Stokkevn

A German friend dislocated his wrist after a fall the other morning and was rushed off to hospital by his family. The hospital kept him in over night, put full plaster cast from hand to midway between elbow and shoulder. The plaster cast was put on by a top doctor at a cost P28k for less than 20 mins work, he was given a full anesthetic, vitamin , calcium and vitamin D2 tablets. Total cost P59,000. When I used to play county rugby in the UK I used to dislocate my elbow about once a season and this was normally corrected by the St Johns Ambulance guys on the touch line followed by a month+ in a sling.

Am not a medical person but have looked at NHS cost for a forearm fracture ( which I assume is not much more than a dislocation ) and that was £310 average or just shy of P20k.

Is this just a white man tax or do the hospitals treat the natives the same way.

Feidlimid

If I recall correctly, doesn’t Phil Health have a policy whereby you need an overnight stay in hospital before they will consider a claim? I’m thinking along the lines that your friend's portion of the bill would be greatly reduced after processing his claim. If this is the case, there certainly doesn't seem to be any financial incentive to have the treatment completed on the same day. Perhaps your German friend took that into consideration before accepting treatment and the overnight stay.

As an aside, I imagine it’s difficult to extract a list of costs before one gets treated at these hospitals. In our experience, the hospital staff have a tendency to 'throw everything at you', without saying anything about the cost until you come to leave. Fortunately I had some Filipino friends with me who questioned everything and we escaped without incurring too many fees.

Your friends experience is a reminder that we always need to be careful about giving the hospitals/ doctors carte blanche when we need treatment, especially for something major. Caution seems to be the order of the day.

Gazza-d

I suspect that as a foreigner he got the VIP treatment.

tropicofcancer

Cost of forearm fracture in UK last year. Cost in total £360.08.

Gazza-d

Is that private as the NHS is free.

tropicofcancer

My classification in UK was Non-Resident. I visited UK for the first time in eighteen years, last year. My arm was broken as a result of, the carelessness, of someone else. However, as I had not been resident for over six months, and would not be resident for the required 185 days. I had to pay. In spite of paying National Insurance for forty years. Plus taxes for fifty-five years.

NON Resident for six months = No free treatment, except for initial emergency treatment.

nonthaburi

Did they ask you if you were a resident? Just wondering if things have changed as I had to go with my wife to A+E on a visit to the UK and they never asked and we never told them.

Stokkevn

When you are given a small funnel, 1m of garden hose and an old coke bottle for a bed pan, hardly VIP treatment.

spouse of scouse

A&E is free for initial emergency treatment given in A&E, non-residents are charged for everything after that (hospitalisation, medication, follow-up appointments, physio etc).

tropicofcancer

Yes I was asked. Being in the target group.
Emergency treatment is free. X-Ray showed a fracture. So a cast put on after filling up a form. Told an appointment would be made, at the main hospital, for a proper cast. Warned that I would most probably be charged, for all further treatment.
Had proper cast, and received bill, encrypted e-mail. Paid over phone by card. Received appointment for cast removal four weeks later. For which I paid immediately. I was the only one who paid, only one other English speaker, female and resident, there were about thirteen to fifteen Eastern Europeans. They would not give me notes for my doctor, and claimed, they were not allowed, to send them direct!

scot47

Entitlement to NHS treatment is based on residence, not on National Insurance Record

Philosophical 11

Greetings...

My Philhealth ends this month and now with the cost of renewal having been increased to 17k I no longer feel it is value for money,

What is everyone else using?

Thanks

tropicofcancer

Luckily for me, I am covered under my wife's PHILHEALTH policy. For the past couple of years, I have had a Kaiser plan. Which is P29400 a year, for me. Over seventies, must pay in one lump sum, for the year. Younger persons, can pay monthly.

Stokkevn

Sounds like our local ambulance, if you look a bit sick or are old they expect payment up front, just incase you don't make it to the other end.

Feidlimid

The ambulance called to take me to hospital a few years back was quite an eye-opener. It had absolutely zilch in terms of medical equipment. No oxygen, no drips, no splints of any description and no drugs. The vehicle was totally bare apart from a stretcher and a couple of seats. I was told later that the persons who came with the ambulance (can’t really call them paramedics) were not authorised to give drugs. Not ideal if you need a defibrillator ++ ! Fat chance of one of those being on board. Morale of the story for us; next time we need to get to the hospital urgently, get the missus or a neighbour to flag down a local taxi, which will be much quicker in getting to the hospital. That way we won't have to waste time waiting for the 'ambulance' to arrive; it'll also be cheaper and just as effective.