ALTO AL CRIMEN ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR ENROLLMENT IN HOSPITAL COOPERATIVO MEDICAL DISCOUNT PLAN

[BOB G]

Alto al Crimen will open enrollments in the Hospital Cooperativo medical discount plan beginning on Thursday, June 15 and continung through Friday, July 14.

 

Our volunteer, Michael Butler, will be manning a table just outside Micro-Serv in Los Establos Plaza on June 15, 16, 21, 22, 29 and 30 and on July 5, 6, 13 and 14. If you enter Los Establos Plaza either from the side street or across the fountain plaza, walk to the gazebo in the center. Look toward the rear (west). Just before the walkway narrows, Michael's table with be on the right side on the sidewalk just in front of the entrance to Micro-Serv. He will be available on the dates shown above between the hours of TEN A.M. (10:00) and NOON (12:00).

 

In addition, Alto al Crimen will have a table at the Tuesday market on June 20 and July 11.

 

Though we are hoping to develop a system that will allow enrollment and payment by internet, there are complicatons related to setting up payment by PayPal that must be resolved before we can proceed with it. Unless we resolve the problems we need to overcome, this will be the last enrollment open season until December 2017-January 2018

 

THE PLAN. The Hospital Cooperative Medical Discount Plan allows discounts of 25% to 50% on services by doctors, other medical professionals and on hospital charges. Even before the discounts the charges are already low because Hospital Cooperativo is a non-profit hospita (the only one in Panama). You can find more detailed information about the plan in earlier News.Boquete emails or by looking in the Forum section of Boquete.ning.com. If later forum posts have pushed the Alto al Crimen announcements down below the first couple of pages, you may use the search function with the search term "crimen." At both Los Establos Plaza and the Tuesday Market we'll have English translations of the contract, lists of affiliated doctors and sketch maps for locating the Hospital.

 

ENROLLMENT. You will need to complete a data form that the hospital will use for completing your wallet identification card and that Alto al Crimen will use for contacting you for card delivery. You will need to bring with you a clear photo copy of your cedula (first choice), Pensionado card or other permanent residency card (second choice) or passport (third choice). Enrollments are for individuals only, so you will need to complete a data form and provide a photo copy of ID for each separate person enrolling.

 

COSTS. The annual costs for the plan are $150 for individuals or the first person in a household.and $125 for other persons in the same household. BUT because this is a mid year enrollment, we will be collecting the cost for the remainder of 2017 AND the cost for all of 2018. This is actually a convenience for you, since you will not need to enroll and pay again until 2019. And it's a lifesaver for AAC since we do not have enough board members and volunteers to manage frequent enrollment periods. Enrollment costs for this mid-year period will be $225 for individuals and first members of households and $188 for additional household members.

 

PAYMENT. You may pay by cash (exact change if possible) or by check. Checks MUST be made payable to "FUNDACION ALTO AL CRIMEN." If you pay with a check on a US bank, there will be a considerable delay for it to clear, and we cannot pay the hospital and get your ID card until the check clears. Whether you pay by cash or by check, you will be given a receipt. Our receipt stubs provide a cross check audit for enrollments and tracking dates for checks on US banks.

 

AAC HOTLINE SERVICE. Your payment will include a donation to Alto al Crimen whch will cover registration for the Emergency Bilingual AAC Hotline which you can use to call for police, fire, medical or other emergency assistance.

 

PLEASE make your decision about enrolling, and do it soon. If too many people wait until the last couple of days, there may not be enough time to process everyone.

 

As usual, we end with a reminder that Alto al Crimen is a volunteer public service organization that can always use your additional donations and assistance as a volunteer Several people have made extra donations when paying for their medical plans, and you are welcome to do so. If you would like to help us help our community, please leave your name, phone number and email address at the time you are enrolling.

 

CONTACTS. Bob Gregory - [e-mail]

Tom Counter - [e-mail]

[BOB G]

REMINDER

Our volunteer, Michael Butler, will be manning a table just outside Micro-Serv in Los Establos Plaza this week on Thursday and Friday June  29 and 30.   If you enter Los Establos Plaza either from the side street or across the fountain plaza, walk to the gazebo in the center. Look toward the rear (west). Just before the walkway narrows, Michael's table with be on the right side on the sidewalk just in front of the entrance to Micro-Serv.  Read the main post above and be sure to bring a copy of the cedula or other ID for each person signing up

[BOB G]

Michael:  I don't know where you have in mind.  You need to give more information so that I can understand what your situation is and what you need.

Los Establos Plaza is right in downtown Boquete, and the BCP is just across the bridge from downtown.  Our volunter, Michael, will be in Los Establos Plaze two days per week until July 14.  Our next day at the Market will be on July 11

If this is not enough information to help you, send me an email at [e-mail]

[BOB G]

Michael:  I don't know where you have in mind.  You need to give more information so that I can understand what your situation is and what you need.

Los Establos Plaza is right in downtown Boquete, and the BCP is just across the bridge from downtown.  Our volunter, Michael, will be in Los Establos Plaze two days per week until July 14.  Our next day at the Market will be on July 11

If this is not enough information to help you, send me an email at [e-mail]

[BOB G]

Michael, you can sign up at the hospital for their regular plan which is paid monthly.  You will not have the convenience of paying by the year (or currently for 1.5 year) and will not have AAC emergency bilingual hotline included as a part of your plan.

If you are not fluent in Spanish you may have difficulty enrolling at the hospital  Though several of the doctors speak English, most of the staff does not.   AAC has English translations of the contract so that it can easily be read and understood before signing and uses an English data form for personal information and contact information

[BOB G]

Michael, you can sign up at the hospital for their regular plan which is paid monthly.  You will not have the convenience of paying by the year (or currently for 1.5 year) and will not have AAC emergency bilingual hotline included as a part of your plan.

If you are not fluent in Spanish you may have difficulty enrolling at the hospital  Though several of the doctors speak English, most of the staff does not.   AAC has English translations of the contract so that it can easily be read and understood before signing and uses an English data form for personal information and contact information

[marlene chymboryk]

what is the age limit for this plan?  is this the same plan as hospital chiriqui?

marlene

[BOB G]

Here is a copy of our announcement that was sent out via News.Boquete. This plan is different and lower in cost than the Hospital Chiriqui plan. Our first two enrollment days will be this Thursday and Friday at Los Establos Plaza from 10 AM to Noon.

I have bumped some other announcements about the plan to near the top so that they can be reviewed by people interested in signing up.

 

Bob

 

 Beginning in mid-June and until mid-July Alto al Crimen will offer an enrollment open season in the Hospital Cooperativo discount medical plan.

 

The plan is a very economical one because the costs for services at Hospital Cooperativo are already low and then discounted for members of the plan. For those who are not already familiar with the details of the plan, a full description can be found in the forum section of Boquete.ning.com It was posted recently and should be near top.

 

There is no waiting period, and there are no pre-existing condition restrictions. Also there are no age limits.

 

The cost for the plan for an individual or the first person in a household is $150 per year, and for other household members it is $125 per year. Because this open season will occur in the middle of the year, the charge will be for July through December of 2017 PLUS the full year of 2018. We do this because AAC las very limited staff to perform this extra service.

 

With the pro-rating mentioned, the cost will be $225 for an individual or the first person in a household and $188 for additional household members. The payments will cover membership for the period July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018. In the next several days we will announce the dates and locations that will be available to join the plan. Application involves only a simple information form to complete and a contract to sign. The contract, by law, must be in Spanish, but an English translation is included in the information on Boquete.ning.com You will also need to supply a copy of your Cedula, your Pensionado or other residence card, or your passport (in that order of preference). Each enrollment is completely separate from all others, so a single information form for a family will not work.

 

We are still working to develop an enrollment system that is semi-automated and that can be available year-around. Once we complete it and thoroughly test it, we'll announce it to everyone. Meanwhile plan to enroll during the upcoming enrollment season.

 

REGISTRATION FOR THE ALTO AL CRIMEN BILINGUAL HOTLINE SERVICE IS INCLUDED WITH YOUR MEDICAL DISCOUNT PLAN MEMBERSHIP. If you are not already registered you will need to complete our online registration form.

 

The Hospital Cooperativo Medical Discount Plan is an excellent, low-cost standalone plan or a good plan to use in conjunction with an insurance plan that has a high deductible. Some people decide to save the high annual premium costs of insurance plans and instead put the premium costs into a bank account as a medical savings plan. The AAC-Hospital Cooperativo plan will cover most routine medical costs inexpensively, but if there are extraordinary expenses, there will be money in your savings account.

 

Watch for more details in the next few days.

 

Alto al Crimen is a community service funded by donations. We need and solicit your contributions and support. We would also welcome volunteers to help with publicity and other functions. And we need new members for our board of directors. Join us and serve your community.

 

Contact Bob Gregory - [e-mail]

or Tom Counter - [e-mail]

 

[Keith Woolford]

"a full description can be found in the forum section of Boquete.ning.com. It was posted recently and should be near top"

Perhaps you could just post the link for folks.