Medical cost

[stevewool]

I know of a person whos family is going through a difficult time at the moment with the father in law back in the Philippines.

His wife has had to fly back there to try to comfort him and it could be her last chance of seeing him before he dies.

I know money should not come into it but if you are having to fund any sort of medication cost and you can see no end to this until that person dies it must be a worry to those who are finding it.

So far it has cost this person over £8000 for the medication and the room and even the doctors and nurses, Phil heath will only cover for his radiotherapy I am told and was also told the hospital refused to put a chest drain in unless the money was transferred to themselves and was in there account.

I know this is all coming from someone who is upset with his wife being there and he sees it as a big expense ,but it's real and it is something that I have to think about the what ifs. 

For now I have been sheltered living here in England where if anything happened like this you don't have to think about the cost.

We all would like to live a long time without any major health issues but living in the Philippines permanent maybe will have to look at this again.

[Kuya John]

Once again Steve it's all down to "Pros n Cons" If only we all had a crystal ball each and could predict the future.

I have had a reasonable healthy life, apart from a couple of minor ops. But the problem now is, the older one gets, the more the health risks are liable to happen. Health Insurance as one gets older becomes more expensive, afraid that's a fact!

I have seen my sister and her husband who paid thousands over the years into Bupa, priced out of private medical care at a time they need it most, all those years they  paid insurance and were healthy, they are now so grateful for the standard care from the good old National Heath Service.

Moving to Philippines is not for the faint hearted, lets say the younger you are when you make that decision the better.

There are plenty of UK Filipino's with Diabetes who would no longer consider a return to Philippines.......the "What if's" has stopped a lot of people from enjoying life.

[bastonjock]

4 hours ago, Kuya John said:

Once again Steve it's all down to "Pros n Cons" If only we all had a crystal ball each and could predict the future.

I have had a reasonable healthy life, apart from a couple of minor ops. But the problem now is, the older one gets, the more the health risks are liable to happen. Health Insurance as one gets older becomes more expensive, afraid that's a fact!

I have seen my sister and her husband who paid thousands over the years into Bupa, priced out of private medical care at a time they need it most, all those years they  paid insurance and were healthy, they are now so grateful for the standard care from the good old National Heath Service.

Moving to Philippines is not for the faint hearted, lets say the younger you are when you make that decision the better.

There are plenty of UK Filipino's with Diabetes who would no longer consider a return to Philippines.......the "What if's" has stopped a lot of people from enjoying life.

My best mate is heading out for his next long stay ,4 months , he has it worked out that he needs to come back to the UK to load up on his meds , he has type 2 diabetes ,  an arithmic heart beat ( two ops to fix ) , and other problems , he has worked it out that it's cheaper to fly back to the UK ,and stay for 2 months load up and then return to the philipines .

With regard to paying for long term medical care in the Phil's,  his gfs aunt has diabetes and the family cannot afford the medication , so the day will come when she has to have a limb removed , who's going to pay for that is anyone's guess

[Clermont]

3 hours ago, bastonjock said:

who's going to pay for that is anyone's guess

Over here, the PI"s have a pretty good system, mainly local towns, everyone is a cousin, ha ha and when a rely of one of them needs an operation, the hat is past around. Never heard of one of them croaking because of lack of finance, they are committed to their older folks, shameful if you don't help, I'm told on a regular basis. 

[Snowy79]

4 hours ago, bastonjock said:

My best mate is heading out for his next long stay ,4 months , he has it worked out that he needs to come back to the UK to load up on his meds , he has type 2 diabetes ,  an arithmic heart beat ( two ops to fix ) , and other problems , he has worked it out that it's cheaper to fly back to the UK ,and stay for 2 months load up and then return to the philipines .

With regard to paying for long term medical care in the Phil's,  his gfs aunt has diabetes and the family cannot afford the medication , so the day will come when she has to have a limb removed , who's going to pay for that is anyone's guess

One thing I discovered is regardless how many years of National Insurance you've paid once you exit the UK for more than 3 months you lose entitlement to free NHS treatment. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_074384

Edited November 9, 2018 by Snowy79

[hk blues]

4 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

One thing I discovered is regardless how many years of National Insurance you've paid once you exit the UK for more than 3 months you lose entitlement to free NHS treatment. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_074384

Very True.  But if you read the guidance it's (as always) a little open to interpretation  i.e. it uses the word "no longer automatically entitled " rather than "not entitled" so maybe there are some loopholes.  And if you are in receipt of the State pension it seems you have at least some kind of coverage. Quite importantly, if you return to the UK after a period of living abroad you become eligible again from Day 1 - I have always wondered how they can verify if you are returning to live permanently or simply on a return trip to get medial attention? 

The important thing is you wouldn't be turned away from hospital in the UK if in dire need of treatment if you don't flash the cash - unlike here. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

12 hours ago, Clermont said:

Over here, the PI"s have a pretty good system

There is also help for many medical problems through the Philippines Sweepstakes. There is more assistance on their website under programs tab.

 https://www.pcso.gov.ph/ProgramsAndServices/CAD/IMAP.aspx

[Kuya John]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

There is also help for many medical problems through the Philippines Sweepstakes. There is more assistance on their website under programs tab.

 https://www.pcso.gov.ph/ProgramsAndServices/CAD/IMAP.aspx

Question; is this available to Expats or to citizens only?

[Jollygoodfellow]

21 minutes ago, Kuya John said:

Question; is this available to Expats or to citizens only?

No I dont believe its for expats but I was replying to the post about a Filipino.