I've been curious about this for a while, especially when I'm hit with a crazy doctor/hospital bill for some seemingly minor issue:
So, what do you think about your school-provided insurance? I would like to get an overall picture of what is offered at Int. Schools compared to here in the US. Sometimes I feel that if it weren't for the doctor bills, we would actually have a chance at saving some money (and then someone gets sick...).
Here are some questions just to get the ball rolling and then my personal situation as a point of comparison.
Is your deductible reasonable? i.e, ours is $2500 per person.
Does it cover 100% of medical costs? After deductible is met, ours will pay 80%
Does the school pay for dependents also? We pay about $380 per month for the kids to have insurance. What's interesting is that it would be the same amount whether we had 1 or 10 kids in the family.
Do you have access to quality medical facilities or English speaking doctors?
Do you have worldwide coverage? Is it included or must you pay extra?
Also, if you care to share any interesting/funny/ horrifying experiences feel free to add to the conversation!
Thanks in advance for any replies.
How do you like your health insurance?
We can actually get free care and Rx at the government-owned hospital as we are a government-owned school. Western-trained and English-speaking doctors are easy to find here. Our insurance covers private hospitals and clinics. There is no deductible but limits on some things. Unfortunately, wellness exams are not covered, nor are dental treatments or vision exams and Rx. We have world-wide coverage EXCEPT for the U.S., where costs are so ridiculously high. There are only four U.S. citizens in the school so we are very much a minority voice.
Everywhere
Everywhere I have been ive had better health care then in the USA. We have no premiums for our social healthcare system (we do have high taxes though). There are no CoPays and necessary prescribed medication are included (There are some very low fixed price lists for some medications). Hospital& Clinic (in patient/out patient) are covered 100% as are office visits/preventive care by your primary care physician. They can give you a referral to see a specialist (usually at hospital) that is also covered. There are no deductibles.
What you save in cost you pay for in time. Basically if you have an immediate medical problem you go to hospital and your treated immediately. Seeing your primary doctor takes a lot of scheduling in advance, its not uncommon for people to book appointments 6 months in advance. You schedule your lab work a week in advance then examination, which is really conducted by a nurse. You discuss the results and finding with the doctor in about 5-10 minutes, and then followup. Pharmacy prescriptions and all your medical records are all nationalized and centralized. You can go to any pharmacy (they are all state run) and your prescriptions are there. Your lab work, doctor notes, etc are all digital and available to all your health care providers.
English is learned in the school system, so english speaking doctors, nurses, are commonly available. Sometimes you will have someone struggle with technical english medical terminology, but its not a real issue.
We do have world wide coverage (you need to get a special card) that is excepted everywhere in the EU, and major cities in the rest of the world, EXCEPT in the United states, where your advised that any charges above those that are customary, will be forwarded to you. In the USA medical facilities know what will and wont be paid and will require a supplemental policy or payment when services are rendered.
One STRONG reason id never repatriate back to the USA is that healthcare is so broken
What you save in cost you pay for in time. Basically if you have an immediate medical problem you go to hospital and your treated immediately. Seeing your primary doctor takes a lot of scheduling in advance, its not uncommon for people to book appointments 6 months in advance. You schedule your lab work a week in advance then examination, which is really conducted by a nurse. You discuss the results and finding with the doctor in about 5-10 minutes, and then followup. Pharmacy prescriptions and all your medical records are all nationalized and centralized. You can go to any pharmacy (they are all state run) and your prescriptions are there. Your lab work, doctor notes, etc are all digital and available to all your health care providers.
English is learned in the school system, so english speaking doctors, nurses, are commonly available. Sometimes you will have someone struggle with technical english medical terminology, but its not a real issue.
We do have world wide coverage (you need to get a special card) that is excepted everywhere in the EU, and major cities in the rest of the world, EXCEPT in the United states, where your advised that any charges above those that are customary, will be forwarded to you. In the USA medical facilities know what will and wont be paid and will require a supplemental policy or payment when services are rendered.
One STRONG reason id never repatriate back to the USA is that healthcare is so broken
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lightstays
- Posts: 116
- Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:07 am
- Location: Americas
AETNA worldwide is fantastic. I think any school that only offers local/regional coverage is really being chintzy. I get 100% back on doctor's visits, limited coverage of non-essential treatments and a tax rebate on any prescription purchases.
One thing that does tend to happen though is that doctors tend to over-prescribe medications in markets where drugs are relatively cheap (ie, anywhere outside the US.) I just spent $20 on a visit and $200 on drugs for a minor respiratory infection.
One thing that does tend to happen though is that doctors tend to over-prescribe medications in markets where drugs are relatively cheap (ie, anywhere outside the US.) I just spent $20 on a visit and $200 on drugs for a minor respiratory infection.
Ours is lovely. 100% coverage with a long list of approved providers for all normal medical stuff. 80% if you go outside the list of providers, but the best doctors are on the list, so that would be a silly move. No deductibles, very high annual limit.
80% coverage on eyes and teeth with approved providers. No deductibles, but the annual limit for dental is a bit low for my liking. If you need a major dental experience, you'll be ok, but if you're unlucky enough to have two major dental issues in one year, you'd probably be over.
International coverage, world-wide. 100% coverage for all emergency and normal care. I think for some non-urgent things they want you to get treated in country, but I'm not sure of the specifics. Medical care is good and easy here, so I don't do non-urgent things when I'm away.
If you have a hospital stay, you're entitled to a private room.
My only beef is that there is almost no preventive care provided. Dental check-ups and cleaning are at your expense if no problems are found. If the check-up reveals a need for action, then it's covered. They will cover a well-woman/man check-up if you're over 35, and a more thorough one if you're over 40, but not cover dermatology screenings for pre-cancerous lesions, even if you have family history. Again, if the screening reveals a problem, then it'll be covered, but not if you're cleared. Etc, etc.
All family members are covered to the same level, at no cost to the employee. Really, a pretty sweet package.
80% coverage on eyes and teeth with approved providers. No deductibles, but the annual limit for dental is a bit low for my liking. If you need a major dental experience, you'll be ok, but if you're unlucky enough to have two major dental issues in one year, you'd probably be over.
International coverage, world-wide. 100% coverage for all emergency and normal care. I think for some non-urgent things they want you to get treated in country, but I'm not sure of the specifics. Medical care is good and easy here, so I don't do non-urgent things when I'm away.
If you have a hospital stay, you're entitled to a private room.
My only beef is that there is almost no preventive care provided. Dental check-ups and cleaning are at your expense if no problems are found. If the check-up reveals a need for action, then it's covered. They will cover a well-woman/man check-up if you're over 35, and a more thorough one if you're over 40, but not cover dermatology screenings for pre-cancerous lesions, even if you have family history. Again, if the screening reveals a problem, then it'll be covered, but not if you're cleared. Etc, etc.
All family members are covered to the same level, at no cost to the employee. Really, a pretty sweet package.