Hi everyone, we are new to panama and are surprised to find out that we were unprepared for the high cost of medical insurance here. Yes, we looked into it before we arrived but were convinced that we would be fine. However, since living here for awhile and with the huge drop in the Canadian dollar in recent months, things for us have changed quite a bit. We now find ourselves paying quite a bit for our prescription medications that were of course covered by insurance while we were working back home and we are now unable to afford bupa here in Panama. My question is: Does anyone know of a way to cut costs on paying cash for our medications while here in panama? What is the Hospital Chiriqui system all about? Is it something that could be beneficial to us? We are seeking residency visas so I understand that will give us a slight reduction in cost, but not too much. Perhaps someone reading this has run into the same issues as we have. Thanks for reading this post and for any positive feedback.
Marly
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On another issue Gwen, you must be active on LinkedIn? I just connected the dots...
This is good information.Thank you
I definitely don't mind paying for the dr visits as they are totally within our budget. but the prescription meds are not as reasonably priced as I thought they would be and we take quite a few. so we are planning to try and wean ourselves to a lower amount with dr. assistance or a less expensive brand. Canadian drs. love to prescribe and the drs here are shocked to see what our "list" of meds looks like. So I know they will agree. Soon as we see the specialists we will know for sure. Thanks for all of your replies and good information. I really appreciate your responses.
Marlene
That is exactly what we have done - take less or stopped some medications altogether and no change in our health - but that of course is very individual. One of my favorite examples is Lipitor for high cholesterol. Now that they have lost the exclusivity and there are generics available, it's a little different. While I have never been "diagnosed" with high cholesterol, my husband has and my mother was too. Neither are high risk for heart disease - my mother was thin, had normal blood pressure, and when she was about 85, I told her I doubt your cholesterol level is a health issue for you any more! She has passed away but it wasn't from a heart related condition.
Yes doctors love to write prescriptions - in the US too. While it has been over 3 years now, I would put the number at probably 80% of every time I visited a doctor (rarely) there was a pharmaceutical salesman in the doctor's office.
We have found a couple of good doctors here. One time I called the number I had and the doctor answered. I was so shocked that I started to apologize for bothering him! That to me is one of the nice things here.
So there is good and bad but yes, health insurance is just not that easy or good here. If you do a search on the Chiriqui Medical Plan now called MS Panama - it's really not even insurance but a discount plan that may not even be a discount depending on the reason you need to use it. I do agree though that it is better than nothing and highly recommend Magda Crespo to help you decide the best option for your needs here. Hope this helps.
It was an unexpected expense for us - we thought we had it all fgured out after years of planning - but nope. Don't know of any plan here that covers prescription medications as we were accustomed to. Fortunately there aren't many we need but they are not cheap!
There is one difference - most medications do not require a prescription so that saves the visit to the doctor and in our case, a copay for a Dr visit. It is typical to see Panamanians buy a few pills. We are used to nothing but a 30 or 90 day supply. So I ask for a "caja"( box) of pills, most still struggle with the concept.
Don't know what you need to take but it's a good idea to check first then learn that many times what you need is not even available any where plus the price fluctuates by at least 10 to 20%.
Hope this helps. I. do have a great worldwide plan but would have to look up the name. But it doesn't cover prescriptions! unless you are ill.
Regards
Thanks for posting this discussion. I visit this site because my husband and I are very seriously considering retiring to Boquete in two years. I was lead to believe our medical expenses would be a small fraction of the cost in the states. So this is something I need to learn as much as I can about.
BUPA is the most expensive international insurance.
You should look in to Worldwide medical
http://worldwidegroup.co/
Their premium was 50% less than BUPA
Call the Panama office
MAPFRE is also much more affordable than BUPA
they have an office in David.
Blue Cross Blue Shield is available in Panama Too.
I also discovered that I could get insurance much cheaper (20-30% less) if I go through the company directly instead of using an insurance broker.
Health insurance here is quite expensive. I have a couple that are just 65 and in good health with no pre existing conditions and for the basic plan with Magda it will cost you about $3-4000 per six months for both. If you have any pre existing conditions you will have to submit medical info if requested and any conditions may be excluded or limited for a period of time. There is no easy answer. The Chiriqui Hospital is not an insurance plan but a "reduced price" and people have had varying degrees of satisfaction with it. There is really not a middle ground.
Correct, Michael. And those with pre-existing conditions are among the most likely to need good medical care and good insurance. I have known quite a few people who have been obliged to return to their country of origin because of this very issue. My experience indicates that many expats did not adequately explore the issue of health insurance before making the move and now are forced to rely on the underfunded Panamanian public health system or beg from other expats when catastrophe strikes. Neither are good alternatives.
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