Moving to the Philippines - this is the more relevant forum :)

[TizMe]

I have personal experience with both St Lukes in BGC, and Makati Medical.

Both are excellent, as good as any hospital back home.

I had angioplasty surgery at Makati Med in 2016.
Total bill was over PHP 800,000.
I was covered by Cigna and was never asked to open my wallet once.
They just called Cigna and got pre-approval.

I have heard of some other insurers that are very reluctant to honour their commitments.

[katie23]

^will you still be covered by Cigna when you retire? If not, may I ask what's your plan re: health insurance? (if you don't mind)

Also, are you prohibited from doing strenuous tasks like running/ sprinting, etc?

This thread could help Simon and/or other ppl who may be thinking of moving/ retiring in PH.

*****
I know of 2 foreign vloggers who were hospitalized in PH. Both of them were relatively young and both used Safety Wing Nomad Insurance. (I'm not affiliated with them but I sometimes see Safety Wing advertised in travel vlogs).

One guy was in his 30s and he had surgery for hernia, I think. His bill (surgery + around 1 week hospital stay) was 300k+ (around 5,400 usd). This was in St Lukes or Medical City (can't remember). His insurance was accepted outright by the hospital.

Another guy (in his 20s) was hospitalized due to covid. He was living in Mindanao then. He was confined in a small, private hospital. At first his insurance didn't want to cover him (he had bought his insurance very recently prior to getting ill). So he paid his hospital bill out of pocket. I think it reached 100k+ pesos (~2000 usd). After lots of calls & emails, his insurance pulled through & refunded his expenses.

[BLD]

What's the reputation of Bupa insurance in the Philippines? In Thailand it seemed quite positive
After I left the minrsite in Lao I wasn't covered anymore so got bupa. Didn't put it to the test though

[katie23]

^I had to Google BUPA since I'm not familiar with that company - it's not famous here. Accdg to Googs, it's considered as a 3rd party/ foreign insurer, so some hospitals may not accept it. Some smaller hospitals don't accept foreign insurers since they don't like to deal with the paperwork. Asian Hospital accepts it and I assume that the big 3 in Manila do too (St Lukes, Makati Med, Medical City).

If Simon was to get health insurance, I'd advise him to deal with a well-known company here in PH. I have friends/ acquaintances who are insurance agents, so can link him up with them.

As an alternative, he could also get one from AXA PH online. I got travel insurance from AXA for a short trip to Taiwan. (PH govt was still requiring insurance for its outbound citizens at that time.) I paid via credit card & got the PDF of the policy the next day.

[TizMe]

^will you still be covered by Cigna when you retire? If not, may I ask what's your plan re: health insurance? (if you don't mind)

Also, are you prohibited from doing strenuous tasks like running/ sprinting, etc?

No, I'll lose my Cigma coverage when I retire, and I believe its quite expensive to go private with them.
AXA and Pacific Cross seem to be the favourite choices for full cover here.

Another option is to just bank the equivalent of the premium and just pay into PhilHealth.

I haven't been able to run or sprint since I smashed my knee in a motorcycle accident over 40 years ago.

Other than that, I'm still quite healthy. Walk and swim quite a bit.

[katie23]

^thanks for the reply.

Re: AXA health insurance, I know another Aussie guy who has it. AFAIK he hasn't put it to the test since he hasn't been majorly ill. He went to Aus when he needed surgery.

Re: Philhealth, I think they only allow foreigners who are on marriage or retirement visas. Not sure though, so better check.

I've heard that hospitals (esp private ones) prefer if one has Philhealth or any private insurance, so that they're sure that someone will foot the bill!

The foreigner guy from Dumaguete who had the motorbike accident - he didn't have insurance & the hospital wouldn't accept him until his friend came to pay the deposit.

[Simon43]

^I had to Google BUPA since I'm not familiar with that company - it's not famous here. Accdg to Googs, it's considered as a 3rd party/ foreign insurer, so some hospitals may not accept it. Some smaller hospitals don't accept foreign insurers since they don't like to deal with the paperwork. Asian Hospital accepts it and I assume that the big 3 in Manila do too (St Lukes, Makati Med, Medical City).

If Simon was to get health insurance, I'd advise him to deal with a well-known company here in PH. I have friends/ acquaintances who are insurance agents, so can link him up with them.

As an alternative, he could also get one from AXA PH online. I got travel insurance from AXA for a short trip to Taiwan. (PH govt was still requiring insurance for its outbound citizens at that time.) I paid via credit card & got the PDF of the policy the next day.

Just a comment that I already have expat health insurance, and have had for many years. How good that is who knows because the last lot (the Frenchie company April International) kicked me out when I claimed for my prostate cancer tests and so I had to return to the UK for tests and finally to get a clean bill of health. So I then signed up with WR Life. Who knows if they will pay up if the need arises - it's all a gamble!

[BLD]

You've just answered your own question simon.that outfit didn't work for you. You need to find one that does. Personally I think when they kicked you out for prostrate problems they have bigger asshole and prostrate problems than you. Get rid of them. Find an insurer more in tune with your lifestyle

[cyrille]

You've just answered your own question simon.that outfit didn't work for you. You need to find one that does.

He already has, he hopes.

Please read more attentively.

[BLD]

How so sibil? Were talking about Simon's blurter. Not yours . He hopes. Being the key words here. Apparently it's all a gamble. Please stfu

[katie23]

@simon43 - this came up in my YT feed & I had a look. They are 1-storey flats & the compound looks OK, lots of greenery. (place may be OK for you temporarily, if you choose that island). You did say in the other forum that you may still be considering PH.

The guy has his own porch. His rent is ~10k pesos or around 190 usd (depends on exchange rate). Flat is maybe 20 to 30 sqm. He lives in the town of San Juan, island of Siquijor. It's 1 ferry ride away from Dumaguete (which has an airport). Dumaguete is expat central. Accdg to the comments, he spends ~1000 usd/ month (single person). He has a motorbike.

Just putting it out there in case Simon or others are interested. Siquijor is 50-50 in terms of storms, I think. It's in the Central Visayas region - the eastern part is the one battered by typhoons.

[malmomike77]

I thought Simon had settled on Southern Thailand

[katie23]

^he transferred from Laos to South Thailand but he said it may not be final & he's still considering PH (in his thread in the other forum).

Ya know Simon - he changes his mind more often than he changes his underwear (or silicon dolls).

(he's probably mulling over whether he wants his pension frozen at the rate next year or if he wants the indexed increases that he can get if in PH)

[malmomike77]

Got it. We are just about to have a Labour Govt so perhaps they'll change the pension system, Simon should get hold of Starmer on his Ham.

If he pops across Katie make sure you meet up and take him out for and embryo or two, might shift his decision dial.

[PlanK]

He needs space for his antenna farm. Depending on how serious his hobby is he's gonna need a nice chunk of land and a friendly gubmint that isn't paranoid enough to think he is a spy.

[BLD]

After a couple of baluts he will wonder why he never retired to the Philippines sooner

[cyrille]

So Simon, two threads going about moving to the Phils and, what, about a week after starting them you moved to NST.

Even phuketbound must be impressed.

[BLD]

None of your concern Cybil. You can converse with Simon on this thread or if you also have a ham radio? Upto you..as they say

[Simon43]

So Simon, two threads going about moving to the Phils and, what, about a week after starting them you moved to NST.

Even phuketbound must be impressed.

Nosey.... The move to the PI is still firmly on the cards, because of my concerns about my frozen UK pension. But I have 1 year before my pension kicks in. I absolutely do not want to stay in Laos for the next year because of the polluted air. So I can see myself moving temporarily to south Thailand, then making trips to check out the PI. Dumaguete seems a possibility.

I am in Laos again right now, but will come over to Pattaya later this week with the last of my luggage (I go to Pattaya to rent a car to go down to Khanom, also health check-up, bank visit etc).

Do you also want to know the colour of my poop and how long it take me to orgasm when wearing a gimp suit and shoving a carrot up my bum???

[PlanK]

Do you also want to know the colour of my poop and how long it take me to orgasm when wearing a gimp suit and shoving a carrot up my bum???

*New kink unlocked*

[Simon43]

@simon43 - this came up in my YT feed & I had a look. They are 1-storey flats & the compound looks OK, lots of greenery. (place may be OK for you temporarily, if you choose that island). You did say in the other forum that you may still be considering PH.

The guy has his own porch. His rent is ~10k pesos or around 190 usd (depends on exchange rate). Flat is maybe 20 to 30 sqm. He lives in the town of San Juan, island of Siquijor. It's 1 ferry ride away from Dumaguete (which has an airport). Dumaguete is expat central. Accdg to the comments, he spends ~1000 usd/ month (single person). He has a motorbike.

Just putting it out there in case Simon or others are interested. Siquijor is 50-50 in terms of storms, I think. It's in the Central Visayas region - the eastern part is the one battered by typhoons.

Thanks! Realistically I should visit eg Dumaguete and rent an apartment, then move my luggage over from Thailand (2 trips I think), then get settled into the PI, then go hunting for a small house with land for my antennas. I have 12 months to do all that - seems realistic. I looked at YT videos about Dumaguete and this seems very similar to Pattaya as regards facilities for expats. I like Pattaya but most rented accommodation in my price range are condos, ie no garden for my antennas.

Perhaps I should finish with my ham radio hobby and do something more sociable that doesn't need large erections (I mean antenna erections...)

[katie23]

^LOL!

Personal opinion, Siquijor may be OK if one is at the peak of health. If one is not - it's a small island and the hospitals/ clinics may not be the best. If it's a life threatening condition, one will have to take a ferry to Dumaguete where there are bigger hospitals (and be at the mercy of ferry schedules & the weather).

The coast guard doesn't allow ferries & boats to sail if the storm is signal #2 or higher (personal experience - my friends & I had to wait at the port for half day for the weather to get better & for coast guard clearance).

Re: Dumaguete, as I've said it's expat central & the rents of apartments are high (based on what I've seen on YT). If you're not too keen on being at/ near the beach, I suggest to check out the nearby town of Valencia. It's higher elevation, so temps are lower. There are also fewer foreigners, so rents are less than in Dumaguete.

I also suggest to check out Iloilo city & Roxas city (and their nearby towns). Roxas isn't very famous or touristy at the moment, so rents may be lower.

[DrWilly]

Of course you prefer Pattaya…