Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

Health Insurance for Travelers

Health, Podcasts / by

If you are coming to the Philippines to live here, having some kind of health insurance is a good idea.  You need to be protected from the high cost of being sick.  Getting sick can really bankrupt you these days.

Fortunately, there are some advantages about the Philippines, though.  Primarily, the cost of health care in the Philippines is quite low.  For many cases you can self-insure here in the Philippines, because for the vast majority of services, the cost is small enough that it can be paid out of pocket.

However, if you have a major medical issue – cancer, heart attack, something along those lines, self insurance won’t be a good answer, unless your savings are substantial.  In that case, having some kind of health insurance is highly advisable.

 

What if you are just here for vacation though?

Health InsuranceMany people would avail of Travel Insurance to fill the gap in coverage during their overseas vacation.  Others may just go uninsured during that time – the risk is quite small after all. But, some people look for other solutions.

Recently, I was contacts and asked about this very issue.  The caller was going to be in the Philippines for a relatively short time, a few months max.  But, he wanted to be covered in case the unexpected happened during his visit.  What could he do?

I was able to give him a few suggestions.  See what you think.  Maybe you have other suggestions, or maybe you are looking for this very information yourself.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I always buy ” travel insurance ” through my travel agent when visiting the Philippines when I purchase my air tickets. Cost me about $100 USD but for me it is well worth it. Travel insurance covers a multitude of things such as lost luggage, trip cancellations, Health and Hospitalization etc. The policy I buy is considered as secondary insurance if your primary insurance ( health ins. ) does not fully reimburse you the travelers insurance will fill any remaining gap.

    My travelers Insurance paid off for me on my visit of 2012 when I came down with Pneumonia and was in the hospital for 5 days. You can read about that here as well as have a look at the bill.

    http://liveinthephilippines.com/hospitalized-in-the-philippines/

    The Travel insurance I buy is from ” Travel Guard ” .

    If you are not sure on what kind of travelers insurance is best for you I would advise checking with a travel agent in your home area. This must be purchased prior to your trip departure from your home country.

    If you know where in The Philippines you are going it may also be worth your while to check out on the internet or with locals where you will be about medical and hospital availability. Quality and conditions will vary even in the same area. I would also recommend a ” Private Hospital ” as compared to a public hospital as there can be a huge difference there.

    When I came down with Pneumonia in 2012 and I was not feeling better after 4 days of thinking it was just a cold, all I had to say to my Filipino friends was ” take me to MSH ” ( Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital now known as Adventist Medical Center, Iligan City ). My research from years before paid off.

    For me, I consider Travelers Insurance a necessity and part of the cost of my vacation visits. You just never know when you will really need it.

    In the unlikely or unfortunate event you do require hospitalization I would suggest a Private Room. When I was on a gurney in the emergency dept. a private room was offered me at a cost of the equivalent of $52 USD per day. As sick as I felt, an imaginary flashing neon sign in my head started flashing ” Bargain – Bargain – Bargain .

    You are expected to pay your hospital bill in full before being discharged from the hospital.

  2. Travel insurance, also known as trip protection insurance, is always offered by travel websites when you book an overseas flight. It’s easy to say,”oh, nothing is going to happen, I’m just going to be in the Philippines for a couple of weeks, so I’m going to save some money and decline the additional charge to my flight ticket.” Really?

    That, to me, is taking a great risk. I go by the adage that, if it can happen, it will happen. Dwelling on the negative is not necessarily bad because it provides an impetus to formulate a contingency plan should the unexpected arises. The trip protection insurance is as good as any contingency plan. When my wife and I travel overseas, even if it’s just a short hop to the Caribbean for a week or two, we always opt to buy the trip protection insurance. I have not yet figured out how rates are based, but I have noticed that it runs anywhere from $400 on up for two adults for Philippine travel. Some of the coverage include medical evacuation back to the States. How comforting is that to know?

    • Hi John – For some, that is great advice. For others it is not needed. For instance, in my case, I have never bought travel insurance, trip protection, or whatever a certain company may call it. The reason? Not because I didn’t feel health insurance was necessary, but because my Stateside health care plan would cover me anywhere in the world. So, buying the extra insurance was of no extra value. But, for those who have no such coverage from their provider, then it is certainly something to look into.

      Thanks for sharing.

  3. Hi Bob – Thank you for covering a very relevant topic. You mentioned that a tourist can now be covered for Phil Health. Can you please tell me if that coverage can be purchased before we come to the Philippines at their embassy at the same time as getting a tourist visa, or would I have to wait until I was actually in the Philippines? If I had to wait until I came to the Philippines, what government department would I have to visit to get coverage, and do you have the address for that department in Davao. Thank you so much for the information.

    • Hi Richard – Thanks for listening in!

      PhilHealth cannot be purchased overseas, unless changes have recently been made which I am unaware of.

      You purchase PhilHealth at the PhilHealth Office. For Davao, that is located along Quimpo Blvd., in Ecoland. Between SM City and the Ecoland Bus Terminal.

      Good luck!

      • I thought the PhilHealth office in Davao had moved to Bolton Extension behind City Hall and just along from Magallanes Residences. Can’t be sure but I think that’s where we paid in January.

        • Perhaps, Malcolm. I only knew it was on Quimpo last time I went there. I was walking past there a couple weeks ago and saw the sign still on the building, but perhaps they moved and did not take down the sign. Either way, it would not be difficult to find, I am sure that Richard can get there without much problem.

          Thanks for the update.

  4. hi bob , our family has philhealth insurance its very affordable but the main thing is find a good doctor
    if you live in the philippines , i have a great doctor i had a very minor stroke 2 years ago caused by high
    blood pressure makes you think about what your eating and lifestyle your living ,you should always have
    money put aside for a bad day travel insurance you would be a fool not to get it . derek in pasig

    • Absolutely, Derek, finding a good doctor is very important. I did not address that in the podcast, because it was not the question that was asked of me. But, you are certainly right.

      I don’t think I was a fool not to buy travel insurance, as I had other insurance for the same purpose at the time, as I explained to John in an earlier comment.

  5. Bob,
    Having had to use hospitals several times while in the Philippines on my yearly or twice a year trips I can vouch directly for the quality and the low cost end of things for sure, especially emergency care for injuries or sickness.

    I am covered through my work as a mechanic for United Airlines via Kaiser health plan N California. Lucky I guess to have a good plan for now, but folks should check their own insurance first before purchase of something else. In most all cases stateside insurance will cover out of network emergencies and also urgent care items. Having done this a few times I can vouch for the process. The real “problem” if you can call it that is sometimes you don’t hit the deductible which in my case is 150 dollars till they pay 100% for out of network emergencies or urgent care.
    We also cover our family members that live in the Philippines with PhilHealth and I will say this….it don’t cover the little or medium things in many cases, but boy o boy it sure helps when a big issue hits. Well worth the money spent for sure.

  6. Hi Bob

    A good topic to discuss.

    As I am currently working in Singapore I have made sure that all of my family is covered. We have had occasion to use a Singapore hospital once or twice and it is not cheap.

    We got Philhealth whilst on my extended stay in Davao last year and so far we have not had to use it but at such a ridiculously cheap price we would be stupid not to take it out.

    Your article reminded me actually, ours is due for renewal. If you could do another medical article at the same time next year it would serve as another reminder. You see, you provide services that you didn’t even realise you supplied!!

    Cheers

    AJ UK

  7. hi bob , sorry bob did not mean you in my comment what i was trying to say is if you can afford to buy
    travel insurance do it , i had a friend years ago badly injured riding a motorcycle in turkey long story short
    his parents had to re mortgage their house to pay for his hospital bills and to get him back home .
    derek in pasig.

    • Hi derek – Ha ha, no problem. I just thought you were talking about me because I had just posted a reply about why I didn’t feel the need to personally buy travel insurance! So, I just thought they were connected. No problem! 🙂

  8. Bob,
    I have travel insurance that comes with my Blue Cross Health Insurance Policy. We had to get my wife Anne Travel Insurance for about 7000p for our current trip to the States.