Just curious to know what each of you do in terms of the above since Medicare doesn't pay in a foreign country. In those countries that have socialized medicine, I don't think that as a non citizen you're covered, right?
I know Costa Rica is a bit different. If you have pensionado status, that is live there permanently in my case my Blue Cross blue shield would be accepted. Not sure about Medicare I'm not 65 just yet but the country offers a reasonably low priced policy even for pensionados that covers medical dental with no deductables as far as I know. i will have to check on medicare. Costa Rica is the exception in that Medical insurance and a four year degree are a birthright paid for by the government.
Mexico has private medical insurance, and the Social Security Medical Insurance, which is what you get when you work. Your employer pays for that, and it isn't jut retirement insurance, it is for use all the time whatever age.
However, you have to use the public hospitals with that, and they are not always very good, sloppy care, don't always have much in the way of equipment or really good doctors, 4 people in a room.
The private insurance is a pure ripoff, they will do everything in their power never to pay. If you live here for five years or more, you are eligible to buy the social security insurance for something like $200 a year. But it sucks, so really not worth it.
However, having said all that, if you have money here, pay as you go is really cheap. My husband's total hospital bill in a private hospital with a private room and 24 hour private nursing, an operation to repair a badly damaged clavical, and meds, and a stay of two weeks was $120,000 pesos, that is $9, 380 US dollars. then I brought him home and had two private duty nurses 10 hours a day, for the peso equivalent of $78/week.
The trauma specialist came to the house almost daily for a month, then periodically for two more months and his total bill, including some meds, was the peso equivalent of $258.00.
Over the years we've been fortunate in that we didn't get sick during our time living abroad. We had private insurance, but did not have to use it. But here some observations that some might find interesting.
In the U.S. Territory of Guam, the government hospital does not have a good reputation. Most regular care was given at clinics, HMOs really, that were OK. The best one, in my opinion, was operated by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Members of the military, of which we were not, had the advantage of Naval Hospital. Unless a true emergency, Naval Hospital treated only members of the U.S. military and dependents.
If something really bad came up and there was time, your best bet was to get on a flight to Honolulu or Manila (only three hours away).
Generally, at least in the metro Manila area, medical and dental care in the Philippines is good. Most, if not all practitioners speak execellent English and costs are reasonable. We did have a Filipino dentist who was quite competent.
In Japan, we received annual physicals compliments of my company. These were very thorough as you might imagine. Even though we could speak decent conversational Japanese, we took my secretary along to help. A little weird, but we got it done.
Australian citizens are all covered for medical but for non-citizens it's expensive. To consult a doctor at a medical center costs AU$80 (about $72 US) and that's for up to 10 minutes : if you require more time it increments by AU$40 and there's a surcharge for weekends. Medical standards are high.
The Australian medical system (the free for AU citizens one) is called Medicare.
I live in the US and since I am self-employed, health insurance is very expensive and coverage remains limited. I was diagnosed recently with skin cancer, and sadly was more concerned about the bills than the cancer itself. It was benign, I am now fine and the bills are paid, but I do not think losing sleep (or losing everything in some cases) over medical bills is right. Coming from a counry with so-called "socialized medicine", I have to admit the craziness surrounding the health care reform in the US baffles me. I am not sure where the answer lies, I do not think any of the European models are perfect either. Thankfully, the fees in the US are not incremental (yet)!!!
I'm in the UK and it has a National Health Insurance. I was eligible for health care the minute I stepped off the plane with a fiancee visa in my hand. You don't have to be a citizen, just a legal resident. I have a small co-pay on prescriptions and pay low fees at my NHS dentist, just like everyone else. Otherwise, I pay nothing. The money to suppport the system comes out of taxes on income.
I'm in the Czech Republic and once my long-term residency permit was approved, I was automatically eligible for medical insurance (does not include vision or dental, though, as far as I know). I think the co-pay is about 30 Kc now (about $2.00 US), but when I lived here before and went to a doctor in Prague, she charged me 100 Kc for speaking English. Other than that, I didn't have to pay for the visit or for the medicine she gave me. However, money is coming out of my paycheck to pay for my insurance, but I don't know how much yet. Taxes on income and sales tax here is a flat 19%.
I have been hospitalized twice in the P.I. both times for broken bones. Motorcycle accidents. The first time I was hit by a Jeepney. The driver had insurance but it only paid a small part of the bill. My cost for being hit by another vehicle, suffering a broken wrist and overnight in the hospital was US$500 The second accident in 2008, broke the same wrist again and got a few holes in my head that required 17 stitches.. Spent 3 days in hospital cost US$700. I have found both medical and dental costs in the Philippines to be very affordable and the caregiving is excellent. I have no desire to prolong my life should I contact a life threatening disease, therefore I don't worry about medical insurance. Actually, I find it objectionable to cling to life hooked up to a machine in IC. What's the point?
JerryMerry...What a contrast from the Phillipines to the U.S. My husband spent 14 days in intensive care in January and the cost for the room alone was almost $6K. The bill for that hospital (including surgery) alone was $300K and he was in three other hospitals before he finally came home in June. We have a catastrophic policy so all that we had to pay was $5K but all told, the bills were in excess of $750K.
It would be interesting to analyze your bill Laraine. When ill people are looked upon as nothing more than a profit generating resource it's time to overhaul the mindset.
