Job Discussion Forums

[metalgeek]

I'm a Canadian going over to china, and I'm wondering If I should have insurance from home when I go over.
Is it worth it?
What kind?

[Fargi_prc]

Take a look at your contract. If it allows for medical coverage then you should be alright. However I have the medical coverage, but I still picked up insurence from Canada. If you're a CAA member is't good to buy through them. The cost varries but I found it was good to have for peace of mind purposes. If you have to go home to Canada because of a health ailment you don't have to pay for your ticket and everything gets reimbursed to you when you get home. Luckly I haven't had to use any of my insurence (knock on wood) but it's always good to have.

[Roger]

The clinic or barefoot "doctor" at your Chinese school will be perfectly able to draw some blood from your vein, apply plaster or hand out aspirine tablets or antiobiotics - of which they are particularly fond.
But a case of protracted flu - rather common - or a persistent fever, not to mention broken limbs, poisonings and many specific woman ailments are beyond their professional scope, and often beyond the scope of local hospitals.
Be prepared to go to a Western-style hospital in one of the few cities that boast them, or Hong Kong.
The best solution for you is to have some cash ready for any emergency - even in China, one has to pay before one's life has been saved!

[MyTurnNow]

If you are a young thang and Strong Like Bull and only coming for a brief period (i.e. a year or so) then I wouldn't sweat insurance. If you are older, have some health issues, or plan to settle here it might be worth considering. It depends on you.

I can tell you one thing....I NEVER plan to be an inpatient in a Chinese hospital. Western prisons are usually better than a hospital here. There are some exceptions, mainly in the biggest cities such as Beijing or Shanghai. There are also western-style hospitals in these cities, but the costs begin to approach the cost of a hospital in the USA....and that is when the insurance would come in handy. I can say one nice thing about medicine here...it is relatively cheap.

One kind of insurance I can recommend...medevac insurance. If you have a really serious problem such as a heart attack, as soon as you are stable enough you will be whisked to Japan or South Korea or Hong Kong or Australia or some other country where the doctors went to college and take baths occasionally. For most people the cost of this isn't bad at all...last I saw something like US $100 per year. The travel pages of the US State Department web site have links to providers of this insurance; if you foreign types are on the ball at all your countries will probably have similar info.

MT

[oprah]

Hello: Yes definitely you need insurance. I purchased mine in canada for about $500.00 for one year coverage.