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Healthcare: Options for the Wealthy
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How do wealthy and upper-middle class expats in the Philippines manage (and pay) for their healthcare, given the idiosyncrasies of the Philippine hospital & medical system? Is there American-style insurance available, or is everything out of pocket?
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To fit into either category you would need to be living on something other than a tourist visa, and as such be eligible for PhilHealth. There are health insurance polices available, but they are mostly to cover specific things like hospitalization or specific illnesses. I carry two 1 for hospitalization and 1 that covers malaria and dengue treatment. There are some policies that are specific to travellers and expats that can be searched for online, but I didn’t find them worth getting in my case. Getting a private practice doctor is pretty cheap on a cash basis. When I first moved here this time it was out in a provincial city. It cost me $10.00 for my initial session and $2 per prescription I wanted. I had 5 scripts, but have since given them all up as my blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression are much better. After that for 15 months I would just show up pay the office girl, she was his niece, and in an hour would have my prescriptions for ₱50 each or about a dollar. I finally quit that after losing nearly 100 pounds, getting lots of exercise, and eating well. Now in Davao City I can go to the doctor for $5.00 and scripts costs me a dollar. I did this just last week when I got an eye infection that was going around. I have that hospitalization policy which costs me ₱1000 or about $20 per year for ₱500,000 coverage in a public or ₱300,000 in a private hospital. I do have access to public funded healthcare back in the states as part of a injury settlement while working for the state. I keep enough cash on hand to get me back to Los Angeles so I can make use of it if necessary. This is the way a lot of older Americans who live here on tourist visas do things. I hope within the next few years to have my permanent residency here so I can access PhilHealth, but a decided lack of cash on hand to put on deposit for a year kept me from doing so when I moved here this time.
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Most health care expenses are paid out of pocket. Only 6% of the total population is covered by private health care. The HMO industry was patterned after the US but has since evolved. It’s very prohibitive and favors the sick. Check out the ‘prepaid’ products designed for the relatively healthy, as an alternative. Unfortunately, only extremes, in terms of products are currently available. In Google, search for HMO and the top HMOs will come out. Hope that helps.