Discontinuing Medicare while in Philippines on Phil-Health

[tomaw 1,341]

Sorry, pesos, for both my wife and me...actually here we pay for all the relatives phil health...trust me its cheaper in the long run lol

Wow! That's great! Thanks for the info.

[tomaw 1,341]

I thought Obama had all that sorted out for the American people? I thought he was taking care of everyone with his new medical program, no?

 

If so, it shouldn't cost you anything to be covered, if you are retired.

Everyone over 65 gets Medicare which is what I have. My wife gets insurance through Covered California which I think is associated with Obama Care. It's priced according to what a person makes. My wife isn't working so she only pays $70 a month. I pay $104.90 a month for MediCare. Edited March 24, 2015 by tomaw
Please separate your post from quoted text. It makes it appear as though the person you quoted, wrote your reply.

[throttleplate 1,893]

 

35

Been here 9 years been off the whole time and even before that ,i have Phil health , at 75 who cares  but i do keep my  first card which says i have it , and if i make it back to the US alive i will just use it  and when the catch up just say i am old and i have bad memory and ask for a wavier  from there policies, worked before

42

 

oh they will catch up to you the minute you cant produce a current id card and they look in the computer and see you arnt enrolled.

[tomaw 1,341]

Phil Health is cheap for sure. But how good is it? I read it only covers about 80% of a hospital bill. Not sure what it does for a doctor's office visit.

[easy44 5,525]

For $55 PER YEAR anything you get is a benefit.  This is probably the biggest bargain you can find in the Philippines and is available to almost anyone.  I have mentioned this before, but I only paid P3000+ out of a total bill of P30,000+ when my gf was in the hospital for pneumonia.  That just blew my mind!  Obviously a lot depends on the condition, level of accommodation, but it sure made my day.  Oh, and one other thing, she was behind on her payments so they let her bring her account up to date so she would be covered!

 

You have to be nuts not to take advantage of this.

[ex231 3,945]

Phil Health is cheap for sure. But how good is it? I read it only covers about 80% of a hospital bill. Not sure what it does for a doctor's office visit.

 

Not very. It paid a little over 20% of my wife's hospital bill recently. Like another poster said, think of it as a discount card. As far as I know it only pays when you're hospitalized. The wife and I pay 200p each per month . Office visit for a Dr runs between 300-500p depending on the Dr we see.

[riklynbor 1,110]

Thanks guys. That's pretty much what I thought. I'll keep MediCare and keep it active. It's just $104.90 out of my SS Check each month. I'll also get Phil-Health. Does anyone know what that will cost for myself (a foreigner) and my wife ( a Filipina)?

Some very good questions here thanks. Can you get philhealth if your a regular visitor?

[big RB 770]

Phil Health is cheap for sure. But how good is it? I read it only covers about 80% of a hospital bill. Not sure what it does for a doctor's office visit.

 

It does not pay office visits. But it is dirt cheap and pays the hospital. For foreigners it prevents the need for a cash deposit. The hospital will admit you! Otherwise you are trying to find an ATM. With Phil Health they never ask for any money until I was released. Then it covered about 50%, saving me about 25k. In Pesos of coarse. Medical care here is really fairly priced, but they can demand cash deposits up front. Hard to do if you were not ready for it. So get it if you qualify for it. Also get it for dependent relatives and hired help. Same reason, are you ready for your maid's bill if she gets in a tricycle accident?  

[easy44 5,525]

Some very good questions here thanks. Can you get philhealth if your a regular visitor?

This what they say about the eligibility of foreigners:

 

Citizens of other countries working and/or residing in the Philippines

- foreign citizens with valid working permits and/or Alien Certificate of Registrations (ACRs), working and/or residing in the Philippines

 

Check out the website.  It answers a lot of questions: http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/

[tomaw 1,341]

Not very. It paid a little over 20% of my wife's hospital bill recently. Like another poster said, think of it as a discount card. As far as I know it only pays when you're hospitalized. The wife and I pay 200p each per month . Office visit for a Dr runs between 300-500p depending on the Dr we see.

I believe you and Easy44 but you both have very conflicting experiences with Phil-Health coverage. Can anyone explain why these two guys had such widely different experiences?

[Jawny 4,617]

http://www.livingincebuforums.com/topic/63781-philhealth-for-foreigners/

 

Much is covered in this thread

[easy44 5,525]

http://www.livingincebuforums.com/topic/63781-philhealth-for-foreigners/

 

Much is covered in this thread

Yes it is.  I'm not an expert, only relating my experience with Philhealth.  Can't offer much beyond that.

[Jawny 4,617]

There is one detail about using philhealth that might be of interest to those members who have commercial insurance which they use overseas. Many, (if not all?) commercial insurance companies will ask at the time a claim is submitted if there is other insurance involved. For example, sometimes in a car accident, the commercial health care insurance will want the automobile coverage to be used in lieu of or as part of the claim.

 

Since philhealth is a low cost insurance, it is not surprising that claims take a while to be processed. This has been the case for my family with many instances of several months passing before their claim was final.

 

That delay can slow down other insurance companies from making a settlement, since they will await the outcome of the Philhealth.

 

For many, this may not be an issue. However, if the hospital and doctors have demanded payment and the insured person is awaiting some compensation, the wait can be a long one.

 

For myself and family, I have a commercial insurance and have opted to not use philhealth. This means I pay out of pocket and then file a claim with my commercial insurwnce. I don't want that claim to be delayed while I await philhealth to complete their work.

[smokey 21,699]

Thanks guys. That's pretty much what I thought. I'll keep MediCare and keep it active. It's just $104.90 out of my SS Check each month. I'll also get Phil-Health. Does anyone know what that will cost for myself (a foreigner) and my wife ( a Filipina)?

Medicare is worthless if you live in the Philippines but if you cancel it you will if you go back to the us have to pay a penalty but if your not going back its lost money

[easy44 5,525]

 

 

Since philhealth is a low cost insurance, it is not surprising that claims take a while to be processed. This has been the case for my family with many instances of several months passing before their claim was final. That delay can slow down other insurance companies from making a settlement, since they will await the outcome of the Philhealth.

 

Not sure if this applies.  Philhealth does not pay anything to the insured person, as far as I know.  The hospital applies any Philhealth coverage directly to the bill before the insured patient is presented with it.  The hospital might only be waiting for the patient to pay their portion, but the Philhealth portion has already been settled before the patient gets the bill.  Philhealth is already out of the picture before any other insurance company would get involved.