Do you have a plan in place for medical emergency's?

[Jack Peterson]

2 hours ago, stevewool said:

In my case I have shown Emma how to dial 999 and ask for a ambulance.

 That's Great over there Steve BUT...................................................... we know where we are EH?

[jimeve]

I have only Phil-health and a credit-card just in case. Anyway St Peters funeral is on route to the hospitals if I don't make it that far.

[Mike J]

I live Moalboal about two to three hours from the closest "real" hospital.  If I have a heart attack my plan is to die.    I do have a credit card with a very large credit limit in case of accidents/illness where I have good chance of coming home healthy.  If it is cancer or something similar that appears to be terminal I don't think I would choose to be treated.  Doing so would only extend the misery and drain resources that my wife would need for her future.   

[Yeochief]

12 minutes ago, Mike J said:

If it is cancer or something similar that appears to be terminal I don't think I would choose to be treated.  Doing so would only extend the misery and drain resources that my wife would need for her future.   

Was explaining to my wife, I thought it would be selfish of me, knowing I had a terminal illness and kept trying to get treated.  I also do not want to extend the misery and drain resources for my wife.   One of my wife's cousin died of cancer 20 years ago here in the PI, still paying.  One fact for sure, we will all die.

[GeoffH]

I think I'd make a distinction between treatments for cancer and medical care for cancer.  I wouldn't want major surgical intervention but treatment for pain and suffering (who wants to be in agony) seems like something I'd want (and possibly first round chemo for life extension, chemo tends to get worse the more rounds you have). 

In the Philippines pain management drugs aren't easily availabe so I'd be thinking to involve a pain management specialist so that palliative care pain treatment was available towards the end stages.  Morphine seems to be the most commonly used pain treatment drug in the Philippines and I wouldn't want to be told "sorry we know you're in a lot of pain but I don't have a license for prescribing that" in the end stages.

As for a plan, I've always been there for 6 months at a time and relied on long term travel insurance but when I go back next time I expect to be there for longer than that (given travel back and forth to aussie won't be easy) so I'll buy some local health insurance (not sure which one yet).

One issue that SWMBO and I have talked about is that our bedroom/CR is on the second floor and we've got a decorative (but difficult to negotiate) spiral stair case between the first and second floor.  We've talked about moving down to the ground floor later on.  There is one bedroom downstairs and 1 bathroom because getting my lump of a body down those spiral stairs isn't going to be easy or quick (if it's even possible in an emergency).

Edited November 19, 2020 by GeoffH

[baronapart]

On 11/18/2020 at 5:11 PM, Yeochief said:

Was explaining to my wife, I thought it would be selfish of me, knowing I had a terminal illness and kept trying to get treated.  I also do not want to extend the misery and drain resources for my wife.   One of my wife's cousin died of cancer 20 years ago here in the PI, still paying.  One fact for sure, we will all die.

I tried having the end of life discussions with my wife. She gets upset and will not even talk about it. I am only 56 but I do feel my superpowers weakening every year)))) We do not plan on having children together so that simplifies things a little.

[Snowy79]

It has been brought home to me recently how bad the medical care can be here. I lost a good friend a few days back due to dengue with complications, my money on the complicatons say it was incompetance on the medical side.

He lived on Oriental Mindoro and was diagnosed with dengue, he's from the Puerto Galera area which is renowned for abysmal medcal care, his next closest option was Calapan where there are a few medium sized hospitals. He was admitted to one of the larger ones for blood transfussions etc.  By all accounts his wife was told he was recovering and she went to visit him, she wasn't allowed to see him as they said they were putting a tube into his throat.  The next thing they were telling her he is dead. 

I've heard a few horror stories from the area of avoidable deaths and one friend has been told his medical insurance won't cover him for medical treatment in any of the hospitals there. He has to get to Manila somehow.  This throws a few problems up as getting from Mindoro to the mainland 29km away can be difficult at times.  Only a few ships sail daily and while I lived there on average 12 times per year there are signal one warnings and no sailings are allowed.  These can last two to three days. Then getting from Batangas to Manila can take a further few hours.

Currently my only preperation for medical emergencies is keeping as fit and healthy as I can.  I've pretty much accepted that if it's a real emergency where I currently live on Boracay unless a bandage and asprin can sort it the outcome won't be good.

[hk blues]

23 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

It has been brought home to me recently how bad the medical care can be here. I lost a good friend a few days back due to dengue with complications, my money on the complicatons say it was incompetance on the medical side.

He lived on Oriental Mindoro and was diagnosed with dengue, he's from the Puerto Galera area which is renowned for abysmal medcal care, his next closest option was Calapan where there are a few medium sized hospitals. He was admitted to one of the larger ones for blood transfussions etc.  By all accounts his wife was told he was recovering and she went to visit him, she wasn't allowed to see him as they said they were putting a tube into his throat.  The next thing they were telling her he is dead. 

I've heard a few horror stories from the area of avoidable deaths and one friend has been told his medical insurance won't cover him for medical treatment in any of the hospitals there. He has to get to Manila somehow.  This throws a few problems up as getting from Mindoro to the mainland 29km away can be difficult at times.  Only a few ships sail daily and while I lived there on average 12 times per year there are signal one warnings and no sailings are allowed.  These can last two to three days. Then getting from Batangas to Manila can take a further few hours.

Currently my only preperation for medical emergencies is keeping as fit and healthy as I can.  I've pretty much accepted that if it's a real emergency where I currently live on Boracay unless a bandage and asprin can sort it the outcome won't be good.

I think you've highlighted something that is not just true here, but also back home in the UK - if you choose to live in a remote area of Scotland, or Wales, for example, you'll be in trouble in a.medical emergency. That said, it's clear that the level of remoteness here is much less to cause an issue. So, again we have to hold our hands up and acknowledge that our choice of location here can literally be matter of life and death.

I have no knowledge of level of medical expertise here but if it's on a par with everything else I've experienced then I can see why even non-life threatening (seemingly) conditions can lead to death. Wer're not living in a 1st world country.

[Tommy T.]

23 hours ago, hk blues said:

I think you've highlighted something that is not just true here, but also back home in the UK - if you choose to live in a remote area of Scotland, or Wales, for example, you'll be in trouble in a.medical emergency. That said, it's clear that the level of remoteness here is much less to cause an issue. So, again we have to hold our hands up and acknowledge that our choice of location here can literally be matter of life and death.

I have no knowledge of level of medical expertise here but if it's on a par with everything else I've experienced then I can see why even non-life threatening (seemingly) conditions can lead to death. Wer're not living in a 1st world country.

I posted previously in another topic about my view regarding medical emergencies.

(https://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/30885-home-medical-care-and-equipment/?tab=comments#comment-264437)

I find I cannot easily obtain many medicines that I would prefer to have stocked, but am working on that...there may be some ways... I soon will also find one of those difibrilator units that do all but everything themselves. I will also see if I can find a source for oxygen and regulators. With proper medicines (as many as we can mange to procure) and equipment, we might be able to deal with emergencies long enough to get to a proper hospital for the truly professional care and supplies. Fortunately, L is also trained for moderate (more than just First Aid) emergencies. Fortunately, we are also both in reasonable health...but for how much longer as we age?

 

I guess that, if these are not enough, then, well, time to go as @Mike Jsuggested.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Philippine Paul]

In regards to your item titled "Do You Have a Plan in Place for Medical Emergency's", what I can share with you has been discussed many times on various Facebook Veteran Sites.  If you are Retired Military you then have the option of using Tricare (at Age 65 and older it's Tricare For Life).  Your dependent spouse (if an American Citizen I believe, as this has never been discussed that I am aware of) will also be covered. 

Shortly after our arrival, I learned that there were two distinct methods, as to how Tricare took care of Military Retirees and their Dependents here in the Philippines.

• The Demonstration Project (Luzon) - Began January 1, 2013 as a way to offer high-quality health care for eligible Tricare Overseas Program (TOP) Standard Beneficiaries who reside in the Philippines and receive care in a designated demonstration area. The specific program was designed for Military Retirees and their Dependents who resided on Luzon. All a Military Retiree or their Dependent(s) had to do, was to visit a specified Tricare Approved Medical Care Facility, produce a Valid Retiree or Dependent ID Card, pay the necessary co-pay and, get treated for whatever was ailing them. Upon discharge from the Medical Care Facility, it was up to the Billing Office to file a claim with Tricare to get fully reimbursed. However, due to problems with how several different Tricare Approved Medical Care Facilities were operating (overbilling was one of the issues), the Demonstration Project concluded at midnight on December 31, 2017.
• The Non-Demonstration Project (Elsewhere in the Philippines) – This too worked similar to      what was explained with “The Demonstration Project” but Military Retirees and their Dependents didn’t have to show a Military Retiree ID / Dependent ID Card but, could visit any “Tricare Certified Medical Facility” of their choice. They would be checked in for whatever was ailing them and, at the time of discharge, it was the Military Retiree / Dependent’s responsibility to pay for all medical care to include prescriptions that the hospital issued, in cash,accumulating all their receipts for services rendered and then filing an on-line claim with Tricare to “hopefully get reimbursed”. (NOTE: In those days, many hospitals here in the Philippines didn’t accept credit cards. Not until President Duterte changed the law several years ago, requiring hospitals to accept credit cards.) Thus, among many Veteran Facebook Groups, it had been discussed, that every Veteran should maintain a U.S. Dollar Account with a minimum balance of $3,000. I personally knew of an exceptionally close Air Force Retired Buddy of mine (now deceased) that kept a $9,000 balance in a special U.S. Dollar Account for any medical issues that he might have had.)  The reason why I say “hopefully getting reimbursed” is because, on many occasions with myself (and others that reside in the Tricare Certified Areas), we’ve had issues on how to file claims, with many of those claims being rejected.  I only knew of one individual in our area, that lost his wife to Cancer, that was able to put a complete medical claim together, that resulted in him being paid back $50,000.00 (2,000,000-Pesos), as he had everything that was required to file a claim. Today, I still hear of other Veterans that reside in the “Tricare Certified Areas” that refuse to file a claim, stating that it’s not worth the aggravation and the paperwork to put a claim together. (NOTE: There is a Facebook Site referred to as the “Wall of Shame” (https://visual.ly/community/Infographics/social-media/facebook-wall-shame-facebooks-failures-criticisms-and-missteps) that was put together years ago, of the many issues that Veterans had gone through when attempting to file claims with Tricare.)

 

Upon conclusion of The Demonstration / Non-Demonstration Projects, everything was converted to the “Tricare Select Health Plan”, which went into effect on January 1, 2018. Like both of the previous programs, nothing really changed, as to the way members were being treated…just the way the bill is paid and proper codes being listed for whatever the patient was seen for.

• Tricare Select Health Plan (Luzon and Iloilo City) - All a Military Retiree or their Dependent(s) have to do, is visit a specified Tricare Approved Medical Care Facility, produce a Valid Retiree or Dependent ID Card, pay the necessary co-pay and, get treated for whatever is ailing them. Upon discharge from the Medical Care Facility, it’s up to the Billing Office to file a claim with Tricare to get fully reimbursed.
• Trica