Expat Healthcare Study Available for Free Download

[NewsLady]

Hello, everyone.

 

The study, Expat Report: How is Healthcare Abroad? is now available for free download:

https://bestplacesintheworldtoretire.com/download-free-ebooks

The primary countries covered in the healthcare study are Panama, Belize, and Nicaragua.

 

Topics covered include:

 

• How is the quality of healthcare abroad?

 

 

• How much does healthcare cost abroad?

 

 

• Why lots of expats don’t have insurance.

 

 

• Which group has a healthier lifestyle: expats abroad or at home? 

 

Thanks again to the many people of Boquete who participated in the study. (You will find them mentioned in the acknowledgements and next to their quoted comments.)

 

We hope you enjoy reading the study and find it useful.  Please feel free to forward this email to others who may benefit from it.

 

Chuck Bolotin

Vice President, Business Development

The Site That Potential Expats Trust

BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire.com

Chuck.Bolotin@BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire.com

Office: U.S. (520) 498-0427
Cell: U.S. (520) 940-0481
Skype: Chuck.Bolotin

Download the free eBook: Panama- 62 Things You Need to Know.

Download the free research studies: Expats: Expectations & Reality, Is It Cheaper to Live Abroad? and Expat Report: How is Healthcare Abroad?

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[Bonnie]

I read this when it was sent to me by email other day and wanted to reread it to confirm my opinion of what it's worth. When I clicked the link provided above and then clicked on the health care study to download it, however, I got a completely different ebook.

[JohnF13]

So, what is it worth?

[Brundageba]

JohnF13

For years this subject has been hashed over here locally by those living here.   Lists have been prepared of facilities and physicians and as well hospice has given us all such great information.  Don Ray keeps us posted on his experiences with expats here and health care issues.   That's the stuff I value.....a lot.

[Bonnie]

15 minutes ago, JohnF13 said:

So, what is it worth?

Not much, in my opinion. Like Mr. Bolotin's earlier study on the satisfaction factor of living abroad, this study also suffers from poor survey methodology.

Again, there was no effort to determine how many expats left the country because of poor healthcare. And among those persons living here who were surveyed, apparently there was no effort made to distinguish the difference in experiences with medical care when compiling the numbers. The expat who goes to a local doctor for a minor ailment and is treated for $10 has no experience with what healthcare is like or what healthcare costs for major medical procedures, but his vote counts as much as the vote of the expat who may have been permanently disabled in a botched surgery and/or lengthy hospitalization which cost thousands of dollars more than he expected.

The same is true when counting votes about the cost of health insurance. There is no distinction between the types of insurance available, what they cover, what the maximum payouts may be. And it goes without saying that the opinion of one who has never tested the worth of his insurance by suffering a significant accident or illness should count less than the opinion of someone who has tested the system. The man or woman who has spent significant time utilizing all aspects of the system has a much better grasp of that system's worth, but this is not taken into account. There's even a bold graphic suggesting or stating that there are no restrictions on coverage for pre-existing conditions, which simply is not true. Admittedly, there are many quotes from those surveyed which make some distinctions, but these aren't reflected in the numbers and pie charts, which likely will get much more attention.

Speaking of graphics, I found them to overwhelm the information, be oversized, and in significant part be unrelated to the content. (Mounted deer and buffalo heads? Antique prints of birds and insects?) Way too much time is spent at the front end advertising the website and other ebooks, causing the reader to have to scroll forever to get to the actual expat health report. It also would have benefited from better editing ("At the extremes, only 11.4% reported that the healthcare quality in their home abroad was 'much worse' and only 7.8% reported it was 'much worse.'")

Without going into too much detail, I found it to be misleading, like so much stuff on expat websites. As I've said before, I object to the sites because I think they serve to encourage people to expatriate based on faulty or incomplete information. (In the regular Best Places in the World to Retire newsletter on Panama, I've noticed that lately a very large percentage of the respondents to the questions posed are in the real estate or tourism industries. Are they likely to be report honestly?)

[JohnF13]

Thanks, Bonnie.  Guess I don't need to read it now!  I know we have all discussed healt care options in the past, for some minimal coverage will suffice, for others a hefty premium gives peace of mind.  As usual, everyone chooses what they feel they are comfortable with or, more likely, what they are willing to pay.  Unfortunately, after the major event is too late.

[Brundageba]

The unfortunate element in this study as Bonnie has so well pointed out...is how misleading it can be.  I think many of us know or have heard of folks who came down here  (almost en-mass) solely on the basis of information they swallowed hook line and sinker from some person or organization touting Boquete and Panama as "the place" to live the good life...make a living, educate your kids and have affordable health care.  Like anything else...it's buyer beware.