Job Discussion Forums

[leretif9]

Do any ESL teachers reading this have experience with medical care in Colombia? What are the expenses of it like when compared with the United States? I assume language institutes aren't including medical coverage as part of their pay for teachers.

[esl_prof]

When I was in the Dominican Republic, I bought a high-deductible plan in the U.S. that covered individuals whose primary residence is overseas. The monthly fees, as I recall, were low, and my very few out-of-pocket costs in the DR were so small that I never had to make a claim in the two years that I had the coverage. Then again, I was in my mid-twenties and didn't have any health problems, so that worked well for me at the time.

That may be an option worth looking into yourself. Here's a link to the company that I think I used (it's been over twenty years, so I might be mistaken):

http://www.aig.com/accident-and-health-insurance_3171_586553.html

You might do some googling and see what other options are out there though.

[leretif9]

But what's the benefit of a high deductible plan?

[esl_prof]

Peace of mind.

If you were diagnosed with cancer and needed to undergo months of chemotherapy or were attacked by a machete-wielding bandit, would you be able to pay those medical expenses out-of-pocket? Of course, the likelihood that anything catastrophic like that will happen is slim, but I had former college classmates find themselves in both of those situations. The former, thankfully, had insurance, and the latter underwent surgery with one of Guatemala's top surgeons (who performed the surgery pro-bono because my friend was teaching English to one of his nephews). If, in the remote chance, something does happen to you, you'll want to be (1) adequately insured, (2) very wealthy, or (3) very lucky (and well-connected).

A few other considerations:

1. Some international health and accident insurance plans include coverage for medical evacuations back to the U.S. in the event that suitable care isn't available in your country of residence. Probably not a big issue in Colombia, but in some lesser-developed countries, that might be something to look into.

2. Under the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA aka Obamacare), which did not exist when I first went abroad, you might simply be able to return to the U.S. if you have a serious medical condition and enroll in coverage as pre-existing conditions can no longer be excluded. You might look into the feasibility of getting coverage if you have to return abruptly from overseas to seek medical treatment. I'm not terribly knowledgeable about this, but it's an option that is certainly worth looking into and, possibly, a very good one that simply wasn't available in the past. Of course, our English-teaching colleagues from Canada, the UK, and Down Under probably have much better options should they need to return home for medical treatment.

3. One of my students in the DR was a doctor, so I ended up with making some connections that allowed me to get discounted medical treatment in the handful of cases that I actually needed to see a doctor while I was in the DR. And even when I paid full-price, my student was invaluable in helping me to navigate the Dominican health care system which, frankly, is quite an adventure in and of itself. That may or may not be an option for you, depending on your circumstances and who you meet, but it's something to be aware of.

[wanderingxelmundo]

I haven't lived in Colombia in a long time, but I'd say the cost on average is about 25%-35% of the cost in the US. If you're hospitalized in Colombia and can't pay the bill, they don't let you leave until you do. You then continue to accrue hospital charges, though they're not that much comparatively.

IMG has travel and expat insurance, with varying levels of deductibles. The prices seem reasonable, or depending on your age quite cheap. You can pay a bit more for a plan that will cover you when you're visiting the U.S. You have to live I think at least 6 months out of 12 out of the U.S. for that coverage if you're a US citizen.

Under Obamacare there is an open enrollment period (Jan-Mar I think) during which you can sign up and there's no problem of re-existing conditions. But if you have an issue in April, you'd have to wait 9 months for the next period.

You can get an online quote from IMG without giving your name and personal info, which I appreciate when just shopping around:

http://www.imglobal.com/en/img-insurance/international-health-insurance/global-medical-insurance.aspx

I've gone most of my adult life without health insurance in the US and South America, but I don't necessarily recommend it -- it all depends on the level of risk you're willing to live with.