Health insurance for a year in peru

[tinamcdowell]

Our family of 4 will be living in Peru for a year (2 kiddos) and I'm looking into local vs. international health insurance. We don't need preventative care and are fine paying out of pocket for minor issues, but feel like we need coverage for urgent or emergent care. We also will be doing travel outside of the country during school breaks.
Advice on a private local vs. a international travel policy would be welcome, thanks! I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experience with a international policy...I assume you pay up front and get reimbursed, but I wonder if you get charged a higher rate by providers with this?
Thanks

[SilverbackPeru]

Just out of curiousity but what do members generally pay for their health insurance per person in Peru and what is the minimum amount you'd expect to pay for decent cover?

Does decent cover mean you'll be fully treated for long term illnesses too? Or do long term illnesses have cut off points where the insurance becomes void?

[alan]

In my experience, a decent plan for two middle aged adults and two children will run from $1500 to $2000. This gives coverage in Peru only, and at second-tier clinics (like Ricardo Palma, Good Hope, etc).

[SilverbackPeru]

Thanks Alan. So it should be possible for a couple get get a good second tier coverage for $1000 a year?.

I have so many questions about health insurance that I have to ask cos luckly we have an NHS system back home where you don't need to pay for anything so dealing with the whole health insurance and paying for medical treatments is a total shock to the system. I also hear so many horror stories from my friends in the States.

Is it easy to cancel health insurance and then get another one later on a few years later. I've heard that it starts to become difficult to get a new insurance the older you are and depending on your health you might not get insurance at all. Is there any truth in this? It's a concern as i'm almost reaching the 50 mark.

Does health insurance get cheaper if you are older or as i've been told "it gets more expensive cos more things can go wrong with you!", any truth in this?

How would you be able to cover health insurance in older life as pensions are a lot lower than an income, can you trust pension schemes in Peru? (As my in-laws lost all of their pension money) how can you cover against this?

Does health insurance include retirement homes or do you need to plan for that seperately? Are returement homes affordable?

Is it possible to save for any of this on an average income of $3500 to $6000 a year income?

[Alpineprince]

Thanks Alan. So it should be possible for a couple get get a good second tier coverage for $1000 a year?.


Is it easy to cancel health insurance and then get another one later on a few years later. I've heard that it starts to become difficult to get a new insurance the older you are and depending on your health you might not get insurance at all. Is there any truth in this? It's a concern as i'm almost reaching the 50 mark.

Does health insurance get cheaper if you are older or as i've been told "it gets more expensive cos more things can go wrong with you!", any truth in this?

How would you be able to cover health insurance in older life as pensions are a lot lower than an income, can you trust pension schemes in Peru? (As my in-laws lost all of their pension money) how can you cover against this?

Does health insurance include retirement homes or do you need to plan for that seperately? Are returement homes affordable?

Is it possible to save for any of this on an average income of $3500 to $6000 a year income?

1. Don't think it is possible for $1,000 a year for a couple.
2. You can cancel and buy again if you are healthy/can pass underwriting and buy a policy before you turn 65.
3. Health insurance cost increases at intervals as you are younger and then yearly as you get older. Prices max out at age 70 and then become fixed for the rest of your life.
4.From Pensions,investments,savings or work. To avoid this you could purchase a deferred fixed annuity that would start paying you at the same time as your pension, but now you are taking on insurance company risk.
5. No and Hell No!
6. See answer #5.

[Alpineprince]

Our family of 4 will be living in Peru for a year (2 kiddos) and I'm looking into local vs. international health insurance. We don't need preventative care and are fine paying out of pocket for minor issues, but feel like we need coverage for urgent or emergent care. We also will be doing travel outside of the country during school breaks.
Advice on a private local vs. a international travel policy would be welcome, thanks! I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experience with a international policy...I assume you pay up front and get reimbursed, but I wonder if you get charged a higher rate by providers with this?
Thanks

I have a friend that has a international policy (cheaper if you buy ex-USA). He pays out of pocket and is reimbursed several months later. No difference in price as you are paying the DR. cash up front. BUT YOU BETTER HAVE THE CASH UPFRONT!

[SilverbackPeru]

I'm starting to think a good option for me to help with covering all these bills would be to buy a house/apartment in the U.K as I can easily find something cheap enough here and then use the money from renting it to cover bills like Health Insurance. Also it would be an income for life.

I'm starting yo think this would be my best option for creating some sort of security.