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Shanghai Expat Forum Index » City Living Forums » Health Care Issues

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jrmitch

Newbie

Joined: Apr 23, 2007
Posts: 7

Status: Offline

Posted: May 07, 2007 - 02:39 PM
Post subject: International SOS

Has anyone used International SOS's Expat Medical Plan? The IHI International quote I received was 10X what I-SOS costs.

I know I-SOS is good for big issues & evacuation. How do they handle small stuff like colds, stitches, etc?

I can justify a lot of out-of-pocket expense for the difference.

GirlatWork

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Joined: Feb 14, 2006
Posts: 596

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Posted: July 15, 2007 - 09:14 AM

Don't think I-SOS has any clinic in shanghai so they probably just do the evacuation related stuff. They do have a clinic in Beijing.

piper123

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Joined: June 14, 2007
Posts: 39

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Posted: July 16, 2007 - 10:49 AM

jrmitch...I don't know how I-SOS is for their "minor" medical conditions like you described, but I can tell you their evacuation service is top end. Two years ago my brother had a heart attack in Korea. He was hospitalized for a week (do NOT end up in a Korean rural hospital if you can avoid it), then flown to Hong Kong, where he lived. I was on the evacuation plane with him. Doctors, nurses, pilot, attendants...everything was professional, fast, and compassionate.

I use Allianz for medical coverage myself. They do a pretty decent job. PM me if you want a contact for them.

akkir

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Joined: July 10, 2007
Posts: 28
Location: Right now Denmark
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Posted: July 28, 2007 - 08:37 PM

Try

Last edited by akkir on Sep 13, 2007 - 12:53 PM; edited 1 time in total

underh20
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Joined: Sep 27, 2006
Posts: 12702
Location: Veggie-Free Zone

Posted: July 30, 2007 - 07:46 AM

SOS used to be top-notch for your everyday medical care needs, but they have since started using local Chinese doctors a lot and also cut back the number of SOS direct-run clinics. They used to have a good clinic in Guangzhou and in Shanghai, but now they've outsourced these operations.

Granted, the Chinese doctors they use (either outsourced or directly employed) are quite skilled in English, but they were still educated and trained in China and there is a vast difference in their medical skill levels & treatment philosophy with those of most Western physicians.

_________________
"If I need to buy a TV, I'll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode." -- Jackie Chan

Shanghai7136

Reacher

Joined: Nov 26, 2003
Posts: 318

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Posted: July 31, 2007 - 01:23 AM

So can anyone suggest a good insurance company that does evacuation well and handles the small medical problems well?

Paullie

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Joined: Aug 01, 2007
Posts: 46

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Posted: Aug 01, 2007 - 05:12 PM
Post subject: Information on Medical Insurance/Assitance

Intl SOS is not a medical insurance company but rather a medical assistance company. They will offer assistance to you in case of ANY medical emergency or routine medical questions or advice if you are a member.
When you have the small stuff they will tell you how to handle it yourself or alternatively point you to the appropriate medical clinic based on your location and the condition and time of day or night. Many of these conditions you may not even have to see a doctor and they will talk you through what you can do (expat doctor will do this).
They do have one program that does include an evacuation cover should you require it which makes it more expensive (but worth it as they will not renage on making a decision if they think you should not be in country - they will not take risks). The plain assistance package is cheap at about 150 USD per year ( that works out to less than 30 beers for the year at Malones and well worth it). This also gives you access to all their alarm centers world wide so you will be able to get assistance anywhere in the world and they can help deal with your insurance company if necessary, but then your insurance needs to cover medical and evacuation services.
SOS is linked to a number of major international medical insurances in that they will do the evacuation should you require it in an emergency. This group includes CIGNA, BUPA, GOODHEALTH, GMCI, AVIVA and a huge number of others. As far as I know IHI is not linked to SOS but I am speaking under correction here!
Some of the other insurers mentioned in previous comments may use other assistance companies who DO NOT have a major presence in China at all. SOS is the only company that has its own aircraft based in Beijing.
The comments with regards to the doctors with SOS, all doctors related to the Assistance service are expatriates and the Chinese physicians are all overseen and offer a good level of assistance information but generally assist to bridge betweeen the Chinese medical system and SOS expat staff, and do a wonderful job to liaise with local medical institutions.
SOS does have a large clinic in Beijing and does have some other clinics in China but this is not their core business here and is mostly related to providing clinical services for large companies in various cities.
SOS provides assistance services to most of the major international companies and fortune 100 companies.
My advice would be to seek an insurance broker and get them to give you a good medical insurance that covers for acute emergencies and hospitalisation. It does not necessarily have to offer outpatient care if you are fit and healthy as you are unlikely to use this and can pay out of pocket if you want (usually not expensive). What you need is for the really bad emergency, trauma or accident. In addition make sure that there is adequate evacuation cover that INCLUDES repatration back to home country (if you are going to be in hospital for a long time in HK your insurance is likely to run out quickly and you may be entitled to free medical care in your home country). Alternatively you can purchase medical insurance without evacuation and take the evacuation service package through SOS.
Whatever you do, you should not purchase an insurance that uses a medical assistance company other than SOS as you are going to struggle to get out of here when the crunch comes. I do not know of any others that are capable of doing anything similar to what SOS can do in the region. Ask that question first, 'who is the medical assistance company linked to this insurance in case I need to be evacuated).
Check out the International SOS website there is enough information on the work that is being done here in China and I know that they recently did a major bus accident here in China with a number of patients and family members with teams of doctors and nurses on a commercial aircraft configured to take all the patients - only one example of the work they do in the region.

Whoever sells you the insurance does it for the money so the more it costs the more the commission - be sure that they are providing you with WHAT YOU want and not what they want you to have. When push comes to shove they are not going to get you out of here, the assistance company linked to your insurance will.

Remember that most expats eho die unecessarily due to poor medical care in foreign countries do so due to lack of travel documents or NO MEDICAL INSURANCE or inadequate evacuation cover when the need arises. (EVAC on air ambulance from Shanghai to Hong Kong can cost in the region of USD 30 - 40 K)

Hope this helps

underh20
Board Legend

Joined: Sep 27, 2006
Posts: 12702
Location: Veggie-Free Zone

Posted: Aug 01, 2007 - 11:58 PM
Post subject: Re: Information on Medical Insurance/Assitance

Paullie wrote:

Depending on your level of membership, SOS does provide insurance products although underwritten by another company. Also, depending on your level of membership, they provide direct routine medical care when they have the facilities.

Paullie wrote:

The comments with regards to the doctors with SOS, all doctors related to the Assistance service are expatriates and the Chinese physicians are all overseen and offer a good level of assistance information but generally assist to bridge betweeen the Chinese medical system and SOS expat staff, and do a wonderful job to liaise with local medical institutions.

All doctors that attend in SOS clinics are definitely not expats and for those physicians that are Chinese, supervision must be minimal. For example, SOS had one doctor named Peggy Li. This doctor sucked. In fact, to say she sucked is being too kind. She was crap.

The only decent expat doctor SOS ever had was Dr. Hospied, who went on to bigger and better things. He was replaced by other doctors who never seem to reach the same service level he provided.

In any event, if I want to see a local doctor I'll pay 10 kuai and see one. I will not pay to go to an SOS clinic to have a Chinese doctor tell me my ear infection is caused by an inbalance of hot and cold. Rolling Eyes

For medical evacuation coverage, I'd certainly go with SOS. For everyday medical needs, it's a crap shoot and I don't want to gamble with my health.

_________________
"If I need to buy a TV, I'll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode." -- Jackie Chan

alin027

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Joined: June 08, 2005
Posts: 28
Location: Shanghai
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Posted: Aug 19, 2007 - 02:45 PM

International SOS's plan covers evacuation only, and IHI covers evacation and medical expense, so the price differs. But SOS can moves you faster and safer than anyone else in China.

swisscook

Ranter

Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Posts: 552

Status: Offline

Posted: Aug 27, 2007 - 01:29 PM

Try William and Russel. They are a UK based Insurance company for expats. They have offices most cities. They do not have any clinics but they do have western doctors based in the region you can contact for a 2nd opinion. They also pay trough direct billing whereever possible so you want have to spend and get reimbursed

jodi

Newbie

Joined: June 04, 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Hongqiao
Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 12, 2007 - 12:24 AM
Post subject: blue cross or pp?

Sorry to ask this so late after the discussion but my husband just found out we need to do this research... has anyone used Pacific Prime or Blue Cross Expat? Those are the two companies that we are looking at...looking for your insight and wisdom.

Thanks!

Jodi