Private health insurance

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    Private health insurance

    Hey all,

    I am looking for private health insurance that is good. I am 25 years old, non smoker, and in good health. What kind of monthly rate do you guys suspect I will need to pay?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    12,383

    Depends on the coverage you want.

    If you just need critical coverage (hospitalization) then its fairly reasonable with a HK$10K type deductible.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    Yeah I am mainly looking for critical coverage....for serious type things like cancer treatments, etc. Normal doctor visits are pretty cheap and I can cover it out of pocket.

    How much do you think it will cost? I know you can't give me an accurate estimate....but how about a ball park figure?


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    I am just looking for local insurance, not global.

    This one insurance provider I talked with tells me they cover everything at the "standard rate". For example for surgery the standard rate is $36k and if it is above that, I have to cover the rest myself.

    Is this normal procedure?


  5. #5

    Differences between International and Local medical plans

    You can apply for an International or a Local medical plan, no matter where you live or travel, and I have outlined some of the differences below.


    - An International plan provides higher benefits, wider cover and normally full refunds for hospital or outpatient claims.

    - Under an International plan you can be covered for Chronic conditions, AIDS, Cancers etc. A local plan normally excludes these.

    - You can move worldwide with the International plan and keep your existing conditions covered. If you have a local plan and move overseas, that policy is cancelled and you will need to take another local policy that will exclude all your pre-existing conditions.

    - The Annual cost for an International plan covering In and Out patient only, in your situation should be between USD1,000 to USD5,000+.

    - A Local plan offers far lower benefits with low maximum limits per type of claim and benefit. Such as you have mentioned HK$36,000 standard. The cost for a Local policy is lower, but sometimes not by much. e.g. HKD4,000 to HKD12,000.00+.

    It all depends on the cover you want and how much you are willing to pay for it. Some of the International plans with lower benefits may be a better option than a higher priced Local plan.

    - International plans can offer discounts if you agree to pay the first amount of a claim, known as an excess or a deductible. Some policies apply the excess/deductible only to hospital bills, whilst some allow this on outpatient bills.

    - The International Plans allow you to use whichever doctor or hospital you want. The local plans sometimes offer a network group of doctors and hospitals that they have direct payment agreements with and therefore lower costs to them. The local plans sometimes allow you to use your own doctors and hospitals aswell, but you are limited to a lower payout.

    I hope this helps. If you have any further queries just let me know.

    Andrew


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Kowloon
    Posts
    23
    Quote Originally Posted by BigRobbo:

    - You can move worldwide with the International plan and keep your existing conditions covered.
    Andrew
    Hi Andrew,

    I live in HK, and my wife will be joining me here full time at the end of the summer. Currently we have Blue Cross/Blue Shield through her employer. This covers us both worldwide. When she quits her job to move here, we can continue our current coverage for up to 18 months via COBRA, but it is expensive. Can you recommend a good International plan that is comparible to Blue Cross / Blue Shield?

  7. #7

    Hi Otis,

    I am sorry but I do not know the benefits of the Blue Cross / Blue Shield plan. Is this a US policy?

    Is there something you could send me to show the benefits of the plan you have? I have tried looking them up on the Blue Cross website, to no avail.

    I guess we should not be conducting business here, so if you would like, please send me a private message with your contact details and we can continue talking.

    Andrew