HELP! Should I cancel my California Health Insurre?ance? Is there good healthcare he

[nlaruccia]

Health care here is free for everyone regardless of their origin. I've used public hospitals as well as top private hospitals. The public ones are scary looking, the equipment is not up to date, but the doctors are excellent and work in private and public hospitals as well. Many of my friends have private health insurance but choose to go to Hospital Fernandez or Hospital Clinicas to get treated. To assume that the U.S. has the best doctors in the world and that because Argentina's equipment isn't as modern as that of the U.S. and that it looks "third world" doesn't mean that the doctors aren't top notch. My good Argentinean friend, who has HIV, was saved from near death in a public hospital. He goes back every month to get free testing and analysis. Now he has private insurance, which he prefers, because he doesn't like to have wait in a line for hours every time he goes. Albeit the doctors coming out of la UBA aren't as the level they used to be, but the doctors are still very good in Argentina.

 

[clooz]

I had Blue Cross PPO in Ca, and have Medicus here. My Medicus experience has been significantly better than my CA experience for an annual checkup and routine care. I can discuss the details, if you wish PM me to get my contact info. I would keep the Ca insurance for a couple of months overlap while you travel and get set up here.

 

[Aerodynamite]

Doctor's here are excellent though the facilities aren't in good shape and aren't as shiny and nice looking as private hospitals.

To be honest with you I had a family member whom didn't have health insurance and had to undergo surgery last year, the chances of them dying were absurd and up to date they are recovering quite nicely.

The only trouble with this is that when it comes down to an emergency you may be treated asap, without having to spend a cent, whereas if it's something that can wait priority is given to those who can't and you might have to sit down and settle for a month or two.

If you are only gonna stay here for a year I'd say get either Swiss Medical/Galeno or Osde and keep your current medical insurance. Although it isn't needed, it's way faster than public facilities will ever be, and you don't wanna risk losing your health care contract up there in the States.

 

[jenandj]

There are many different options, and the same approach won't work well for everyone. Healthcare coverage in California is expensive, and healthcare coverage in Argentina is not. Coverage in Argentina can be excellent, though you need to do some research to find what works best for you.

Like everywhere, you need to do your homework in order to find a doctor that you trust and get along with, and research the different health plans to find one that matches your priorities and budget.

For this reason, we canceled our Blue Cross PPO insurance coverage when moving to Argentina and signed up with OSDE a year ago and have been very impressed. If you want coverage for trips back to CA, there is always the option of purchasing temporary travel insurance so you'll be able to afford seeing a doctor in California if you happen to get hurt while away from Argentina.

Healthcare is in such a state of flux in the US at the moment that no one knows what the situation will be like in a year, so my 2 cents worth are to put the money you'd otherwise spend on Blue Cross premiums into preventive health care activities, such as drinking red wine (good for your heart!)