Good health insurance cost in Vietnam?

Viet Kieu are welcomed, these days.

You have to come over and shop around for VN insurers to get a good quite. Some start around USD$300/annum/person.

I thought you guys had Obamacare no?

Jaitch wrote:

Viet Kieu are welcomed, these days.

You have to come over and shop around for VN insurers to get a good quite. Some start around USD$300/annum/person.

I thought you guys had Obamacare no?

ObamaTaxCare isn't a national health plan. I don't think anybody really knows what it is.

Parmyd wrote:

ObamaTaxCare isn't a national health plan.

Whatever it is, it seems to be a damn sight better than what the millions of uninsured have now.

The States claims to be a world leader, if this is true how come so many other countries have government health plans, including VietNam?

Unfortunately for the OP the VN plan doesn't cover Foreigners.

Depend on your age, but good ones cost 1000-2000 USD/year. They would cover treatment at top foreign-operated hospitals here and Thailand/Singapore plus dental plus emergency treatment worldwide if you are traveling.

For minor injuries/sickness, you don't need any health insurance, just go to any local hospitals and they will treat you right away for <10 USD.

Concerning your question about local police: if you live in those good apartments (saigon Pearl, The Manor, cantavil), you'll never see any of them.
You still need to register officially, but the landlord and/or the house keeping desk of the building can help you with them

IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOURSELF IN VIETNAM, here are some tips for insurance selection:
- select your must- have benefit first: what I suggest, your must have benefit are: emergency evacuation, repatriation and a high- enough inpatient benefit to cover for your worst case happen in Vietnam (preferably more than 1 billion VND)
- select base on stability of the plan: some plan do not guarantee renew for you, they might put copayment in the second year if you use a lot in the 1st year. Some local providers and even Liberty are in this list.
- select based on your budget: getting insurance from global company such as Aetna, Bupa are the best, but it is so expensive. So choosing the foreign-owned Vietnam-based companies with reputable service such as: Pacific Cross or Liberty are also a wise choice, only from $500/ year.
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hopes6166 wrote:

choosing the foreign-owned Vietnam-based companies with reputable service such as: Pacific Cross or Liberty are also a wise choice, only from $500/ year.

Not exactly true.  Unless one is young and without existing condition, the cost of a good health insurance is not exactly affordable in VN.

Last year, Pacific Cross gave us a quote for my spouse -- I don't remember the exact number, but it's somewhere around $350 - $400/m, and they told us it's not even a guaranteed quote.  That's 350% of what spouse paid while living in the States (for his age, he had free Medicare Part A which covered all hospital expense; he had to pay for Medicare Part B, which covered outpatients, lab works, etc.  He decided to join a very good HMO, and his out of pocket cost for *everything* from A to Z was $108/m.)

My nephews and nieces (Vietnamese citizens) no longer have full coverage with Bảo Việt An Gia as when they were younger.  Earlier this year, my oldest niece was ill and had to stay in hospital for 5 days.  Since Bảo Việt kicked her out when she turned 65, all of her siblings pitched in to pay for her medical expense.

I am having nothing but trouble trying to obtain health insurance here in Vietnam with premiums that are anything short of astronomical. I just turned 61, so what is called something like "BioViet" (sorry, i can't just remember or Google the name right now) is the is out of the question. They will only insure new customers up to the age of 60. Too bad for me, as they seem to be the ONLY health insurance company in all of Vietnam that charges premiums that one can afford on a Vietnamese salary.

The usual companies like Cigna and Humana charge like $349 a month (and since they only accept Western money, the cost is even higher as i will have to pay for the spread from converting from Dong). Not only that, but they have deductibles starting at maybe $1500. It might as well be a $1 million dollar deductible, as that is totally affordable.

I am in pretty good health for my age. What scares me is what happens if I should get into a motorbike accident or fall and break a leg? Unlike hospitals in my home country of the USA, I don’t know of any hospital in Vietnam that has to accept anybody that can’t afford care. And from a terrible experience with a Vietnamese hospital (told I was in a dire state of health, then when I went to an International hospital and paid 3.5 million dong for it I was told I was fine, and to stop taking the dangerous drugs prescribed by the Vietnamese “doctor”).

If anybody can help with this mess, I would be most grateful!

worst is no driving licence = no insurance pay-out

licence is tied to visa and corrupt skimmigration police

Hi Harry,

As the saying goes, you only get what you pay for!! I went with WrLife and got a quote, paid the $6000 for the policy. When I read the fine fine print I decided to cancel the policy after 3 days. Not only did WrLife want to slug me an amount for the three days between the day of taking it out and the day I cancelled the policy, they now tell me it will be three months before I can have my refund!  No real explaination apart from “that’s the process”, so have to just grin and bear it till Jun 18. After all ...... it is only $6000 right! Now I’m lead to believe that I can “probably” expect my refund in July 18.  I’ll believe it when I see it!! Gotta love how a company is so keen to take your hard earned dollars but when it comes to giving money back, it seems a totally different story. So glad I didn’t have to make a claim because on track record with their refund “policy” ...... well lets just say, I wouldn’t go holding ones breath!! Good luck finding a reputable Health insurer but believe me ..... READ THE FINE FINE PRINT, DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING!!!!

Isn't there some kind of membership in certain hospitals?
You pay an annual amount and then you are treated free of charge in the respective hospital.
Does anyone know which hospitals offer this and what the value for money is?

Y do u people think the vast majority of annoying pop-up adds on this and every website is life insurance? its the biggest racket going.

Im a qualified life insurance and pensions advisors in the UK -  they r all thieves. avoid AXA

Andy Passenger wrote:

Isn't there some kind of membership in certain hospitals?
You pay an annual amount and then you are treated free of charge in the respective hospital.
Does anyone know which hospitals offer this and what the value for money is?

It's with FV Hospital, but it's not free of charge for everything.  Even for the VIP Membership, which is the highest level, certain things are free, certain things are 40% discount, certain things are 60% discount, and anything they cannot do in house, we'll have to pay 100%.  I don't remember all the details; it was 9 months ago when they tried to explain to us.  After 2.5 hrs of listening, we went home with all kinds of literature.  Read, re-read, still weren't sure we wanted to commit, so we gave the whole thing to a physician in the family for his opinion.  His suggestion jived with our hesitation, so we dropped the idea.

Hi Thaigar,

What is your thoughts on WRLife??  Heard some interesting stuff about them. Any advice would be appreciated positive or negative.

Cheers

Leigh

A few days ago someone opened a new thread to report about his negative experiences with Pacific Cross.
Unfortunately this thread was deleted for unknown reasons.
Maybe because health insurers advertise on Expat.com?

It would be really good if someone could post here negative as well as positive experiences. Because what is written in the terms and conditions is firstly difficult to understand (perhaps on purpose) or the health insurance company tries to avoid payment with all its tricks.

I had a worse than bad experience with WRLife. Make sure to read the fine fine print before parting with your hard earned dollars!!  I cancelled after 6 days and have to wait 2 to 3 months for my refund!!!  So glad it’s only 6K .... not. Still waiting but that’s just the way some big businesses treat, no play on words there, the little guy who at the end of the day I’d just a NUMBER!!!  Be sure to check out everything thoroughly with any form of insurance no matter which company you might decide to go with before parting with your money. That said, Insurance is a must must must  .... just on the off chance!!!

Andy Passenger wrote:

A few days ago someone opened a new thread to report about his negative experiences with Pacific Cross.
Unfortunately this thread was deleted for unknown reasons.
Maybe because health insurers advertise on Expat.com?.

Posts containing possible defamation are removed as the forum gets threats of legal action.
Any post making allegations of illegal activity without any evidence has to go but, posts complaining of poor service (as above) with reasons are generally left alone.
As far as I'm aware, the company in the deleted post does not advertise on this site.

Howdy Andy Passenger,  I guess sometimes it’s hard, very hard to find the real truth of any company be it health insurance or any other. Similar to many motels, hotels and resorts when you flick thru their reviews. You get the occasional negative one but the majority are slanted to the positive side of things. At the end of the day ...... life will go on!!!

Thaiger wrote:

Y do u people think the vast majority of annoying pop-up adds on this and every website is life insurance? its the biggest racket going.

Im a qualified life insurance and pensions advisors in the UK -  they r all thieves. avoid AXA

And you have the cheek and nerve to call Vietnam people money grabbers.   LOL  Qualified Life Insurance and Pension Advisors - biggest racket going.........

Sonic

Nice to meet, I'm Lana, work for Willis Towers Watson Vietnam, an Insurance broker. I have some information to share.
There r a lot of healthcare plans to choose, but most of them divide into 2 types:

1. Local products:
- Geographical limit in Vietnam only;
- Age band from 01 - 65 years old.
- Insurers are local insurance companies (such as Bao Viet, PTI, PVI,...).
- The premium is quite low, average amount's about $250 - $500 per year.
- Benefits: Personal accident, (Term life), Health insurance (Inpatient, outpatient, dental, maternity)

2. MPE - medical plan for Expats:
- Geographical limit: any areas you want, subject to your premium you pay (Vietnam,  Asia, WW excluding Canada and US, WW)
- Age band from 0 - 7x years old
-  Insurers are International and local insurance company, but the most famous vendors are Aetna, Liberty, AXA, Pacific Cross, Henner, Bao Viet...
- The premium is much higher and depends on your age band, but it's bout $700 - thousands
- Benefits: Personal accident, Health insurance (Inpatient, outpatient, dental, maternity) with very high Sum Insured.

Whatever you buy, remember to read carefully the policy term or at least find some reliable consultants

- About your healthcare insurance, had you bought Bao Viet An Gia? As fas as I know, at your age, you can buy many products, such as: AXA, Bao Viet Intercare... But the premium is much higher than Bao Viet An Gia, above $1000/year

- Hospital service: If you are in HCMC, I suggest you choosing:
   + Private hospital: Vinmec, FV, Vitoria healthcare clinic, Hoan My, Hung Vuong
   + State Own Hospital: Private sector in 115 People Hospital, Gia Dinh People hospital,
Btw, if you need a detailed list with the contact, gimme ur email in message, I can send it to you.

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Lanatran,  as a broker do you know if it’s possible for someone who is hiv positive to get health insurance?

Depending on your age is right. I'm pushing 60, and so far Cigna will be happy to sell me a policy for $5500/ yr = $3000 deductible. And oh, by the way, pre-existing conditions aren't covered

eberlinusa wrote:

Depending on your age is right. I'm pushing 60, and so far Cigna will be happy to sell me a policy for $5500/ yr = $3000 deductible. And oh, by the way, pre-existing conditions aren't covered

$5500/ year?

For this money you can almost live in a local hospital.

Are there really people who pay this horrendous amount for health insurance?

Approx. what percentage of doctors/hospitals recognize/accept those types of insurance plans?  (If available, I'd like the data specifically for Da Nang)
Would I be pretty limited in where I could go for coverage?

Agreed.  I'm seeing that a doctor's visit costs less than $10 USD, which is ~1/30th the avg cost for the same in Texas.  So paying an insurance company $5K / year can hardly be worth it, right?  Having worked as an actuary for 6 years,  I'd love to take a look at their premium calculations.

If you are 60 or over,  just give up on getting health insurance and be glad paying for yourself isn't too bad in Vietnam. You won't get a policy for under $5000 a year,  and pre existing conditions will never be covered. A complete scam if you ask me.

ebxebx wrote:

If you are 60 or over,  just give up on getting health insurance and be glad paying for yourself isn't too bad in Vietnam. You won't get a policy for under $5000 a year,  and pre existing conditions will never be covered. A complete scam if you ask me.

You can get a policy for over 60 for around 2-3k with a local insurer. All insurers wont cover existing problems, same in western countries.

Hi all,
Actually, there are three types of Insurance currently exists here in the market:
- Local plan
- Medical plan for Expatriates (residents of Vietnam)
- International plan

Local plan is usually a low limit plan, with a lot of sub-limit, so in case of emergency, you might have to pay the differences between the limits and the actual cost (for example: Bao Viet An Gia)

Medical plan for Expatriates living in Vietnam is a local plan with the design and support at an International level. They cover in full in most sub-limits and the limit is also higher: from around USD 100,000 to 1 million. They have the most wanted benefit all expats want: medical evacuation. With good direct billing network and English speaking support, I believe this is a good choice for expats at a budget. To name some, there are Pacific Cross, Liberty, Bao Viet Intercare plan.

International plan cover at a very high limit: 1 million and above, and don't lapse if you move out of Vietnam for more than 90 days. That's a good plan for someone have to move back and forth for more than 3 months between here and other countries. Their drawbacks are high cost (from $100 - 150 a month), less hospitals in direct billing list since they need to work with every countries in the world, so just a few hospitals per country.

Any one that need more information you can PM me. I will give you my advice