Worth getting health insurance?

nyc dad

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Jul 28, 2011
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Based on what I've read from different threads related to health insurance,most of you are paying 100$ per month per person,hence a family of five= 500$ a month.Wouldn't it be cheaper to pay cash whenever you need to go? I might be wrong,but I just don't see myself spending 500$ a month on health costs with a otherwise healthy family of five.You guys been there,done that,what's your take on this?
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Decent health insurance is not that expensive. ARS Humano Plan Royal insurance for 3 people was less than 32,000 $RD (less than $800 US) for an entire year.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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whaaaaaat? a friend (family of four plus a maid so five in total) has an excellent insurance form universal. she pays about 100 dollars a month. for everyone. bear in mind that there are different insurances and different plans. a family plan does not cost five times as much as individual plan.

i strongly recommend getting a health insurance. to me this is a must. i was added to miesposo's plan as soon as i arrived to DR, i insisted. a normal visit at a general doctor is minimum 500 pesos and that is POP, SD will be more. a specialist will charge few thousand pesos, more if any tests are performed. a good posh pediatra can cash in as much as 3000-4000 pesos per single visit.

you have a family of five? a checkup for you, a checkup for missus plus her ginecologo, a checkup for each of the three kids and you are talking about couple of hundred dollars in costs.
 

philosopher

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Jul 7, 2010
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For Dominicans. check-ups can occur at the local hospital as well as some tests. I have had experience with this and even though you wait a long time, there is nothing wrong with the overall service. In fact, most, if not all of the public health doctors are the same that satff the private clinics.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
I have six people,including 4 kids, on my policy.
It has saved me a LOT more money than it cost over 17 years.
Also saves on Dental costs, about 50%, with some preventive services free.
"GET IT!", the day you arrive.
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the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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I have six people,including 4 kids, on my policy.
It has saved me a LOT more money than it cost over 17 years.
Also saves on Dental costs, about 50%, with some preventive services free.
"GET IT!", the day you arrive.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

you heard the man. going without it is suicide. my buddy's girlfriend wrecked on a passola, and broke a bone in her leg, really bad. pins, and all. initial cost for the operation? 101,000. forget the subsequent charges. that is what he paid on the first day. besides, it was not the "gringo price", since they made sure to conceal the fact that she had any gringo connections, or the price would have been double. nuff said.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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you do not even need an accident to hack up the costs. a simple yearly checkup with few tests will do.
 

philosopher

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Jul 7, 2010
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Do you know if you can get it without residence? I was once told by an agent that residencey was indeed needed.

If your not planning on "living" there, don't get it unless ofcourse you are older and buy into the insurance company scare. Most credit cards will cover you for a period of time if notified before the trip. However, iif you plan on taking up long term residency like some of the older posters on this board, then maybe the insurance is for you.

Local hospitals will set broken bones and put them in a cast for FREE......Also, local hospitals will give you a chek-up, or perscibe analysis, medicine, etc for minimum charge. I have experinced most of this living with my wife in the barrio with limited amount of money for a lengthy time. Now for major surgery I am not so confident but ask yourself; if you need major surgery it would be better off going to your home country anyways.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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nothing is FREE in a public hospital. you have to pay for the materials and meds used. yeah, there should be some in a hospital but most of the time you are out of luck. and if you have bothered to read the thread from last year about a policeman who had to wait in a public hospital for three weeks for his surgery on a broken leg you would not suggest something this silly.

no residency needed for the health insurance either.

Not true.

don't make me laugh. i religiously visit a ginecologo once a year. a checkup, citologia and mammografia. if it was not for the insurance i would fork out few hundred dollars just for that. and so, i am not going to a public hospital for that.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"Well, "Phil", there is "Cheap" and there is "Cheap"!
Working for 10 years at "La Plaza de la Salud" here in SD, we tried to repair the damage done at those "Local Hospitals" you talk about!
You Get What You Pay For!
Get the insurance, and get the best care.
At CEDIMAT, the doctors actually wash their hands after they take a crap!
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suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Just like anything you can try to save some pesos and take the risk...it may work out in the end, but with 5 family members the odds are not in your favor. Healthcare is not as cheap as it used to be in The DR, specially if you want to go to a decent place. Any illness requiring hospitalization will easily run you 10,000 to 15,000+ pesos a day depending on what kinds of tests they're doing, who's seeing you, what kind of room you're staying in, etc...The insurance premiums are very cheap by US standards.
 

philosopher

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Jul 7, 2010
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nothing is FREE in a public hospital. you have to pay for the materials and meds used. yeah, there should be some in a hospital but most of the time you are out of luck. and if you have bothered to read the thread from last year about a policeman who had to wait in a public hospital for three weeks for his surgery on a broken leg you would not suggest something this silly.

no residency needed for the health insurance either.



don't make me laugh. i religiously visit a ginecologo once a year. a checkup, citologia and mammografia. if it was not for the insurance i would fork out few hundred dollars just for that. and so, i am not going to a public hospital for that.

Sorry, but I have seen and experienced almost everything contrary to what you are saying......and may I remind you all again that most of the public health docs are those same docs that are servicing you in the pay clinics....so, if they are dirty in the public hospital, chances are they are dirty in the pay clinics.
 

Spicedwine

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Apr 25, 2006
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IMO, pay and get the insurance. Not expensive and certainly not worth the risk of the stuff that can happen here and finding out you are indeed going to pay!! We have all had experiences while living here, with and without residency and with and without health insurance... or know people who have. It is not worth the risk of being without it.... to many horror stories to talk about and someone else would have the opposite point of view. We all have expressed our thoughts and opinions, you are the one who needs to decide what it is worth to you.
 

philosopher

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Jul 7, 2010
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Notwithsatding my posts, I m not saying that I would not get it if I thought I needed it. Nor am I really advocating for others not to get it. I am just presenting another perspective I have experienced.
 

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Word of advice...if/when you buy insurance make double sure that the person selling it to you is licensed and a current employee of the insurance company. I have seen a couple of cases where people were paying their premiums and when they went to use the insurance found out it was useless, because the person they bought it from was not authorized or they never followed through with the process.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"Phil", I believe you live in Canada,and only VISIT the DR, and by your own admission in earlier posts, don't speak Spanish well.
Since you are accustomed to the Canadian Health Care System, the DR system might look better to you, than a person from the USA!
Leave decisions about DR health Insurance, to those of us who have it, live here, and actually know what we are talking about!
Your "Disclaimer" SUCKS!
Too Late!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Go to the Insurance Company's Main Office!
I suggest you NEVER go through an "agency"!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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philosopher, we had clients in the pharmacy once, a very quiet and young haitian couple. they wanted something for scars. i asked, what scars? new, old, to help the healing process, to help in fading?
the girl said it was from c-section and lifted her top to show. it was a vertical scar running from just under her bra all the way inside her skirt line. with a zig zag of tiny horizontal lines where the stitching was done. an animal would bet better work in a bloody vet than this woman, in the 21 f**king century, in a public hospital. this was butcher's work, not doctor's.

yeah, it was free. but was it good?
 

philosopher

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Jul 7, 2010
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"Phil", I believe you live in Canada,and only VISIT the DR, and by your own admission in earlier posts, don't speak Spanish well.
Since you are accustomed to the Canadian Health Care System, the DR system might look better to you, than a person from the USA!
Leave decisions about DR health Insurance, to those of us who have it, live here, and actually know what we are talking about!
Your "Disclaimer" SUCKS!
Too Late!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Go to the Insurance Company's Main Office!
I suggest you NEVER go through an "agency"!

I am not going to get into petty attacks because you don't agree with me. I have had my experience and stated my opinion and hold to it.