Any reasonable alternatives to relying on traditional health insurance?

[mc kenna]

My understanding was that if you are a monotributista then you have a basic health insurance which in term disqualifies you from ''free health coverage"at public hospitals ,as the case you mentioned, without knowing all details, i'm willing to assume the people you refered to, had absolutely no coverage at all, please correct me if i'm wrong.
Each location is different and comes with its own customs and practices , perhaps, having a super fund for health contingencies would be cheaper than paying for a service you seldon use, instead of paying every month to a health provider, i'd would put that money aside and either keep it under the mattress or its money you can use to make money that way expanding and fortifying your health contingency fund.
I would suggest to run the numbers, 2 annual adult check ups , 4 annual children check ups , during a normal year, how much would it cost you out of pocket against the amount of money you would pay for the 4 of you that year, if there's money to your favor, then that's the start of your own health plan self financed.

 

[tortuguita]

Is there an equivalent to high deductible catastrophic health insurance here?
I'm a temporary resident and don't have insurance, and these stories made me realize the full risk. I can't pay for private health insurance, but perhaps there is a lower monthly cost plan that would allow entry to private hospitals in emergency situations, and afterwards you foot a large bill?
Now that I've typed that.... I highly doubt it.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Travel insurance perhaps? Even your credit cards sometimes offer them for travel emergencies.

 

[tortuguita]

I've been here going on 3 years so think I am ineligible for travel insurance.
Now that you mention it though, what about a credit card? Would a hospital charge a large bill (and presumably, a large fee) on a credit card in an emergency? Googling, some hospitals do mention that they accept credit card payment.
But again.... I highly doubt it.

 

[ArgentinaVet]

I've been here going on 3 years so think I am ineligible for travel insurance.
Now that you mention it though, what about a credit card? Would a hospital charge a large bill (and presumably, a large fee) on a credit card in an emergency? Googling, some hospitals do mention that they accept credit card payment.
But again.... I highly doubt it.

All major hospitals and health insurance plans accept payment with a credit card. If you have a US issued AMEX charge card (Platinum, Gold, Green etc) that has no pre set limit (and you have a good relationship with Amex) you absolutely could pay a large hospital deposit with the card. The issue I could see is if you are comatose it would be quite difficult to verify such a large charge with Amex either by phone or by iPhone app when they almost certainly will want to verify it is you doing so before approving a $30,000-$50,000 hospital payment.

 

[devilclam]

A bit related, but does anyone use a HSA? I only switched over to one this year mostly for the tax benefits, but I haven't read anything that explicitly states HSAs can't be used abroad.

 

[medialuna]

I went to emergency department of Hospital Aleman last night. For consultation it was 125,000 Pesos. For blood tests and X-ray scans it was 360,000 pesos. They also charged 500,000 pesos in advance in case I need to be admitted. They refunded this amount later when the doctor sent me home. All payment were with credit card. The whole process took 5 hours which was really long for emergency treatment. I went to private hospital thinking I will get faster treatment. In the future I will properly try other private hospital or even public hospital since I have permanent residency.

 

[PatriotsFan]

A bit related, but does anyone use a HSA? I only switched over to one this year mostly for the tax benefits, but I haven't read anything that explicitly states HSAs can't be used abroad.

I recently requested a withdrawal from my HSA (this year for services done the previous year) and when I contacted Optum, I was told that I did not have to send them a bill for proof of services. I was told to make sure I file IRS form 8889 and that I will get a 1099 SA for the distribution and to include the related bill that is being paid. I did tell them that this was for a service out of the USA and was told that there is no issue using the HSA out of the USA. I did not try to use the debit card that is associated with it. Optum directly deposited the amount requested into my associated checking account. I filed in June and have not heard back about any tax filing issues but then again I am sure the back log at the IRS is crazy. If an issue arises I will certainly post it here.

 

[Silvie]

Try to find out how much bureaucracy there is in Neuquen when trying to avail from the public medical services. I would consider that very important and you could also try those services and see for yourself before making a decision.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

I went to emergency department of Hospital Aleman last night. For consultation it was 125,000 Pesos. For blood tests and X-ray scans it was 360,000 pesos. They also charged 500,000 pesos in advance in case I need to be admitted. They refunded this amount later when the doctor sent me home. All payment were with credit card. The whole process took 5 hours which was really long for emergency treatment. I went to private hospital thinking I will get faster treatment. In the future I will properly try other private hospital or even public hospital since I have permanent residency.

I've accompanied patients to Hospital Aleman many times but never been a patient there myself so my opinions are based on that, alone.

Because most patients there are directly on the Hospital Aleman plan or have been sent there by their obera social, I find it difficult to make a direct comparison with the way private hospital systems I've seen in Australia, UK and USA work. Same with Sanitorio Guemes and other hospitals I've visited: they are normal for Argentina but difficult, in my mind to relate like for like with other hospitals in other countries.

Private coverage in these places doesn't seem to get you an express appointment for scheduled visits: some people wait months for a turno for some specialisms at Hospital Aleman but the standard of care and the standard of comfort are good. (Care is, in my opinion, very good in the public hospitals too - even if equipment levels and comfort may be different, but that's not what we are talking about here).

Given that they may be dealing with a lot of cases all at the same time in the emergency department, you'll observe that they triage patients as they come through the door. Fortunately triage has come a long way since the term was first coined during the Napoleonic wars when it meant dividing wounded soldiers up into those who could be saved if treated right away, those who could wait a little longer and those who were too far gone and would just be left to die! I don't know why you presented at Guardia last night @medialuna - and I don't want to know your personal business - but somebody would have provisionally assessed you and prioritised you according to your problem and related it to the problems of the others who were there at the same time. So you would have received exactly the same standard of care as other walk-ins, subscribers and members of obera sociales.

If Aleman is conveniently located for you, I'd be inclined to stick with it. If you want to try somewhere else, I've attended appointments myself at Hospital Britanico (well, I would, wouldn't I?) and also accompanied or visited patients in Hospital Guemes which was good and a sanatorio which was a satellite of Hospital Italiano which wasn't that great but people say the main hospital is fine.