The Quality of Medical in the DR?

[Ezequiel]

I broke my wrist several years ago and was taken to Centro Medico Bournigal - a private hospital - in Puerto Plata. My insurance company was billed (and they paid in full) over $11,000 US for two overnight stays because the doctor set the wrist twice - and THEN I ended up going to the US for surgery on it.

Ah!!!!!, you have a foreign insurance policy, of course, they are going to charge your insurance what your insurance would had paid in the STATES.

My mother fell in January and we took her to "El centro medico Cibao" (She has insurance in the DR) she had stitches we didn't pay a penny.

My big brother drunk too much in December, i think he got intoxicated he was taken to HOMS in Santiago, stayed there for two days, we just paid around 30,000 Dominican pesos, so i guess they charge "Gringos" (foreigners) more just for being foreigner (gringos).

 

[drloca]

Ah!!!!!, you have a foreign insurance policy, of course, they are going to charge your insurance what your insurance would had paid in the STATES.

My mother fell in January and we took her to "El centro medico Cibao" (She has insurance in the DR) she had stitches we didn't pay a penny.

My big brother drunk too much in December, i think he got intoxicated he was taken to HOMS in Santiago, stayed there for two days, we just paid around 30,000 Dominican pesos, so i guess they charge "Gringos" (foreigners) more just for being foreigner (gringos).

Wow, thats an expensive drinking fest!

 

[sueeng3]

I can tell you that we had to use the clinics here last year when my husband was ill, first central medico pp, them cedimat in the capital, he was in for 3 weeks between the 2 clinics had 2 ops, the second one a triple by-pass, one of the weeks he was in intensive care and for 1 day he was on life support we had insurance but we had not had it long enough for it to cover him, the total bill was $20,000 i call that a bargain, the care he got was the best ever and the speed that they reacted to his illness was fantastic

Sue

 

[La Profe_1]

Ah!!!!!, you have a foreign insurance policy, of course, they are going to charge your insurance what your insurance would had paid in the STATES.

My mother fell in January and we took her to "El centro medico Cibao" (She has insurance in the DR) she had stitches we didn't pay a penny.

My big brother drunk too much in December, i think he got intoxicated he was taken to HOMS in Santiago, stayed there for two days, we just paid around 30,000 Dominican pesos, so i guess they charge "Gringos" (foreigners) more just for being foreigner (gringos).

I disagree with the assumption that it is acceptable for a hospital in the DR to charge more just because someone has international insurance.

Your second assumption, that my insurance paid as much as it would have in the US, is also wrong! In fact, when I went to the US for SURGERY, not a closed reduction, the total paid was around US $2,500 dollars.

 

[Ezequiel]

I disagree with the assumption that it is acceptable for a hospital in the DR to charge more just because someone has international insurance.

Your second assumption, that my insurance paid as much as it would have in the US, is also wrong! In fact, when I went to the US for SURGERY, not a closed reduction, the total paid was around US $2,500 dollars.

How come that your broken wrist cost $11,000 US dollars in Puerto plata, and your surgery in the STATES just cost $2,500 US Dollars? that doesn't make any sense.

My little brother broke his HIP, he had surgery at "El Centro Medico Cibao" in Santiago, they had to hold the hip together with 3 screws and nuts and that didn't cost #11,000 US dollars.

 

[Ezequiel]

Now compare a broken wrist with a broken hip, which will cost more to fix? I'm pretty sure in Puerto Plata they charge the foreigner more, and even if they charge gringos more it's still a bargain compared to what you will pay in the U.S if you don't have insurance.

 

[La Profe_1]

How come that your broken wrist cost $11,000 US dollars in Puerto plata, and your surgery in the STATES just cost $2,500 US Dollars? that doesn't make any sense.

My little brother broke his HIP, he had surgery at "El Centro Medico Cibao" in Santiago, they had to hold the hip together with 3 screws and nuts and that didn't cost #11,000 US dollars.

They put a plate and 9 screws in my wrist in the US. It cost less because my insurance company has contracts with doctors and hospitals who participate with the company. Those doctors and hospitals accept what is negotiated in the contract as payment in full.

In Puerto Plata, my insurance (because I have out of area coverage) paid IN FULL what was billed, regardless of what was the negotiated rate for participating providers. When the hospital gouges the insurance company, as happened in my case, everyone except the hospital is hurt because premiums increase.

 

[drloca]

How come that your broken wrist cost $11,000 US dollars in Puerto plata, and your surgery in the STATES just cost $2,500 US Dollars? that doesn't make any sense.

My little brother broke his HIP, he had surgery at "El Centro Medico Cibao" in Santiago, they had to hold the hip together with 3 screws and nuts and that didn't cost #11,000 US dollars.

There is not always a correlation between the cost of the service and the quality of the work carried out.

 

[La Profe_1]

Now compare a broken wrist with a broken hip, which will cost more to fix? I'm pretty sure in Puerto Plata they charge the foreigner more, and even if they charge gringos more it's still a bargain compared to what you will pay in the U.S if you don't have insurance.

Don't EVEN go there!

1. There should not be a two tier pricing system in the first place.

2. At least in the case of the care I received, you cannot begin to equate the medical care at Bournigal with that I received in the US. There is no comparison. As a matter of fact, I was hospitalized last November at Clinica Brugal for something else and received much better care than I received at Bournigal a month before. My experiences with Bournigal have caused me to avoid it like the plague.

 

[london777]

As a matter of fact, I was hospitalized last November at Clinica Brugal for something else and received much better care than I received at Bournigal a month before. My experiences with Bournigal have caused me to avoid it like the plague.

The OP asked which were the best medical centres in SD and Santiago and received some helpful replies. Could we extend that to recommendations for Puerto Plata and the North Coast, please?

 

[La Profe_1]

The OP asked which were the best medical centres in SD and Santiago and received some helpful replies. Could we extend that to recommendations for Puerto Plata and the North Coast, please?

Both Centro Medico Bournigal and Clinica Brugal are in Puerto Plata.