Lack of Insurance Compounds Chronic Conditions Burden

For an individual not covered by a company or group insurance policy, private health insurance can often seem like a massive, unbearable and expensive hurdle to overcome.
The choices are numerous and confusing, and taking out a policy for yourself or your family can appear costly.

If you have a chronic medical condition, an additional stumbling block can be encountered, as your premiums may become even higher or you may face lengthy periods of no coverage for a pre-existing condition. As a result, people with chronic conditions often face the burden of high insurance premiums and having to also pay for treatments and medicines related to their long-term problems.

A chronic condition is usually defined by insurers as an illness or disease from which a person is unlikely to recover, or for which there is currently no cure. Examples of chronic illnesses include arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis.

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Private Medical Insurance Coverage For Major Illnesses

Ask the typical person what sort of insurance coverage they have and they will usually rattle off the most common policies: automobile, life, homeowners, and accidental death.
While it is common practice to insure one's self and family against accidents and death, far too many people do not consider the importance of having personal medical insurance for major illnesses such as strokes, heart attacks, kidney problems, or even cancer.

This is a major oversight, for major illnesses may involve substantial medical expenses that continue for weeks, months, and even years. If you are uninsured against major illnesses, the financial consequences are potentially far reaching and devastating.

"The unabated rise in health care costs makes private health insurance for major illnesses essential," notes Mr. Joseph Griffin, Chairman and CEO of GlobalHealth International Group in Hong Kong. "This is because a person is now more prone to suffer long-term critical sickness than accidental death."

A long-term illness not covered by personal health insurance can be enormously draining financially for a family, often resulting in a substantial hit to personal bank accounts, investments and even retirement savings.

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The Importance of Having Adequate Expat Health Insurance

A very informative post by Larry Reid

Relocating to another country can be one of the best decisions that people can ever make. It offers the chance to experience a whole new way of life, and there are no end to the amount of new opportunities that can be found by moving abroad. However, plenty of things need to be taken care of before the big move, and one of the most important things is ensuring that adequate expat health insurance is in place.

Expatriate health insurance should always be one of the most important considerations for anyone looking to move abroad. Failing to have any in place can result in a whole host of problems, most notably the restricted access to healthcare in other countries.

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Lack of Insurance Compounds Chronic Conditions Burden

For an individual not covered by a company or group insurance policy, private health insurance can often seem like a massive, unbearable and expensive hurdle to overcome.
The choices are numerous and confusing, and taking out a policy for yourself or your family can appear costly. If you have a chronic medical condition, an additional stumbling block can be encountered, as your premiums may become even higher or you may face lengthy periods of no coverage for a pre-existing condition.

As a result, people with chronic conditions often face the burden of high insurance premiums and having to also pay for treatments and medicines related to their long-term problems.

A chronic condition is usually defined by insurers as an illness or disease from which a person is unlikely to recover, or for which there is currently no cure. Examples of chronic illnesses include arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis.

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Why do you need an Expat Global Medical Insurance?

A very informative post by David Deverson

Many international companies at times require some of their staff to relocate to foreign countries to head or manage the other branches there. This may be on a short to long term basis. Short term can be 2 weeks or less, medium term - up to six months, while long term can be from 6 months to several years. Most insurance policies in one’s home country do not cover you while abroad.

This is where the expat insurance cover comes in very handy to ensure that you can get proper health care while abroad and even cover for return trips in case of health emergencies. This expat travel insurance cover is not only meant for company employees but also for self employed persons who travel to foreign lands to provide their expertise or for business reasons.

As the aforementioned international companies strive to establish their presence on the global front, there is need for their expatriate employees to quickly adapt to the new environments as quickly as possible.

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Family Planning: Don't Forget Maternity Insurance!

When you start thinking of the excitement of adding a new addition to your family, don't forget to update your private health insurance policy. Otherwise you could get caught with significant pregnancy related medical expenses.
Most personal medical insurance policies will allow the addition of maternity coverage for an additional annual premium. Some, like the Pallas GlobalHealth plan from GlobalHealth Asia automatically includes maternity coverage for prenatal, delivery, and postnatal expenses, as well as any complications arising from pregnancy, birth defects and congenital conditions at birth.

Having personal health insurance coverage that includes maternity benefits can be a great financial relief when that new bundle of joy enters your life. After all, medical expenses for pregnancy and delivery typically run into the thousands of dollars, and this can easily double if there are complications, when a cesarean delivery is required, or in instances of premature births.

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What is Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation Insurance?

It would be nice if you could leave home and not worry about medical problems when you are traveling overseas. Unfortunately, however accidents and illnesses do occur during business and vacation trips.

Even more unfortunately, medical evacuation and repatriation is not covered by most health or medical policies if you are injured or become sick while abroad.

"It is bad enough to encounter a medical emergency or suffer an accident when you are home. It is even worse when you are traveling overseas," notes Mr. Joseph Griffin, Chairman and CEO, GlobalHealth International Group. "In addition to the stress of a dealing with an emergency while away from home, travellers may also be forced to deal with language barriers, different customers, and inadequate medical facilities."

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Why Is Expat Medical Insurance Important?

"Duty of Care for Protecting International Assignees," a 2009 executive summary published by International SOS, states that global organizations should consider their employment obligations when it comes to "health safety, and security of their employees," including those traveling overseas or assigned there. Companies that take interest in global mobility and expatriate assignments are advised to make every effort to provide specifically designed medical coverage for individuals and their families working and living abroad on temporary expatriate assignments.

Significance

While home-country health insurance plans will generally restrict or completely eliminate coverage for international assignees, expatriate medical coverage guarantees access to local health care professionals abroad. Some international medical plans provide limited coverage, however, so the U.S. Department of State urges outbound expatriates to check for policy limitations related to conditions or location.


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