Best options for medical treatment

Alltimegreat

Member
Nov 16, 2012
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After reading about the sometimes substandard quality of medical care in other posts, I would like to know what the best option is in the unlikely event that immediate medical treatment is needed in Santo Domingo. Should an ambulance be called, and what's the best hospital to go to? Assume that the patient has private medical insurance from abroad and cost is not an issue. Thanks!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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theoretically 911 will be working soon but forget about the ambulance. get a taxi if capable of that.
 

CarpeDReam

New member
Feb 17, 2006
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Excuse my ignorance and if I'm
Going slightly off topic but how does having insurance abroad help in the DR? Do they take insurance from abroad?


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mountainannie

Platinum
Dec 11, 2003
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I think that Hospiten may be set up to take international insurance.. but for the others, i do not know. You may be reimbursed by your home insurance company but you will need a Visa or American Express card with a couple of thousand dollars on it to gain admittance if you do not have local insurance.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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I second Clinica Abreu

When I was rushed to SD w/ dengue , we tried CEDIMAT first... crowded and busy, no beds

We wound up at Clinica Abreu..... excellent care and service... since 1958
 

pauleast

*** I love DR1 ***
Jan 29, 2012
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As I have said many times. If its trauma related or acute , deal with it here and bring cash, and cc. Anything chronic or you have a few hours window, jump on a plane to Miami.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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CEDIMAT was "Crowded & Busy" for a GOOD REASON!!!
It's the BEST, and everyone knows it!!!!
"Clinica Abreu" wasn't, ???????????????????????????????????
You "Do The MATH"!!!!!
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tommeyers

On Vacation!
Jan 2, 2012
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I live in Santiago
Excuse my ignorance and if I'm
Going slightly off topic but how does having insurance abroad help in the DR? Do they take insurance from abroad?


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Lots of help - I don't care how much it costs because after filing my claim I will be reimbursed. All I have to do is cover time time between se vice and reimb. Easy. Without ins. I will not be reimbursed. Not so easy.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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I have United Healthcare, and they will cover all expenses for emergency care for the first 90 days I'm out of the country. I have to pay up front, then submit bills. They have a $250 deductible. Mr. AE had two episodes this past trip, first we went to a small hospital near us [no charge], and the 2nd was to a hospital in Santo Domingo. All the hospital, doctor, tests, meds totaled well under the $250.
 

CarpeDReam

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Feb 17, 2006
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Thank you both. I have united healthcare-oxford as well. My wife is 5 mnths pregnant here in the US. Because we are in the process of selling our house, we will be moving to the DR sooner than anticipated and she will Hereford be giving birth there. We're working on the process of getting Humana insurance on the DR which is supposedly the best. Although she's pregnant, I was told they do not cover the birth but would cover any complications she or the baby may have (no reason to believe this will happen but it's good to know). Do you think that my insurance here can cover the birth over there?... Tom, I'm not sure I was following what you were saying...

Another question:

My job will be paying me in USD while I work remotely from there. If I opt out of insurance I will get paid an extra $200/mnth. Any suggestions as to whether or not I shld keep it? In thinking of not...I think my salary would be good but feel I could do much more with that $200 extra. Thoughts?


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tommeyers

On Vacation!
Jan 2, 2012
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I live in Santiago
carpe 1) check if your provider covers med exp here thru reimb.
2) i recommend that you keep your coverage until the baby is 6 mo. There was is too much at risk and too high a probability of incident.
3) evaluate DR insurance coverage/cost

at 6mo reevaluate.

Tom
 
Jan 17, 2009
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Don't opt out! There are many reasons why you would need to go back to the US for medical care if you have United Healthcare. You can't foresee that now but believe me a serious condition you don't want to get treatment here. People who do is because they don't have international medical insurance and/or cannot go back to their countries.

Humana is not going to cover your overseas.

Thank you both. I have united healthcare-oxford as well. My wife is 5 mnths pregnant here in the US. Because we are in the process of selling our house, we will be moving to the DR sooner than anticipated and she will Hereford be giving birth there. We're working on the process of getting Humana insurance on the DR which is supposedly the best. Although she's pregnant, I was told they do not cover the birth but would cover any complications she or the baby may have (no reason to believe this will happen but it's good to know). Do you think that my insurance here can cover the birth over there?... Tom, I'm not sure I was following what you were saying...

Another question:

My job will be paying me in USD while I work remotely from there. If I opt out of insurance I will get paid an extra $200/mnth. Any suggestions as to whether or not I shld keep it? In thinking of not...I think my salary would be good but feel I could do much more with that $200 extra. Thoughts?


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Hernandez

Banned
Feb 9, 2009
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There are many good clinics in SD where you can go in case of emergency: Cedimat, Abreu, Dominico-Cubano, Corazones Unidos, etc. You can find a full list on any local medical insurance company's website. Since there is no ambulance service, just take a taxi to go to the nearest good private clinic.

Cedimat has the best equipment maybe, but that doesn't mean that you get the best help there in case of emergency, that depends on what happened to you, a heart attack or a broken leg.

Travel (for the first 90 days) insurance is OK in any private hospital, BUT this is something when they try to make bills as high as possible and do some unnecessary procedures for that, so keep in mind that you have to ask about every procedure, do you really need it or no. For example, my friend from Europe was on vacation in Cabarete and he had appendicitis symptoms. The surgery was done at some hospital in Puerto Plata and the bill to his Czech insurance company was 12.000 dollars. And he was like a hostage in the hospital until they paid it.
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
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Don't opt out! There are many reasons why you would need to go back to the US for medical care if you have United Healthcare. You can't foresee that now but believe me a serious condition you don't want to get treatment here. People who do is because they don't have international medical insurance and/or cannot go back to their countries.

Humana is not going to cover your overseas.

Well in some cases you have no choice but to do it here. I speak from experience! Heart attacks don't wait for the flight! Dr. Urena at CEDIMAT saved my life, an I still see him once every 6mo. Here I get to see the Doctor not a Nurse Practitioner, I usually never see the cardiologist in the US just the NP.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Well in some cases you have no choice but to do it here. I speak from experience! Heart attacks don't wait for the flight! Dr. Urena at CEDIMAT saved my life, an I still see him once every 6mo. Here I get to see the Doctor not a Nurse Practitioner, I usually never see the cardiologist in the US just the NP.

Dr. Urena is well known, and a remarkable heart surgeon. I'd trust him too. He recently performed open heart surgery on someone close to us, who normally travels to the US for all medical treatments [dual citizen], with excellent results.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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I have my once a month appointment with Dr Vicente Correa, a Cardiologist from Santo Domingo that comes the last Saturday of each month to Jarabacoa. Cost me 1000 pesos each visit, but big deal. My uncle in Canada, who is a kidney specialist recommended him, and I'm satisfied that he knows what he's doing. My brother in British Columbia has been waiting for almost two months to see a heart specialist.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"Pedro Urena" is also my cardiologist.
He was trained in, and Board Certified in the USA.
It's his "FAULT" that I'm here today posting on DR1, and bothering everyone!
He "Rebooted" my heart on 5 different occasions!!!!!!!
My anesthesiologist at CEDIMAT is a Dominican trained doctor, who I would use even if he worked in the USA!
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