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High quality high insurance

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  1. #11

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    Grunttfuttock

    Would be interested to hear your feedback, that's what I was told (on these forums I think), but I don't know if it's true. Timing was a further consideration for me, as I travel a lot for work, and play a lot of sport, so being able to choose when I would be out of action for 3 months was also important.


  2. #12

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    Mar 2006
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    Beanieskis is right about making sure you choose a good surgeon.

    Times have changed with athletes and physios and surgeons. Not just pro athletes but amateurs that they know both the doctors and the techniques they use. I know from my soccer players back home - several of which had surgery on knees/ankles - the went to top physios first and then from there top surgeons. There a player will say he is seeing Dr. A and others who used Dr. B will outline the pros and cons of that guy's technique versus that of Dr. B.

    Not sure that just trusting the process is the right thing. I am shocked that people just willingly submit to surgery having no idea what will be done or how. Yet, they won't invest their money without good research.

    I disagree with the insurance knocks here by Grunt.....k as yes, insurance is a pool. I suspect that those who oppose insurance would not recommend critical illness insurance for a 35+ year married family man who is self employed. Yet, I know of many who suffer strokes or other major health catastrophes that stop them from working.

    The better the risks in the pool the lower the premiums. If you are healthy you will pay more in premiums than you get out of it but a major incident or two can change that.

    The questions for the OP it seems are:

    What does this insurance cover?
    Where does it apply?
    Does it include repatriation home for treatment if you are traveling? If you are a US citizen do you want to get insurance to get you to the USA if injured in an accident? I know some with that.
    How it works with your business insurance?
    What about pre-existing conditions?
    What is the policy as to who you can go to? (Clearly all insurers have upper limits).
    What is the record of the company on claims? (They can have great sales and service but be lousy when it comes to approvals and slow to pay)

    Fiona in HKG and Beanieskis like this.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    Grunttfuttock

    Would be interested to hear your feedback, that's what I was told (on these forums I think), but I don't know if it's true. Timing was a further consideration for me, as I travel a lot for work, and play a lot of sport, so being able to choose when I would be out of action for 3 months was also important.
    So, what I learned about the public system today:

    - appointments at QMH are basically "morning" or "afternoon" so you essentially need a half day to accommodate them

    - consultations don't stick with a particular consultant; you get whoever's on duty in that field on the day; I'm not sure if when you pick a date for surgery you can also, in effect, pick the surgeon, but I suspect this is possible if you clearly know what you're after

    - timing of surgery (obviously stuff that can wait a bit, albeit at the cost of some discomfort) seems to be simply that there's an earliest possible date, and after that you can choose, more or less. For the orthopedic surgery that my helper might need the earliest date seems to be of the order of a month away (but I have a friend who needed surgery for cancer, and that was done within 10 days).

    - this was the third time friends have asked me to accompany them in discussions with doctors/surgeons here, and all three times I have been very impressed. I've been able to have a quite lengthy intelligent discussion (in pretty much perfect English) with someone who can pull up all the relevant records, x-rays, etc and is prepared to discuss pros and cons and weigh up options. Having said that, my helper said that she found dealing with this doctor a much better experience than the one at her last consultation; this may or may not be due entirely to the fact that there was someone else (i.e. with all due respect to my helper, someone able, informed, and keen to engage in an intelligent discussion) in the room as well this time. Of the three occasions, the only time I felt any sense of "rush" was the one in the Accident & Emergency department, which is understandable.

    So my positive opinion of the public health service here continues. Obviously the in-patient ward facilities are functional rather than luxurious, and there is a little waiting around for appointments, but I see no issue with the medical side of things, and no reason to spend up to (very roughly) HK$1M for "insurance" over the course of the 40 years or so that I expect to be in Hong Kong.

    I understand that the situation can be quite different for people in families and other situations, but that's how I see it for a single person, particularly for someone more or less retired for whom time is not a particularly big issue.
    Beanieskis, drumbrake and carang like this.

  4. #14

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    Public system is very good, great for emergencies and for very sick people because it has extensive back up from all specialties and also an excellent electronic medical records system. However, as mentioned before, the waiting time is generally long but what is not often mentioned is that many of the expensive drugs and treatments are not covered by HA and will have to be paid for out of the patient's own pocket. For example, costs for implants like for total knee replacements and also expensive cancer chemotherapy drugs will have to be borne by the patient.


  5. #15

    SO how exactly do I get in touch with an insurance agent in my area and sign up for health insurance? Do I fill out a request online for that?


  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by jeanlim:
    Public system is very good, great for emergencies and for very sick people because it has extensive back up from all specialties and also an excellent electronic medical records system. However, as mentioned before, the waiting time is generally long but what is not often mentioned is that many of the expensive drugs and treatments are not covered by HA and will have to be paid for out of the patient's own pocket. For example, costs for implants like for total knee replacements and also expensive cancer chemotherapy drugs will have to be borne by the patient.
    Doesn't private insurance have the same problems when it comes to paying out for high cost cancer drugs?

  7. #17

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    Aug 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by markbradley:
    SO how exactly do I get in touch with an insurance agent in my area and sign up for health insurance? Do I fill out a request online for that?
    Once you make contact with an insurance agent, you will never be able to get rid of them (besides changing your mobile number, email address, place of employment...). Why not just contact insurance company directly? For example http://www.bluecross.com.hk/en/homepage/index.html

  8. #18

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    Mar 2007
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    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by djinni:
    From what I know about insurance is you don't necessarily end up with 'choice'. Firstly, insurance companies always have panel doctors. These are not necessarily an expert in the field that you want (or I suppose even good in their own field - haha).
    You are mistaking high end insurance available in Hong Kong with run of the mill insurance. What you are describing (insurance in bed with HMOs) are more common in USA. When you buy high end insurance in Hong Kong, it typically comes with very few restrictions.
    Also insurance agents always have 'recommendations' of doctors but I hear there are sometimes more because of familiarity or reward, not so much because of actual merit of the doctors' skill.
    Why would you ask an insurance agent for doctor recommendations?
    Fiona in HKG likes this.

  9. #19

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    Jan 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by drumbrake:
    Doesn't private insurance have the same problems when it comes to paying out for high cost cancer drugs?
    Well I would assume you would get the type of insurance that would cover the expensive stuff. Some people I know have been tricked into buying substandard insurance. When the person did fall ill he found out that the insurance didn't even completely cover the admission to hospital, let alone all the medical fees. Therefore, he ended up in a HA hospital. Of course the one who benefitted most was the insurance company......

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    Gruntfuttock

    I clearly do, as I have recently had surgery here. Yes I understand you can get surgery "nearly free" in the public system. But top surgeons here don't work in both systems, they work in one or the other. If you want your choice of surgeon there is no option but to pay. I was having shoulder surgery, the outcome of which will impact my ability to participate in sport and be pain free for the rest of my life. I wanted my surgeon to be none less than a highly experienced shoulder surgeon with a good reputation. If you use the public system you get whoever's on duty at the time if your surgery. They may or may not be a specialist in your condition.

    I have no issues at all using the public system for minor conditions, but for major conditions, I want choices, that medical insurance gives me which I couldn't afford to pay for myself.
    i had hip surgery with the public system, the outcome of which would have impacted my ability to walk.

    i had the top surgeon in the field, not just in HK, but in the world (as far as i was told by the doctor in public hospital). they asked me if i wanted to wait for him as he was coming to visit from the USA. i had the choice of having my surgery done here by a qualified doctor or waiting for the world-renowned specialist. i chose the latter.

    what did i pay for the surgery? i think it came to about $350HKD....
    Drunken Master likes this.