory Note" as collateral until one can come up with the cash later to pay his/her hospital bills! That's why my wife's gold jewelry will always suffice to pawn as our back up emergency cash if needed! "KNOCK ON WOOD" as I always say! Good luck to those in the same boat who have been living in the Philippines for awhile and for those who have been here for just a short period of time! "It's always a matter of money"! I know not all of us have enough of it no matter where we live! It's scary when one thinks about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Old55 Posted October 10, 2011 Forum Support Posted October 10, 2011 I’ve long been a critic of having more than ten thousand Peso cash on me. This is a wake up call especially that we have young children and are sometimes out visiting the Providences. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted October 10, 2011 Author Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) I’ve long been a critic of having more than ten thousand Peso cash on me. This is a wake up call especially that we have young children and are sometimes out visiting the Providences. Thank you! Good point. It was a bit of a wake up call for me too. I can usually find a way to scrounge up some money. It may mean pawning my bike even but I will usually manage in an emergency. But what if I am incapacitated and its up to the wife to scrounge for money? I have kind of sheltered her from having to do that and I try to keep 10K cash hidden away for emergencies at all time. (For more than that they will probably give you time to get your financial affairs in order. At least I hope so.) Funny how it always gets 'eroded' and the end of the pay period, which is what happened to me this time. I guess I need more self discipline on that (Edit: At this writing I just noticed I have 777 posts and 77 topics. Does that mean I should buy a lottery ticket or is 7 lucky here?). Edited October 10, 2011 by Dave Hounddriver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 Sorry to hear of your wife getting ill and hope she will be OK. Well if I was there then you could have come to me and I would have gladly carried you over. I guess having friends is yet another way to make sure we or our families are not turned away in an emergency, and Dave's post is a learning experience for me too since I always felt a credit card or ATM card would work. I am amazed that any hospital in this day and age would not have a terminal for at least ATM cards, or an ATM machine right in the hospital. Maybe that is something someone should tell some of the banks to think about. I keep a few ATM cards for different banks bank accounts available in case one machine runs out of money on weekends or holidays and also keep a couple of credit cards and never for the life of me did I think I would be out in the cold should something happen while outside the city. So what is the answer now, we cannot keep large amounts around the house, and we cannot carry large amounts on us, I am at a loss as to how to play it safe, so I guess we all need to save up some extra and put it away for a rainy day emergency, but where to hide it. Maybe bury it. Oh and I never carry all cards on me and instead found a place to hide them that they would never be found, but what if even I cannot find them. :) At least so far that has not been the case but my memory is getting worse all the time. :( Good thing I tell my wife because there have been times I had to ask her to find things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 I have (had) an emergency plan in the event I was hospitalized with no cash. I have a Philippine credit card with a limit that is sufficient to tide me over until I can get gather funds to pay the bill. That may work in a big city like Cebu but guess what, it does not work in small city (town) hospitals because the hospital and the pharmacy do NOT take credit cards. It is cash only and it is cash on demand. That means you show up at emergency and they give you a 'scrip for some meds and you need cash NOW at the pharmacy or you wasted your time bothering to go to the hospital. Then you make arrangements for what kind of room you want, private or ward, and again .. no credit card accepted. And by the way, make sure you have 125 pesos in your pocket to pay for the hospital gown. It may be that Phil Health or other insurance plans will help you but right then you will need hard currency. My 'higher power' decided to give me a life lesson today. It is at the lowest financial point in my cycle, which means I am broke from my last payday, the current payday is on the way, but it is Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada and financial matters are at a standstill. Add that to the ATM being 'out of stock' on cash so I could not even access my overdraft. This was the moment my wife picked to have a medical problem that required her to go to hospital. When I found out all this info I have been relating I ended up scratching for odd 20 peso notes buried in the pockets of clothes I had not worn in a while. Fortunately they restocked the ATM early today so I have a bit of a reprieve. So its time to rethink the 'emergency plan' and I am sharing this for others who may be as nonchalant about it as I have been. BTW. Its a bit soon to say for sure but it looks to be a mild medical problem in that she will be home in a couple of days.wow glad I did not get sick there coz I had no 1 to help me most of the time. maybe friends are important but who can a person trust? I sure would not trust those living on such a tight budget or I might have never got paid backhope your wife gets well fast & thanks for posting this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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