One thing still cheaper than US

[garygrunson]

That's hospital is sort of a flagship government hospital. Not quite indicative of most government hospitals here.

Worked for me. And I am sure anyone can go to that hospital.

 

[ElQueso]

One thing that doesn't get mentioned a lot on this forum, is if you work en blanco, that is, work and pay taxes, the government provides you health insurance which you can use to go to the private hospitals.

Yeah, that's a good point. I mentioned the percentage the employer has to pay on behalf of the employee related to healthcare, but not that the money paid in is transferrable to a private healthcare account.

However, one caveat - it's a percentage of the income paid (around 9% if my memory serves) and it doesn't outright buy a private account, but rather contributes to the payment of a private account.

So someone who makes (in the white) $2000 pesos a month will get roughly 180 pesos off a private insurance plan. I think Hospital Aleman, for someone in their 20s, is around 300 pesos a month. That extra 120 pesos for a person making $2000 a month is a bit steep but possibly doable.

However, I don't know how that works with a family - I don't think there is any prorated benefit for someone who has a family, as far as getting an extra percentage of their healthcare benefit paid to a private plan.

Seems to me that this benefit really helps the people with better jobs afford private health insurance. I know of no one working at the level I mentioned (and I know quite a few!) who have used their benefit to buy private insurance.

 

[citygirl]

One thing that doesn't get mentioned a lot on this forum, is if you work en blanco, that is, work and pay taxes, the government provides you health insurance which you can use to go to the private hospitals.

Are you talking about obra social? Those aren't quite at the level of private health care and not all private hospitals will accept patients with obra social plans.

I provide OSDE for my employees. Yes, a portion of that is covered by the mandatory payment that I would have to pay on their behalf towards healthcare but as an employer, I pay the difference btwn what an obra social would cost and what OSDE costs for my employees. In the case of the young employees, the difference is negligible but in the case of some employees that are over the age of 36, I pay more than 1000 pesos a month for them to have OSDE.

 

[steveinbsas]

I pay the difference btwn what an obra social would cost and what OSDE costs for my employees. In the case of the young employees, the difference is negligible but in the case of some employees that are over the age of 36, I pay more than 1000 pesos a month for them to have OSDE.

I am now almost 62 and paying $665 per month for the highest level of coverage offered by Medicus (40% discount for the "expat" group rate). They do not have an office in Punta Alta so (shortly after my arrival to the area) I asked at the office of OSDE how I might find a list of local providers that accepted Medicus. I could not find such a list using the internet.

The woman at OSDE provided several pages of local doctors and clinics..and circled the one's she was certain that accepted Medicus. I quickly found a local clinica and have received wonderful attention there, never having to pay for any services, only 50% of prescriptions.

 

[citygirl]

Steve: I know you have had great luck with Medicus and I think they offer a great service. And certainly the most cost-efficient - it's a great option for expats! For various reasons, Medicus wasn't an option for the company. I actually offer my employees the choice of Swiss Med or OSDE.

I will say that I have OSDE on the recommendation of several close friends who are doctors and all recommend it and all of them have it themselves. That definitely factored into my personal choice as well as what we offer our employees. However by far they are the most expensive of all the private health care providers.