Will I Qualify For Health Insurance In The Philippines?

[jpbago]

There are specific amounts on what they pay depending on medical procedure. The Philhealth benefit is typically applied as a discount on the bill before you pay and before any other insurance is applied.  

   My wife and I are not married. I am here on a tourist visa. I have Philhealth but have never used it. I have life insurance too but have never used it. My wife and daughters have Philhealth and have used it twice for a discount on the bills. It cost only 100p per month for 3 people so even though it did not pay the posted amount for dengue, it did pay more than I had paid into it. Last year, it cost 150p/month.

   I think that Blue Cross requires you to have Philhealth and then BC pays above what PH pays first. By having both, it will be easier to be admitted. Either that or bring your credit card, platinum or higher.

[MikeB]

 I think that Blue Cross requires you to have Philhealth and then BC pays above what PH pays first.

I have BC, there is no such requirement.

[robert k]

Unlike the US, where my sister in law's private insurance does not want to pay all of the hospital bill [less copay] because she was elegible to enroll in medicare and she did not because she is still working and has insurance. :thumbsup:

[Steve & Myrlita]

When I was admitted in July for Pneumonia, The total bill was P42k. Philhealth paid P20K. Balance paid by Maxicare minus P2k deductible which I paid upon discharge.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Steve & Myrlita

[Alby]

I get it but isn't different for a 13-a or tourist?

Can anybody be positive about it paying even if one is a tourist? Would all Filipino hospitals abide and not give that reason out of the hat thing?

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[Dave Hounddriver]

I get it but isn't different for a 13-a or tourist?

Can anybody be positive about it paying even if one is a tourist? Would all Filipino hospitals abide and not give that reason out of the hat thing?

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I know you can get PhilHealth on a tourist visa, once you have an ACR card.

 

So the question is:  Do they pay out?  I have heard people on tourist visas claim they received coverage and I have heard others say the hospital claimed that PhilHealth is for filipinos only.  But truthfully, how would the hospital know if you were here on a tourist visa or some other kind?  They do not ask that.  So my personal conclusion is:  If you can comfortable afford the required 600 pesos for the first 3 months coverage then go for it.  If you try to use it and hit a roadblock then you are only out the 600 you already admitted you can afford :-)

[Alby]

Dave Houndriver...

If a test would cost me just 600 p, then I will try it. Nothing to lose. I will put this on the list.

I am bob ...

Here is a maybe or is it a maybe now? :)

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[Dave Hounddriver]

If a test would cost me just 600 p, then I will try it. Nothing to lose. I will put this on the list.

 

My friend walked up to the PhilHealth counter in Robinson's Mall Dumaguete and they sold him 3 months PhilHealth, with a normal looking ID card, for 600 pesos.  The trick is to get hospitalized while you are covered to see if it is accepted.  He and I did go to the emergency room at the Holy Child Hospital so that he could get a damaged leg tended to.  I asked the attending physician if they would accept his PhilHealth card for any part of the payment and she said he must be admitted before PhilHealth begins to cover anything.

 

So you would need to keep paying 600 pesos every 3 months until you had occasion to be admitted to hospital before you would know for absolute sure if it will benefit you personally.

[MikeB]

Can anybody be positive about it paying even if one is a tourist? Would all Filipino hospitals abide and not give that reason out of the hat thing?

You're not going to get a definitive answer as to what ALL Filipino hospitals will do. Or any entity for that matter. My recommendation is to get comprehensive private in-patient insurance AND Philhealth AND carry plastic. Philhealth is cheap enough and the private policies I know of run from several hundred dollars to less then $1500 per year, depending on age and options. If you can't afford that you definitely can't afford a major medical event.

[MacBubba]

Balance paid by Maxicare minus P2k deductible which I paid upon discharge.

 

Did you get your Maxicare coverage in the Philippines?  And, could you give a ballpark figure of the annual cost for coverage?  Thanks!