Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cedar]

I have foreign insurance, it was a requirement of where I get my funding for coming to Korea that I have insurance before arriving.

I've been to Severance a lot, they honor my insurance completely (after one phone call the first time I went there, to the insurance company). I don't like Severance much, but it's been convenient. (and it's location the best for me).

Wednesday in a lot of pain I went there but no specialist could see me till Tuesday (despite what they said on the phone before I left my house), so I went to SNU Hospital as one of the other big 3 hospitals and nearer than Samsung Hospital. The doctor told me I needed outpatient surgery. With my pain level through the roof, I agreed and we scheduled it for Friday.

The International Center people told me that with a "guarantee of payment" letter from the insurance company it'd be fine... although they'd never worked with that company before. At first the company wanted to see a doctor's letter about the procedure and my medical records, but finally seeing as how it's not that expensive a surgery, the company sent the letter on Thursday midday.

when i got to the hospital, they claimed not to have gotten the letter, i sent it again (cause i'd been cc:ed) and left the Int'l Center for my surgery. Which was hella painful. So I slowly get back to the center to settle everything and then quickly get my post-op pain meds before the local wears off, but they were SUCH NUMBSKULLS. They claimed to need to talk to the company, but the letterhead didn't have the 24 hour number, and they didn't bother to go read the email where the 24 hour number was... so they'd don't nothing while I was gone. This even though the insurance company knew the email, phone, address and all of SNU hospital as soon as I said Korea and the name-- obviously they have worked together before-- So i find the number and they proceed to wait and make calls adn try to arrange a bunch of paperwork (including me swearing to cover the cost if the company didn't) and all this for over an hour. my local wears off almost immediately, and I'm standing there, bleeding in my bandages, tears running down my face from the intense pain.

Moral of the story: stay away from SNU hospital (unless you've got Korean insurance, in which case maybe all would be fine, or you have 931,000 won in your pocket to cover the procedure and then hope to get reimbursed).

[young_clinton]

Try Samsung Hospital. It belongs to the same group Cedar Sinai Hospital is in. Its the best hospital in Korea.

[dongjak]

I hate Seoul National University Hospital. They tried to make me take my shirt and my bra off in front of a room full of people. They also make you carry a cup of your own pee from one end of the hospital to another, following the yellow line. Last, I have been 5ft 9 inches since High School, at SNU Hospital I am 5ft 7inches.