Philhealth, Gobal Ins, Or Self Insure?

[intrepid]

I know this has been talked about before, but with maybe a different twist.  And of course the best plan as someone mentioned before is to stay healthy, but we all know sX!t HAPPENS.

So, as  split form several topics, I am really looking into ideas about planning my health care when I move my family of three to the Philippines.  I know everyones situation and economic factors are different and also depending on where in the Philippines you live.  For me, we will be living in the south Laguna area so will be near(1-2 hrs depending on traffic) some good hospitals in Manila.  There has been talk on the other threads about medicare and has been good information for many and for me in the future since I will be just 56 when we make the move.

I have been looking for options and have narrowed it down to about three and was hoping you all may have others.
1) PhilHealth and or other Philippine insurance
2)Global Insurance.  Although many will cover your bills in the Philippines after copays and deductibles, most likely you will still need to be prepared to pay the bills up front and later be hopeful of reimbursement.  I had been leaning toward this option but still trying to decide how high of deductible to go with.
3) Self Insure.  Again, knowing the doctors and hospital cost from some first had and others experiences seems like another good option.  But with this option, how much should one reserve to feel comfortable in some worse case scenario?

At the moment I am considering PhilHealth and a global insurance including the US and Canada with a $2500 or $5000 deductible which would cost between $2700-$3600 per year.  Those costs could be reduced by about $1000 annually if you choose to exclude US and Canada with the few companies I have searched.

I would be interested in what other options any of you have found to be good including if you were to self insure, how much should be in reserve to feel comfortable?

danny

[MikeB]

At the moment I am considering PhilHealth and a global insurance including the US and Canada with a $2500 or $5000 deductible which would cost between $2700-$3600 per year.  Those costs could be reduced by about $1000 annually if you choose to exclude US and Canada with the few companies I have searched.

Is that comprehensive coverage for all 3 of you? If so, that sounds like a good price. I have Blue Cross Phil, it will probably run about that for all 3 with no deduction. I have inpatient only with a travel exclusion for the US, HK, Sing, and a few others but if it's an emergency I am covered in those places. You might want to check that. The exclusion discounts the BC policy 25%.   

[intrepid]

Is that comprehensive coverage for all 3 of you?

 

Yes Mike,  that is for all three with a quote for male 55, female 49, and one child over 10.  The below quote is from Global  Medical Insurance.  The coverage looks good and I would consider the worldwide including US and Canada and maybe even go for the higher deductible and then only use it for needed very high planned procedures after returning to US.  Of course its all a gamble!..with a lot of preplanning,

here's a link to the quote page.

 

 

https://purchase.imglobal.com/Quote/global_medical/quote-selection

[Mike S]

We have PhilHealth with money set aside for extra emergencies ...... your $2500 (p102,000) and $5000 (p204,000) is quite a lot for health care here especial the amount you will have to pay out of pocket ..... unless of course you have a major operation ..... and even then you are going to be paying much out of pocket ..... I went to a Nephrologist a few years ago and his office visit was only p400 for the initial visit and then p350 after that ..... my whole treatment .... untra-sound ... lab work ..... office visits x3 plus medicine was only about p9000 ..... so health care here is not what it is else where as far as cost goes ..... you are all basically still young and hopefully in good health so you need to weigh the cost of premiums .... deductions and out of pocket expenses vs. actual usage of your policy ..... while I know NO-ONE can predict when you will need to be hospitalized sometimes we can be actually over insured ..... but the choice is up to you ..... if you have the funds go for it .... for me it would be an added burden I don't care to add ..... but as they say here "sup 2 you" .....  :thumbsup:  :cheersty:   

[earthdome]

I use option 2 but in my case it is health insurance provided as part of my retirement. My choices from my employer were an expensive comprehensive plan or a high deductible plan with a Health Savings Account. I chose the latter and use my own cash for routine medical care then get reimbursed from the tax free HSA account. I can use the before tax HSA money for medical, prescriptions, dental and vision.

 

Of course the HSA would only be available rom a USA based insurer.

 

I haven't decided yet whether I will get phil health in addition to my existing coverage. Having phil health my at least ensure I am provided health services in an emergency and only costs 200 pesos/month.

[Thomas]

I have been looking for options and have narrowed it down to about three and was hoping you all may have others.

1) PhilHealth and or other Philippine insurance

2)Global Insurance.  Although many will cover your bills in the Philippines after copays and deductibles, most likely you will still need to be prepared to pay the bills up front and later be hopeful of reimbursement.  I had been leaning toward this option but still trying to decide how high of deductible to go with.

3) Self Insure.  Again, knowing the doctors and hospital cost from some first had and others experiences seems like another good option.  But with this option, how much should one reserve to feel comfortable in some worse case scenario?

I haven't moved yet, but I will surely have PhilHealth, because they can function as price negotiator for free  :)

 

2 or 3 depend of how hard hit your personal economy can manage.

If you chose p2 with high self risk, then it kind of become a mix of insurance and self insurance  :)

 

Hospital bills can surely be over 100 000p if it's a biger surgery or need a longer stay in hospital. (e g stroke, hard infection...) Stroke is rather common among even younger Filipins than you. I have no idea if it depend of weather or some not healthy habit.

(E g I know a bit a 54 year old ex small Filipin farmer, who has got three strokes allready. I didn't know him before his first stroke, so I don't know if he have changed habbits to healthier after he got strokes, but he live healthy now, and surely isn't an alcoholic/drug adict, because he look still rather good after 3 strokes, although he is partly paralyced have problem walking. And they managed to afford 2 of their 4 kids to go to College, so I suppose they can't have spend much money on alcohol or such. I'm not sure if I remember corect, but I believe the bill for the 3rd stroke was 60 000 pesos for among the simplest treatments in a smaller hospital, but staying a week, going home "to early" because then he couldn't even stand yet, and couldn't reach shower or toilet in their house.)

[intrepid]

Thanks all for the responses so far.

 

earthdome, I did consider the HSA also.  But since we plan to be in PI fulltime, it would not work for me.

 

So I am still wondering about:

3) Self Insure.  Again xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  But with this option, how much should one reserve to feel comfortable in some worse case scenario?   Would you work a little longer to save $10K, $25K, $100k? or more. 

[JJReyes]

What makes sense for me is catastrophic medical insurance that pays for surgery and hospitalization. This is usually the most expensive and unpredictable in terms of how much it will cost. Primary care in the Philippines is very reasonable. Just remind your physician you want generic brand for your prescription medication. If he/she insists on a brand name, change your medical doctor.

[intrepid]

What makes sense for me is catastrophic medical insurance that pays for surgery and hospitalization. This is usually the most expensive and unpredictable in terms of how much it will cost

 

Thanks JJ,
I had forgotten about about catastrophic insurance.  That may be the option I am looking for.  Seems like I would have no finical problem with medical bills in the Philippines.  But, if there were an unforeseen catastrophic medical issue I may want to have treatment in the US.  I could still afford a high deductible to keep the costs down and the insurance would help from cleaning my savings in case of a cost medical procedure/treatment.
Any recommended catastrophic medical insurance companies?

[JJReyes]

I had forgotten about about catastrophic insurance. That may be the option I am looking for. Seems like I would have no finical problem with medical bills in the Philippines. But, if there were an unforeseen catastrophic medical issue I may want to have treatment in the US. I could still afford a high deductible to keep the costs down and the insurance would help from cleaning my savings in case of a cost medical procedure/treatment. Any recommended catastrophic medical insurance companies?

 

I don't know of any private medical insurance company. Check Bupa, a Danish company. Some of my friends living in Asia think they are the best, but I am pretty sure the premiums are high. The first day of the Philippine Retirement & Healthcare Summit, 22-23 April will include a discussion on medical insurance for global retirees living in the Philippines.

 

If you qualify for Medicare, kindly note that Medicare A covers surgery and hospitalization on a co-payment basis (80/20 split). Medicare B is to pay for primary care. It is still an 80/20 split. If you are going to relocate to the Philippines, save the $105 in monthly premiums for Medicare B that are automatically deducted from your social security benefit payments. Don't spend the money. Set it aside in a reserve account. That's $1,260 a year or over P50,000 at the current exchange rate..