Health Insurance for retirees living permanently in PI

[dragonfly58]

Living on social security I need something that doesn't escalate after age 75 and 80 - at those ages I wouldn't be able to eat with the increase.  I have heard to not rely on just the Phil health but to have private insurance as well.  So far Pacific Prime and Pacific Cross are the only ones with affordable coverage at age 60, 65; but it really goes up fast after that.  
Does anyone have some insight on coverages that don't escalate rapidly after age 70/5/80?  

[GeoffH]

For what they want for seniors health insurance in the Philippines it might be easier to put cash in a bank account and just get Phil Health.

Then if (when) something goes wrong draw down on it.

 

YMMV of course. 

Edited August 25, 2021 by GeoffH

[Mike J]

Welcome to the forum Dragonfly.  Many, perhaps most, people who reach those ages have some kind of expensive medical issues when the get into the late 70s and 80s.  About the only exceptions are those who drop suddenly with a major heart attack.  Medical insurance rates reflect those average medical costs and of course a profit for the corporation as well.   As Geoff wrote, you can try to set aside funds so as to be self ensured.  Another option might be to have a stand by plan and funds to return to the USA where you would have Medicare.  

[Old55]

Welcome to the forum Dragonfly.

Geoff's suggestion is practical. 

Some medicare plans will cover you in Philippines for example Primera Blue Shield. Yes, it's not cheap starting at ~$300 USD a month. 

[Freebie]

My health insurance is with Cigna.. covers me worldwide except for US. Prices have been going up about 10% each years for past 5 years.. I'm in mid 60s....I too have concerns about what the costs will be post 70. So far Cigna is definitely winning at the moment in terms of amount paid and refunds received, given that in past 4 years Ive only used them for a few outpatient visits... but of course if I get a major problem /illness then I start to recoup my costs.

Its a really hard one to decide what to do.. given the state of Philippines hospitals and the treatment inside crowded wards I wouldn't put much faith in Phil Health.... private help is the way to go . I know a few expats with Pacific Cross and they seem well served but slow to reimburse and require lots documentation.

 

Theres no easy path to follow in terms of medical insurance for healthy ( for now !) expats here in Philippines.

[graham59]

I just make sure there is enough cash in the bank to pay for an atheist's funeral.  (A couple of guys with spades to dig the hole ?  )

[hk blues]

For me, being a Brit we are not so much into the culture of health insurance as our American cousins so I rely on Philhealth and having access to emergency funds.  I know as we get older it may become more "risky" but I'd prefer to take the risk than pay a hefty amount now when I'm healthy enough to not likely need it (touch wood) then not be able to afford it when I am more likely to need it.  

I hope to die in my bed just before the money runs out!

[Jollygoodfellow]

4 hours ago, hk blues said:

I hope to die in my bed just before the money runs out!

Send me all your money and a floor plan of your house and we can set the date 

[hk blues]

42 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Send me all your money and a floor plan of your house and we can set the date 

The wife has assured me she will take care of that side of things - in fact, she checks my bank balance every night before we sleep!

[Huggybearman]

On 8/25/2021 at 11:26 AM, Freebie said:

 

On 8/25/2021 at 11:26 AM, Freebie said:

Its a really hard one to decide what to do.. given the state of Philippines hospitals and the treatment inside crowded wards I wouldn't put much faith in Phil Health.... private help is the way to go . I know a few expats with Pacific Cross and they seem well served but slow to reimburse and require lots documentation.

 

I would think most of us have PhilHealth. It is relatively inexpensive and both my wife and her family have used it on occasion. In practice it seems to cover about 20% of the total bill, which is paid to the hospital directly, you don’t need to wait to get it reimbursed. As far as I know PhilHealth don’t run any hospitals, the treatment they had was carried out in a good (by local standards) private hospital, with a private room. You don’t need to use a public hospital unless you so choose. 

As for Pacific Cross, when I looked into getting medical insurance, the total amount of cover was only 200,000php with a premium of over 40,000php. And that was on a reimbursement basis. For that kind of cover I would prefer to self insure. There are other providers available but for those of us aged 70+ the premium really becomes prohibitive!