roblimei Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Limei and my daughter and I are moving to China this late summer. Limei will be forfeiting her green card. I have to return to the U.S. twice a year for my business so I will operate with visas. What are our options for health insurance for the girls in China? With a one year old baby we definitely need good health care. Anyone have experience with this? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwyjibo Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 Limei and my daughter and I are moving to China this late summer. Limei will be forfeiting her green card. I have to return to the U.S. twice a year for my business so I will operate with visas. What are our options for health insurance for the girls in China? With a one year old baby we definitely need good health care. Anyone have experience with this? RobNot sure if this is of any use to you. But here's some info. "Health Insurance For Expats In China" http://www.startinchina.com/shenzhen/life/...s_in_china.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) While in China, I faced some health issues. Thankfully, I had international health insurance through Seven Corners. http://www.sevencorners.com/ My medical bills came to around 4000 USD, which was entirely reimbursed minus my 250 USD deductible. I also had insurance through my school, but it didn't amount to much. Anyway, I used Seven Corners for three years and would be happy to recommend their service to anyone traveling abroad. The seven corners staff as extremely courteous and efficient in processing my claim. I chose the Liaison International plan which suited my needs well. Edited March 30, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengdu4me Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.c Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD. Excellent point Larry. I had to spend a day in the hospital just west of Chengdu due to food poisoning/dehydration and it cost me 80RMB (exactly $11 at the time) and that included a weeks worth of medicine to go. Plus I was free to smoke as I wished Edited March 30, 2010 by bcco (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD. You don't always have to pay up front. We didn't. Seven Corners paid the remainder of our liability directly to the hospital in Wuhan. Smaller hospitals will most likely make you do this; however, more international hospitals are accustomed to dealing with international insurance groups. A lot depends on if the hospital has had past (positive) dealings with your insurance carrier. I had a friend who was attacked by an elephant http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22881861/ and was air ambulanced to Thailand to receive treatment. Medical treatments in China are so cheap, but they also largely suck. Also things like an MRI or CT scans aren't so cheap; if you live in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai or any other major city, medical costs are going to be more United States like (including the doctor visit - over 100 USD in Guangzhou) - assuming you go to an international hospital. Get insurance and hope that you'll never have to use it. It's better than getting caught with an unexpected cost. Larry is probably right if you get a cold or flu, but what if something really tragic really happens? Most people can't foresee needing an MRI or surgery, not until they actually need it. Edited March 30, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jin979 Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 medical insurance in china should be paid by your employer (if you work legally) most hospitals will want payement before treatment, some hospitals are cheaters, some not, some good some bad, no different from USA. IF you pay first at least you wont lose your house months later when the insurance company and hospital take you to collections/court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandrong Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD.thats right...Complete gall bladder removal in Xi'an, paid up front was about $480 USD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhou Zhou Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 I was in Yichang during CNY a few years ago....I caught a bad cold that lingered. My g/f at the time insisted I go to the hospital. I saw the doctor twice, got a chest x-ray and two prescriptions and everything came to U$D20...like the man said, health care ain't to expensive in the PRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shenzhen Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD. You don't always have to pay up front. We didn't. Seven Corners paid the remainder of our liability directly to the hospital in Wuhan. Smaller hospitals will most likely make you do this; however, more international hospitals are accustomed to dealing with international insurance groups. A lot depends on if the hospital has had past (positive) dealings with your insurance carrier. I had a friend who was attacked by an elephant http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22881861/ and was air ambulanced to Thailand to receive treatment. Medical treatments in China are so cheap, but they also largely suck. Also things like an MRI or CT scans aren't so cheap; if you live in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai or any other major city, medical costs are going to be more United States like (including the doctor visit - over 100 USD in Guangzhou) - assuming you go to an international hospital. Get insurance and hope that you'll never have to use it. It's better than getting caught with an unexpected cost. Larry is probably right if you get a cold or flu, but what if something really tragic really happens? Most people can't foresee needing an MRI or surgery, not until they actually need it.I agree with Kyle mostly but also other posters are correct that health care in China is cheap (compared to the USA/western countries). I think the thing to consider is what happens during a major medical emergency or a major illness. At that time you will want to use a major international hospital in SHA/BJ/GUZ or go to HK or other country. That will not be cheap like the routine visits to local hospital for flu, cold, sinus, broken arm, etc. Just a few more datapoints on cost of medical care in China. At international clinic in China the visit to an western trained/english speaking doctor (either mainland chinese/ABC/Western) is 20 RMB per visit. Tests/procedures usually under 5-50 RMB unless specialized than 100-500 RMB. A MRI (with state of that art GE equipment) cost 1000 RMB. A visit to a specialist doctor in Hong Kong for a second opinon cost 1800 HKD and it turns out the doctor was the student at UCLA of the doctor I was using in Qingdao. The look on my face when he told me this as I compared 20 RMB to 1800 HKD was priceless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roblimei Posted March 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD.Thanks for the info.! Very much appreciated. Curious...What is the repair cost for a "mop slapping"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandrong Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff". I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass! My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October! Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD.Thanks for the info.! Very much appreciated. Curious...What is the repair cost for a "mop slapping"?Depends on how bad the mop got hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shenzhen Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Excellent point Larry. I had to spend a day in the hospital just west of Chengdu due to food poisoning/dehydration and it cost me 80RMB (exactly $11 at the time) and that included a weeks worth of medicine to go. Plus I was free to smoke as I wished Great picture ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now