Buying health insurance retail: any advice?

[vellocet]

I need to purchase health insurance on the open market.  Any advice on how to go about it or what to look out for?  I just want a basic plan that covers me in case of serious illness, and maybe has some discounts for routine treatment.  I've looked at a couple of policies from friends-of-friends but not really sure if they're what I need.  The cost was ¥10k - 12k per year.  

[Flickserve]

Not in the industry per se but you need some idea of hospital and physician costs. What city are you in out of curiosity?

 

 I heard private hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai were comparable in price to HK and international hospitals....obviously with some variation to certain hospitals. Therefore, you need to find out if the costs of treatment would be totally covered (as a best estimate) and whether it’s only good for one or two expensive treatments like surgery. Do check if the insurance will cover repeated costs for the same part of the body problem. Let’s say you have a knee meniscus surgery- would they still cover you if you reinjure the knee and need meniscus surgery again or an ACL reconstruction. 

 

Some plans do do not cover out patient costs. So any clinic appointments or CT scan won’t be covered. Check if these would be included. 

 

you might want to look into if they cover you for cost of treatment in Hong Kong. Some people from China seek medical treatment Hong Kong perceiving it to be more reliable in terms of consistency of diagnosis and care.

 

Covering for serious illness is much more expensive because of the potential of repeated expensive ongoing costs. Thus, quotations will be high compared to basic medical insurance.

[vellocet]

I'm in Wenzhou.  

[Flickserve]

So would you go to Shanghai for medical care? For example, Shanghai United has costs comparable to private care in USA. 

 

10-12k/year sounds to me like a plan that would cover a lot and wide range or service providers.

 

[vellocet]

No.  I would want to use a local hospital.  Does anyone have experience with this kind of insurance in China?  

[roddy]

@vellocet Sorry you didn't get more help with this. Were you able to get the insurance you needed?

[vellocet]

Nope, couldn't find anything.  Friend of a friend is supposed to forward me some information.  We'll see.

[mackie1402]

I went with Met Life in China. I think I paid about 3000 rmb a year, while my wife got some super duper insurance with them for about 11k. Mine basically covered serious illness etc, but wouldn't cover me getting flown back to the UK in an emergency. The 11k one included worldwide flights in an illness related emergency. I don't really know the specifics as my wife dealt with it all and I just nodded, agreed and made the tea. 

[DavyJonesLocker]

15 minutes ago, mackie1402 said:

. Mine basically covered serious illness etc, but wouldn't cover me getting flown back to the UK in an emergency.

 

I guess this my  biggest worry too, that one is unable to get back to the UK to get treatment on the NHS. I don't have insurance here in China which makes me a little uncomfortable. I thought if I ever got a serious illness I'd just leave and go back to UK. However that assumes I can actually get on the plane.

[Flickserve]

1 hour ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

that one is unable to get back to the UK to get treatment on the NHS

 

 

The NHS is there only for basic care. It won’t cater for you if you need medical care within a  timeframe because of your job or social situation. You also do not have a choice of doctor.

 

Hence, private medical insurance is good to have as an option to give you a choice in who you want to treat and care for you.