Hello,
A couple of questions about health insurance. I've promised my dear mother that if I go abroad that I will get great insurance, and one has to take promises to one's mother seriously.
First - what's the deal with international insurance? If I have some terrible accident or sudden disease, do they cover long term disability? Also, how do pre-existing conditions work? If I have very mild asthma, but all of a sudden I get lung disease, would that be pre-existing? Or if I someone had something benign that the doctors said to get checked out once in awhile, would that be ok?
Second - I think I might get additional insurance because I'm a worrier. Any recommendations for companies ?
Health Insurance Question
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SweetWaterGringo
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:00 pm
Re: Health Insurance Question
I had International Insurance through a school I worked at in Central Asia. It was absolutely USELESS. The policy I had was only good outside the US (except for some emergencies and now things required by ACA, like colonoscopies) and you had to pay for everything out of pocket and then try to get reimbursed afterward. Where I lived visiting the doctor was inexpensive and I only knew one person who tried to get the repayment.
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: Health Insurance Question
Chilagringa,
if you are at a good school, you are going to get good medical coverage. If you are at a crappy school, you are going to get crappy medical coverage. If you are at a cesspit school, you are dead. haha. Seriously, good schools provide full medical coverage in country and out (with the exception often of you having to pony up extra for regular medical care in North America, due to the extreme costs of regular care there. However, you are likely covered there for emergency care).
For instance, my school covers me for medical world wide except North America. This means I can go see a doctor about anything. If I want the same for my summers in North America, it is several hundred a year extra per person.
Check out what your school offers, at what level, and with which company.
if you are at a good school, you are going to get good medical coverage. If you are at a crappy school, you are going to get crappy medical coverage. If you are at a cesspit school, you are dead. haha. Seriously, good schools provide full medical coverage in country and out (with the exception often of you having to pony up extra for regular medical care in North America, due to the extreme costs of regular care there. However, you are likely covered there for emergency care).
For instance, my school covers me for medical world wide except North America. This means I can go see a doctor about anything. If I want the same for my summers in North America, it is several hundred a year extra per person.
Check out what your school offers, at what level, and with which company.
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chilagringa
- Posts: 335
- Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:19 pm
Re: Health Insurance Question
What about long term disability? I'm pretty clumsy, so it seems feasible that something terrible would happen to me.
Response
It depends on the school and region. Upper tier schools with private insurance typically provide good coverage though you may be limited to doctors, approvals, and authorization for treatment. It is about evenly divided between plans that work on reimbursement and plans that cover treatment at time of service with some kind of copay, etc. In places like JP and WE with social national insurance plans you will likely be enrolled with those programs, the problem that you not the school is paying for it because your taxes or premiums will be quite high (your first year is typically very low, after that it gets expensive quickly).
As you go down the tiers things get worse on the private side (a horrible school though in a region with a national/social health care system is still going to provide the same care regardless of the school) mid tier schools usually have a local plan that basically will pay for the flue and bangs and booboos but then youll hit problems if you have a major incident or require major treatment.
At bottom tier schools your health care might be the school infirmary staffed by a nurse. An ace bandage, some paracetamol and some antibiotics are about all you will get.
Pre-Existing Conditions:
National/Social health care systems will cover these. Private insurance providers it depends on the cost. There have been ITs who lost contracts because the school insurance provider would not cover them or one of their dependents. Several times teachers have filled out visa and immigration health forms and disclosed a major treatment expense for a condition and the school pulls the contract because of a condition (in one case the son of the IT needed regular dialysis because of an anemia condition). Understand that . and prescriptions are usually FAR less expensive and are not as prohibitively expensive overseas.
Disability:
Really on regions with social/national health systems have disability programs and in those cases you have to be resident for a period of time before you can collect benefits. In Asia its unheard of in places outside of JP and SG.
In the majority of contracts (especially in Asia) if you are absent from work for some period (usually 30 days, sometimes as long as 90 days or in between) due to long term illness, the school can cancel your contract.
Insurance
None that are cheap, what you really want is evacuation insurance in case you need to be returned to your home country for medical care. The problem with travel medical policies (such as those designed for students studying abroad) is that they basically pay nothing up front, and the seldom cover everything, and have pretty low caps. What you want to do is get back to your home country and take advantage of whatever national health care program is available. Being treated overseas for a long term illness or condition is really a lesson in misery, you wont have any money, youll be broke and have no support system in a country where you likely dont speak the language.
About the only long term condition you can get away with is pregnancy.
As you go down the tiers things get worse on the private side (a horrible school though in a region with a national/social health care system is still going to provide the same care regardless of the school) mid tier schools usually have a local plan that basically will pay for the flue and bangs and booboos but then youll hit problems if you have a major incident or require major treatment.
At bottom tier schools your health care might be the school infirmary staffed by a nurse. An ace bandage, some paracetamol and some antibiotics are about all you will get.
Pre-Existing Conditions:
National/Social health care systems will cover these. Private insurance providers it depends on the cost. There have been ITs who lost contracts because the school insurance provider would not cover them or one of their dependents. Several times teachers have filled out visa and immigration health forms and disclosed a major treatment expense for a condition and the school pulls the contract because of a condition (in one case the son of the IT needed regular dialysis because of an anemia condition). Understand that . and prescriptions are usually FAR less expensive and are not as prohibitively expensive overseas.
Disability:
Really on regions with social/national health systems have disability programs and in those cases you have to be resident for a period of time before you can collect benefits. In Asia its unheard of in places outside of JP and SG.
In the majority of contracts (especially in Asia) if you are absent from work for some period (usually 30 days, sometimes as long as 90 days or in between) due to long term illness, the school can cancel your contract.
Insurance
None that are cheap, what you really want is evacuation insurance in case you need to be returned to your home country for medical care. The problem with travel medical policies (such as those designed for students studying abroad) is that they basically pay nothing up front, and the seldom cover everything, and have pretty low caps. What you want to do is get back to your home country and take advantage of whatever national health care program is available. Being treated overseas for a long term illness or condition is really a lesson in misery, you wont have any money, youll be broke and have no support system in a country where you likely dont speak the language.
About the only long term condition you can get away with is pregnancy.
Re: Health Insurance Question
If you're headed to China, then the school must legally give you health insurance.
My health insurance is pretty awesome! I've had surgery in China, was put up in a VIP room. the Chinese don't believe in pain killers, or sedation though... so I got to see the doc go inside me.
Nonetheless: 600 000 rmb was covered. Didn't pay a single penny (cent)!
??
My health insurance is pretty awesome! I've had surgery in China, was put up in a VIP room. the Chinese don't believe in pain killers, or sedation though... so I got to see the doc go inside me.
Nonetheless: 600 000 rmb was covered. Didn't pay a single penny (cent)!
??
Discussion
@klooste
Legally yes, but they can give you local policy that doesnt cover much of anything.
Legally yes, but they can give you local policy that doesnt cover much of anything.
Re: Discussion
PsyGuy wrote:
> @klooste
>
> Legally yes, but they can give you local policy that doesnt cover much of
> anything.
My advice, then, would be to research the insurance company before you sign the contract.
> @klooste
>
> Legally yes, but they can give you local policy that doesnt cover much of
> anything.
My advice, then, would be to research the insurance company before you sign the contract.
Reply
@klooste
I agree but many of them dont say much and are deliberately vague describing their policy as either a "local" policy or an "international" policy and there is a very wide range of quality within an international policy.
I agree but many of them dont say much and are deliberately vague describing their policy as either a "local" policy or an "international" policy and there is a very wide range of quality within an international policy.