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Q: Can anyone advise a good health insurance company in China for a US citizen?
I have accepted a position with a UK company that prefers I sign a contact with their China business unit. They are going give me money but I must find my own insurance. looking for health and life insurance. Thanks.
10 years 49 weeks ago in Health & Safety - Shanghai
US citizen. Uk company. China business unit. Hmmm... Let me know what you come up with. I'm in the same boat. Something cheap, okay? Thanks.
Health insurance will be provided by the gov IF you work legally and for a legal school,, if not, you'll have to pay big bucks for private insurance, you find many on Facebook..
jack79:
Yeah, not everyone here is a teacher. Also I would prefer to have a better plan than local Chinese plan.
ironman510:
Teacher or not, it's mandatory that you be covered by any company you work for.. Not just teachers. If your school and company are not doing this then they are trying to save your salary to keep you or just being lazy.
Ok Jack, Jason can help you, I paid 12,000 RMB last year but I didn't use it at all, so I just used the Chinese Health care that the Government gave me.. You can find this on Facebook to.
Jason - PacificPrime Medical Insurance <jason@pacificprime.com>
uhm i m legally employed and my company told me these chinese medical insurances are not for foreigners lol
who knows who they cheat again
ironman510:
@dom87, they don't do it so they can give you an extra 1500 RMB to your salary. If they follow the rules then they must take out this 1500 for Insurance and pension plans, You'll get a insurance security card just like Chinese. It's really not that bad. There's another card that will allow you to withdraw your money at any consulate. My mate didn't have any trouble in Hong Kong to get his 2 years of money out.
I hope more school will follow.
dom87:
Mh well they didnt really asked me about the insurance and pension stuff, i only got told what i get after tax...
i asked my boss but since he is a foreigner too, he didnt know either.
no structure here in china at all. thought working for a foreign owned company but in the end it turned out the boss just lived 10 years abroad but is still chinese :/
The minimum government health insurance is useless if you want proper treatment, if you can settle for some boiled herbs to mend your broken legs and unclog your arteries then by all means settle for this.
If you buy health insurance locally the price will vary mainly depending on your age.
Accident insurance is fairly cheap, maybe 1-2000 per year. Serious disease is a whole other thing, I think mine costs about 12000 per year, but the thing is, when you buy such an insurance you are asked. How much do you want to get if you get sick, so basically the serious disease plan is a saving that will pay out a larger sum in case you get certain diagnosis. Most of these also include a payback option, after the plan is paid in full, typically after 10-20 years, you can actually ask for your money back, and of course coverage vanishes, or you can keep it and get it back as a retirement later in life. (this is under the assumption the Chinese economy does not go tits up or some government official empties your insurance company and spends it all on fancy cars in California.)
The usual suspects in the insurance game in China are, Ping-An (if you want to fund the former leaders mother), China Life or China Taiping
ironman510:
I got an MRI after small basketball injury with this insurance.. My mate got to stay in the hospital for week, no need to pay.
God, Scandinavian only talk about things you know about..
Scandinavian:
an MRI is dirt cheap to have done in China (maybe 3-500RMB), a hospital bed costs 20-40RMB per day. Getting to stay in a hospital doesn't cost a lot, getting treatment while you're there might.
Anything serious you are f'ed with the normal health insurance. My wife has it, she was hospitalized for a week about a year ago, the government insurance covered about 20% of that.
We've had a family member who had cancer. This meant long term stay in a hospital, the default insurance maxed out after one month in a hospital bed at which point the family member was forced to leave. Up to this point the private insurance had paid for treatment, the government one just covered the actual hospital bed.
Generally it is really cheap to go to the hospitals in China, compared to EU/US prices. But one thing you cannot get on the government plan is drugs of your choice. They have a list of about 200 'must carry' drugs, all are locally made drugs that must be used. If you would rather like the original, or something with less sideeffects or better prospects of recovery, it's out of yor own pocket or the private health insurance
By chance I know people who work for several of the major Chinese insurers. None of the locals I know rely on just the default government coverage if there is any way they can afford more insurance.
