Living in Cebu

In early 2006 I will be moving to Cebu, Philippines with the entire family.

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Retirement and health care concerns

A couple of days ago I mentioned my friend that has decided that living in Cebu is not for him. He is now in the process of bringing his family back home. I said his circumstances are very different to mine.

The Philippines is often promoted as a place for retirement and in many ways it is a great place depending on your individual circumstances. The cost of living can certainly be much less and if you are retiring on a limited budget then it may even be possible to achieve a higher standard of living than back home. At the lower end there be a lot of trade offs and some sacrifices.

One major consideration for any approaching retirement is health care and this is a real issue in the Philippines. Without cash or a credit card you will be left to bleed to death or die form whatever affliction you have. Even putting aside emergency care the general standard of day to day health care is generally much lower.

There are some exceptional doctors in the Philippines but the majority and in particular those providing care at the lower end are not up to the standard we expect in the West. To get the standard of care you would receive from you local MD you may actually need to pay more for in the Philippines.

Health insurance is mandatory for anyone but a word of caution. I have had a bead experience with what I thought was a reputable Health Insurance company and one I selected because of its American affiliation. They arbitrarily decreed that my son’s medical compliant was pre-existing and refused to pay. No recourse – No discussion – No replies. They were arrogant.

I therefore have not hesitation in WARNING others about PHILAM Health Insurance and would not recommend them to anyone.

I actually believe there was room for discussion regarding my sons medical bill. I believe that the hospital grossly over charged and serviced him for what subsequently turned out to be a very minor and temporary complaint. If I were from PhilpAm I would have objected to some of the charges. I felt there was room for negotiation but this never even came up as PhilAm chose the path of falsely claiming it was a preexisting medial condition. There was no basis for this what so ever but PhilAm in the Philippines do not seem to be accountable to anyone.

Two lessons here.

The first is that you need to choose a reputable health insurance company that will honor is contract. I would have thought it enough selecting one with an American affiliation but Over the next could of weeks I will conduct some research to identify the best medical insurance plans based on anecdotal evidence without regard to comparing the actual details of each plan.

The second is to be cautious of overcharging and over servicing. This is a potential problem in just about every transaction conducted in the Philippines but something I would suggest you especially watch with regard to seeking medical attention.

For my friend a preexisting health condition has now become a major concern and the real reason why he has decided that retirement in the Philippines is not for him.

Posted: Monday 25th July 2005, 8:20 AM


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