Health insurance in Panama

[margie r]

Could anyone give me solid information regarding health insurance in Panama?

Also, what cell phone is the best for use in Boquete?  I don't want to keep my Verizon cell from the U.S.

Also, I have a few boxes of personal items that I would like to send to Boquete.  Should I use Mail Boxes, etc.

Any other information would be welcomed!

Margie

[Hil]

MS PANAMA insurance cost me $52.50 a month for Hospital Chiriqui. You will need a chest xray, EKG and blood work.

Blood work $50.15

Chest Xray & EKG $41.22

Dr. visit and physical $20

Out of pocket pre insurance; $111.37

I do NOT know disqualifiers as they were never mentioned.

Wait for approval and you are in.

Some waiting period for some preexsisting conditions to be covered if at all.

And, Premiums are based on age.

Dr. visit are very cheap. Maybe $20

Insurance pays 70% most issues

Talk with Irma in Chiriqui Hospital. She is in charge of MS PANAMA in the hosptial. 

I don't have all the answers but those are the basics. There are other insurance companies available

Hil Jenkins

[Bruce Laidlaw]

If you ask around you'll find that many folks USED to have MS Chiriqui and then abandoned it because they don't cover enough things and there were huge OOP's. Talk to Magda Crespo - she will direct you to an Insurance policy that will take care of Catastrophic events (like Lee alluded to). I would never want a policy that wouldn't cover pre-existings for the first 2 years, if at all. Like Susan said, MS Chiriqui is not an Insurance plan like you are used to in the states.

[BJ Allen]

Amen to that. Geovanna is a genius and one of the nicest people I have ever met.

[Bonnie Williams]

There are many, Bob. I have a policy with IMG through International Insurance-Seguros Inc. See www.globalmedicalplans.com or e-mail Tony Hamrick at [e-mail]. My husband obtained insurance with Worldwide Medical Assurance through Pedro and Gloria Detresno, insurance agents who have an office in David but a second home in Boquete that they visit almost every weekend. Their contact info is [e-mail] or 6615-6391 (Gloria). Both companies can help you explore your options, depending on what you need, and I recommend them both. Pedro and Gloria will come to your home and are lovely people to deal with. Both speak flawless English, having been educated in the U.S. I suggest you look at as many plans as possible to decide which is best for you.

[Judy Sacco]

Hospital Chiriqui makes you wait 2 years to cover pre-existing conditions.  Of course they don't allow you to delay payment for those 2 years.

[BJ Allen]

You can use Verizon iPhone 4s or 5 and it is great with Mas Movil. I have used both in Boquete and the iPhone in General is the best phone I found. You can only use an unlocked GSM (AT&T, etc) or any iPhone 4s or 5. the iphone 5 comes unlocked and you can use the Mas Movil SIM card in Boquete and use the same phone in the US with another sim card. If you have the 4s just call Verizon & tell them you are going out of the country for vacation and want them to unlock the 4s so you can use a local SIM card & they will do it free and the phone is then unlocked forever. Hope this helps.
B.J. Allen

[Bonnie Williams]

I've been thinking about your boxes of personal items. You might want to e-mail Mailboxes, Etc. in Boquete ([e-mail]) to find out about costs and to find out if you will first need to establish an account in order to receive packages there. There also are other mail facilitation services in town that others may want to recommend and provide contact information for. With all these services, though, you essentially pay twice: once for getting it to the U.S. base and then again in Boquete when you receive the package(s) for transport from the U.S. to Panama. Depending on the amount of stuff, you may find it less expensive to bring it as excess baggage on the plane. Do a comparison of the costs.

[Bonnie Williams]

You may be interested in this previous blog post by Lee relative to Hospital Chiriqui: http://www.boqueteguide.com/?tag=hospital-chiriqui

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Hospital Chiriqui plan is good for checkups, i.e., preventive care. But doctor visits and medical tests in Panama are relatively inexpensive anyway. What senior citizens, in particular, need is catastrophic health insurance, not a preventive/co-pay plan. A major illness, surgery, or accident easily could exceed the $25,000 maximum. I have personal experience with this as my husband, here in Boquete, suffered a broken foot that, because of unexpected multiple infections and surgeries, ended up costing in excess of $70,000. And this was  four years ago. I recommend an international health insurance policy with a reasonable yearly deductible and a high maximum payout for peace of mind (unless you have lots of cash squirreled away somewhere and are able to self-insure).

[Becky Wisdom]

Doug can you tell me which Ins. This is? And where its located? I am very interested , and do they allow you to pay per month?

Thanks

Becky

[Patrick]

Preexisting Conditions - After 24 mos. - 50%

No restrictions of age or pre-existing conditions.

Huh!!!