Job Discussion Forums

[kimha]

Hi All,

I also wanted to ask about the availability of doctors (Pediatrician, family doc, OB doc, etc..) in HCMC for adults and young kids. Did anyone from the US have their daughter or son in VN? Do they have a variety of pediatrician in HCMC? If everything goes well with the move and my family is settle in i might think about having another little to add to our family, but i get nervous when i don't know how the medical aspects are in HCMC. If i have the baby in VN, how does US citizenship paper work come about? Do i just go to the embassy after i have the baby or ahead of time?

[Nim Chimsky]

Hi Kim Ha

I am an American and my Vietnamese wife has had two children in HCMC.

We selected FV-French Vietnam hospital in Dist 7 and we were very happy both times. We had insurance, thus private room and had no serious issues.
Insurance is not very expensive in Vietnam compared to the States so I suggest you wait until you arrive to get it unless you alredy have it for whatever reason. You can check out the price of insurace on FV website.
We had a different insurance plan but it will give you an idea of the costs.

The citizenship paperwork is simple, the American Consulate in HCMC will give you all the necessary documents to complete etc.

Best regards

Nim Chimsky

[kimha]

Hi Nim,

Thanks for your reply!

I was wondering what kind of insurance do you currently have for your family? I took your advice and checked out the FV website. There was a whole lot of insurance company available. I was really surprise! In the states I currently have Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Do you have any recommendations as to which insurance company/companies in VN are similar to Blue Cross/ Blue Shield?

Sincerely,

Kimha

[Nim Chimsky]

Hi Kim Ha

My school pays for my insurance but a lot of my friends buy their own insurance.

Some of my friends use Aon, which is part of Bao Viet-Don't know the details. I haven't herd a lot of complaints. There are basically two types of insurance-full coverage and Hospitalization/Accident and Medical evacuation.
The full coverage is about double the price as the HAME. I don't think healthy adults need the full coverage but it depends on the individual. So my wife and I have the HAME. Previously, my wife had the HAME and we added pregnancy coverage. My children have full coverage because babies get sick all the time etc.

The main difference between blue cross and health insurance in Vietnam is that most of the time you have to pay the costs first and the insurance company will reimburse you. This is not always the case, depends on the cost of the treatment etc.

Anyway, it's best to look at each insurance company but I suspect there is not a big difference because of the competition.

Best regards

Nim Chimsky