Pregnancy

[satts]

Hi everyone,

I am considering moving to Manila soon on a tourist visa and will be with my wife and 2 young kids hoping to extend and stay there for at least a year (not sure if extensions allow this lenght of time). Here is my main issue, my wife is now pregant and due in April and I have a couple of questions if you guys are not to busy to answer:

- If we manage to get international medical insurance, would we be able to use this in the Phillipines even thought we would be on a tourist visa and not a resident one?

- What is the full maternity/hospital quality like?

- If we don't get medical cover for pregnancy, does anyone have any idea of full cost if I were to pay?

- Are there any Mum and toddlers expat groups? I know my wife would be very keen to join this.

I would also be happy to hear about any medical experiences good or bad to help us decide on our best option.

I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my questions.

regards,

Jason

[jon1]

You can do tourist visa extensions for up to 3 years before you have to leave the country to reset the clock (for every non-Philippine citizen, so that could include your kids and wife if they do not have dual citizenship). Upon arrival, if your wife is a Philippine citizen, you can get a Balikbayan stamp which affords you one year for free for you and her kids (if not dual citizens). You will not need to visit the BI or pay any fees during that time but have to leave country to reset (with the wife) the clock at one year or convert to a Tourist visa (costs about $560 per year per person). 

 

I would look into getting some type of Traveler's insurance to cover her medical care. That type of insurance usually requires you to pay the bill and get reimbursed but in the end has a deductible of about $500. Bring a credit card that has a high limit ($10,000 or more). Make sure that your credit card issuing bank is aware of you being in the Philippines or you run the risk of any charges being blocked or denied. The type of visa should not affect the insurance coverage. I cannot speak to the costs of a labor delivery but I have found that medical care is maybe 20% of what it costs in the US (not sure about the UK).

 

In Manila, I would look at Medical City (Bonifacio or Ortigas), Asian Hospital or St Luke's. Makati Medical is very shabby. 

 

:cheersty:

 

Jon

Edited August 30, 2015 by Jollygoodfellow
removed incorrect comment

[chris49]

Hi everyone,

I am considering moving to Manila soon on a tourist visa and will be with my wife and 2 young kids hoping to extend and stay there for at least a year (not sure if extensions allow this lenght of time). Here is my main issue, my wife is now pregant and due in April and I have a couple of questions if you guys are not to busy to answer:

- If we manage to get international medical insurance, would we be able to use this in the Phillipines even thought we would be on a tourist visa and not a resident one?

- What is the full maternity/hospital quality like?

- If we don't get medical cover for pregnancy, does anyone have any idea of full cost if I were to pay?

- Are there any Mum and toddlers expat groups? I know my wife would be very keen to join this.

I would also be happy to hear about any medical experiences good or bad to help us decide on our best option.

I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my questions.

regards,

Jason

1. Medical Insurance: your wife is already pregnant. Insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.

2. Assuming your wife is a Filipina. Private hospital with private OB Dr. Excellent. But you pay for that. Any previous complications? Underlying diseases? If not she can go to a government hospital. Otherwise you will bre paying through the nose. I am not going to advise you specifically, but many "private" Dr's are government Drs., running a private practice in there off time.

3. You might pay 100k pesos, mother and baby in a private hospital. You will pay under 5k in the government hospital. The caveat here is that you are in Manila and there's a wide choice of government hospitals. There's no extension of stay in a government hospital, at 24 hours you are expected to leave and the bed is already assigned. There are also hundreds of private hospitals, some at the lower end. Lower end, means lower standard, if given a choice I prefer the government.

4. Yes. Each Barangay has a Day Care Centre with a pre school. We pay 100 pesos a month, in the province. Again you are in Manila so expect this kind of facility to be overcrowded, perhaps no vacancies. Forcing you to go private again. Anytime you are going to the private sector the cost escalates specially if they have any chance to note that you are British.

5. What area of Manila? No other option?

[chris49]

Since your wife is here in Philippines and has 2 previous deliveries, doesn't she know how the system works?

Edited August 30, 2015 by Dave Hounddriver

[sonjack2847]

Hope the moderators will move the topic.

Since your wife is here in Philippines and has 2 previous deliveries, doesn't she know how the system works?

She can get a package deal at the hospital which is very affordable.

[Dave Hounddriver]

we would be on a tourist visa and not a resident one?

Don't get hung up on the name 'tourist' visa.  Even the BI recognizes it to be a Long-Stay Visitor Visa and it can be extended until you have been here for 3 years.

 

As to the medical insurance, some (most?) require you to be on the plan for a year before birth so people don't get pregnant and then get the insurance.

 

As to the cost, if there are no complications I would not expect the actual delivery and hospital care to be more than US$500 but a cesarean could bump that 4 or 5 times.   The doctors like to suggest cesareans as they make more profit (or so it seems to me).

[OnMyWay]

I have a post here where I discuss our C-section experience here in Subic.  Our total was about 52k and we ended up getting about 11k back from Philhealth later on.

 

http://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/18747-our-hospital-experience-for-the-baby/

 

Ignore the inflammatory posts from a former member.

 

Manila will be higher at a good hospital like those Jon1 recommended.  As mentioned by Sonjack, look for package prices on the hospital web site.

[satts]

Thanks everyone for some great information.

Firstly, its very interesting to hear you guys mention the tourist visa and the extensions as this was nother burning question. We are living in Abu Dhabi currently and want to live in the Philippines for a year or so.

As far as area goes, I have looked on the forums etc and I am sure most people like it where they are, so positives for lots of places. I have been given a couple of places to look at and come out for a week in November for a scouting trip!

We are a British family that had one baby in the UK and one in Abu Dhabi so have no idea how it works in the Philippines, that is why I posted on here. I wouldn't waste the time of the guys willing to help a stranger out on this forum.

We didn't think pregnancy was an option (without going into details) so that is why we got caught out and it is interesting to hear about the 'hospital package deal' sounds interesting. I might try emailing them to see if this is an option.

Finally, I will look at the C-section post now and thanks.

Again, I would like to thank you all for taking the time out to comment.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Since your wife is here in Philippines and has 2 previous deliveries, doesn't she know how the system works?

 

 

Where did you pick out that incorrect information from? 

[Jollygoodfellow]

If we manage to get international medical insurance, would we be able to use this in the Phillipines even thought we would be on a tourist visa and not a resident one?

 

That would be a question for the insurance company before you pay for it. Either way you should have some sort of insurance even if just travel insurance for the possibilities of something else going wrong.