Health care in the Philippines for Australian expats

Expat Australian in the Philippines? What happens if you get sick? Do you need health insurance?

Healthcare, doctors, dentists, hospitals, and medical insurance. These are all serious considerations for any Australian expat or long term visitor to the Philippines. The medical system works very differently here, and there is no Medicare safety net to fall back on. You need to be prepared for possible costs, especially as you get older. You also need to understand how it all works, and to be aware of the traps and pitfalls.

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Philippines medical services – the Harvie experiences

Doctors, dentists, etc. Mostly you just walk in. Appointments exist, but not the standard. I’ve never known dentists to use an appointment system. Normally you just walk in. You can get a tooth pulled for about P500.00. Compare that to Australia, especially in regional areas. 1 year waiting lists and $400.00 to get a tooth removed! We have family doctors (wife is a “GP”, and husband is a surgeon). Been with them since we came here, and trust them absolutely. None of this “No more than 3 minutes or it’s not profitable” bulk-billing side-effect. If it takes 30 minutes, then so be it! P200.00 for a consultation! And that’s fairly normal here.

And there are specialists everywhere! No referrals necessary. Blood pressure problems? Heart problems? Go see a cardiologist! I’ve had “Singapore Ear” treated by an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist! Came to my home last time! Paid him a little extra, but was still cheap!

The point being that you need to investigate! You need to ask around. If you like the treatment somewhere, you should go back again. And you should try to get the best treatment that money can buy! However, please also take note of the next bit!

The rich white man, even if you’re not rich at all

Medical care facilities in the Philippines are businesses, just as they are in Australia. But here they are truly owned by private individuals or wealthy families and investors. Regardless of how caring the staff may be, or may wish they could be, they need to toe the line and make money for the boss. That’s how they remain employed.

Our friend presented with kidney stones and a bowel infection. He had waited until he was seriously ill before going there, and being an Australian they put him in a private room. He needed a couple of operations and dialysis, and a stay of about 3 weeks. They asked to be moved to a cheaper ward, but they refused by claiming that was only for poor Filipinos. Little did they know he was no better off! The bill was clearly “loaded”, and ended up at nearly P700,000.00 by the time he finally got out.

This would never happen to me, because I have a very clever and suspicious-natured wife who would have been asking the questions all the way along and yelling at them if needed. Plus, we are aware that you cannot try to live like a poor man here and expect that “the system” will take care of you as it basically will in Australia. You must be prepared for emergencies! That means having substantial savings or reliable sources of funds to cover such emergencies, or you can find yourselves in tragic circumstances!