Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Buckeyegirl]

Hey there,

I'm pretty new to this site as far as posting but have been reading these forums for the past few weeks and am finding them very helpful. I've recently decided that I would like to teach in Seoul this coming September and have many, many questions but think I want to tackle one issue at a time here.

Health Insurance. How much do you typically pay for yours? I've read schools that pay 50%, 100%, and some that don't pay any...what should I expect?

How do you go about getting prescriptions there? Is the healthcare good/bad? What are the standards? I don't get ill very often but do have several prescriptions that I take on a regular basis. Did any of you "transfer" your prescriptions when you moved? Is this even possible? Somehow, I doubt it. If not, how difficult was it to obtain the same prescriptions you were using upon arrival in South Korea?

Lastly, can anyone recommend a good doctor in Seoul in case I should fall ill? Never hurts to have a name and be prepared ahead of time.

Thanks for your advice to any of these questions and please let me know if there is something else you think I should know about health insurance in South Korea in general.

Thanks much!

[rudyflyer]

you may want to check the FAQ forum but here is the readers digest version:

there is national health insurance which you should be able to get, its 1.5% of your salary (or around 35,000 won/month) the employer kicks in the other half. This will cover you in the province you live in and throughout Korea for emergencies. Costs then are pretty cheap drs visits should run around 10,000 won, drugs are cheap as is dental care all which are covered by the policy.

BIG NOTE HERE some hogwons will either: not provide you with health insurance, taking the money out and pocketing it or will provide you with crappy insurance as they are small enough to exempt them from the national policy. If you are without health insurance then want it you will have to back pay for all the time you were without it.

prescriptions: relatively easy and cheap to get most drs know the US drug names. Korea is now like the US where the dr writes the prescription and you have to go to a pharmacy to get it filled, though some hospitals still use the old system where you get it from them. Forget about "transferring" a prescription, just bring your prescription and/or a note from your dr to show the Korean dr.

Drs in Seoul: there is a group called FOCUS that has a dr referral service and there are several foreigner clinics throughout the city.

HTH

[OiGirl]

Rudy's answers are excellent.

You might want to pick up one of those "Guide to Prescription Drugs" from a pharmacy before leaving home. It will give you generic names for your drugs and other similar names. However, often drugs in Korea are of German origin.

It's a good idea to find a doctor before you get sick. If you don't make a Korean friend who can recommend a doctor, one thing I have tried is to ask at a pharmacy near my home. Most Korean doctors speak some English. If you don't like the first one you find, ask again. To me, it is preferable to have a doctor near my home than to try to take a bus or taxi acorss town to the massive university hospital.

I have had some recent experience with Korean medical care WITHOUT insurance, and to someone familiar with the horrid US healthcare system, it is still an incredible bargain for small but urgent injuries or conditions.

[Homer]

I pay 50%.
School pays 50%.


I also have a private insurance on my own from my bank back home.

I also benefit from my wife's family insurance when I go to their doctors clinic.


My advice: use the schools insurance but purchase your own before leaving home, just to be safe.

[rudyflyer]

Homer offers some good advice about travel insurance. If something happens and you need to get airlifted back to the US it will cover it. Additionally if you travel outside of Korea while here that will cover you.

If you are a still a student you can get it fairly cheap from the same folks that issue the Int Student/teacher ID cards

[wylde]

been in hospital for week long stays a bunch of times here..

insurance only offers a very small discount.. it is quite useless for many things but quite good for a few others.

good luck


ps - it doesn't cover fighting.. if you are in a fight and get injured... invent a different reason... broke my hand a short time ago and it wasn't covered cuz i said i'd been fighting

[Buckeyegirl]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for the advice. It was extremely helpful and I'll definitely use your suggestions as the time gets closer. Thanks again!

Wylde..hahaha...I don't plan on getting into any fights but I guess that's good to know...

and rudyflyer - glad to see there's another buckeye fan on the board.

[aussie col]

I��ve decided to just go with my own travel insurance. I have a policy from Australia which is medical only so is much cheaper then full travel insurance. Ends up being $AU425 for 12 months (about W360,000).

From what I��ve seen, medical treatment isn��t that expensive in Korea even if you don��t have Korean insurance (correct me if I��m wrong). And if you need to go into hospital you have to pay for a part of it even if you do have Korean insurance.

With travel insurance I can still claim for any outpatient medical expenses while in Korea for ��emergency medical treatment��. I just can��t claim for general checkups ect��

But if I do need to go to hospital I��m fully covered by insurance. I just have to call my insurer and they take care of any hospital payments. The main reason I have my own travel insurance is something major happens and I end up having to be in hospital for months. In this case I would be repatriated to Australia because the medical treatment there would not have to be paid for by the travel insurer.

Medical evacuations can cost LOTS of money. My first trip to Korea I was on a plane with a young Korean guy getting repatriated for medical reasons. He was on a bed taking up 6 seats, three rows of 2 (or was that 8?). He also had with him an Australian doctor and nurse. Poor guy had to keep getting pain killer shots all the way.

So lets see. For just the flight.

8 x seats (him, doctor and nurse) = 8 x $AU2500 = $AU20,000 (=$US15,000)
Fees for doctor and nurse = ??? maybe $AU1000 – 2000.
All the other expences. Ambulances ect��

As you can see, very expensive. This is a conservative estimate. I��ve hear that medical repatriation can be up to $AU100,000.


One more reason for travel insurance. If you go to Japan for a visa run ect�� you are not covered by your Korean insurance. Japan is one of the most expensive countries for medical treatment�� up there with USA.

[Gollum]

There is another recent thread on this that might help you out:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=18978&highlight=health+insurance

[paperbag princess]

as far as a good doctor here is concerned, i go to the international clinic at yonsei university. they are very good and their english is also very good.

[ajuma]

Be careful about travelers insurance. Often, you have to pay the hospital or doctor out-of-pocket and only get re-imbursed later. Many Korean hospitals work this way. If possible, have a credit card with a fairly high limit, or access to some cash with your bank card.