Health Insurance Offered In Panama
(zoom2panama.com) Health care is quite good in Panama and very inexpensive. Americans especially are concern about health insurance due to the high cost of health care and prescription drugs in the U.S. Prices for prescription drugs are low as well, because manufacturers price them for the market. Plus, many drugs that require a prescription in the States are available over the counter in Panama.
There are a number of local Panama companies that offer health insurance coverage in panama for about $35.00 per month. These plans are fairly inexpensive. Even though a stay in a quality private hospital is down right cheap compared to U.S.
Panama offers good-quality medical care and modern hospitals in its metropolitan areas. There are great medical center throughout the country with modern facilities as well. Many Panamanian doctors are U.S.-trained, and the standards at the top hospitals compare favorably to those in
the United States.
We have listed a few of the many great Health Insurance Plans offered in Panama.
1. Panama Canal Area Benefit Plan
This Health Plan is also offered to any Retired Federal Government Employees who reside in Panama or plans on retiring in Panama and has not work for the Panama Canal.
Http: /www.healthnetworkamerica.com
A Managed Fee-for-Service plan with a Point of Service Option Sponsored and administered by: The Association of Retirees of the Panama Canal Area (AJAC)
Who may enroll in this Plan: A member of the Association (Panama Canal Area) who is eligible for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Annuitants (retirees and/or survivors), residing in Panama may enroll in the Panama Canal Area Benefit Plan provided they were previously enrolled in the Plan.
Enrollment codes for this Plan:
431 Self Only
432 Self and Family
This Plan has Full Health Plan accreditation from URAC. See the 2008 Guide for more information on accreditation.
Web Search: Panama Canal Benefit Plan 2008 for more details and brochures.
http://www.axa-assistance.com.pa/Panama/pcabp/
2. BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD IN PANAMA
Blue Worldwide Expat combines Blue experience and excellence with the ability to make health care available to members working and living around the world. Coverage is available through participating Blue companies to their subscribers.
3. Tricare/CHAMPUS - Health Care for Veterans in Panama.
Hospital Nacional in Panama City
By :Darryl S. Dalley
Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Hospital Nacional and have never worked for the hospital.
With long waiting periods to get in the Veterans Administrations (VA) hospitals you may find that if you qualify, the fastest and best care is available in Panama City, Panama. Hospital Nacional located on Avenue Cuba and Calle 38 & 39 in Panama City, Panama is just as modern as any stateside hospital and boasts the most modern equipment.
The fully bilingual doctors and staff are highly qualified and ready to provide service to eligible U.S. veterans and their dependents.
Hospital Nacional accepts Tricare Standard and Tricare For Life, which are the health care programs for retired U.S. military personnel and their dependents. Prior to visiting Panama you should inform your healthcare provider in the U.S., if you are under any program but Tricare Standard, that you need to be transferred to it because you are going on vacation to Panama, or that you are coming to live permanently.
A veteran or his dependent may transfer from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard twice a year.
If you live in Panama you will just keep your enrollment with Tricare Standard.
At Hospital Nacional you are responsible for the payment (deductible) of $150 a year for the veteran or $300 for a family (size of family does not matter).
I recommend that you pay the hospital the full deductible on October 1st, which is the start of the new fiscal year. Once your deductible is paid you can seen by any doctor, be treated as an inpatient or outpatient, get ambulance service, physical therapy, x-rays, CT scans, ultra sounds, and many other services at no cost to you, the veteran.
Hospital Nacional processes all the paperwork and submits it directly to the Tricare offices in the U.S. Getting same day appointments or appointments when you want is no problem at Hospital Nacional. That is their standard.
They state that the U.S. veterans get the red carpet treatment every time they come to the hospital. You won’t stand in long lines waiting to get lab work done, x-rays, prescriptions filled or any other services taken care of.
In summary, for the Tricare program Hospital Nacional provides all the services a veteran or their dependents need.
Hospital Nacional also takes care of U.S. veterans under the Foreign Medical Program (FMP) and ChampVA. The hospital has a very close relationship to the FMP headquarters in Denver, Colorado especially with Ms. Nancy Martinez.
At Hospital Nacional they can treat any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 0% or higher. Again, the hospital staff does all the paperwork and will set up all the appointments and take care of the veterans needs including required hospitalization for any service-connected disability or disabilities.
Having a disability rated at 0% is gold in Panama because you can get treatment. The hospital bills the FMP directly, so there is no out of pocket cost to the veteran.
I suggest that if you live in central or South America and have a V.A. rating you should enroll in the FMP now. However, if you are just planning on traveling to Panama I recommend you bring a copy of your rating decisions.
To make it clear, sometimes veterans appeal their decisions and have other disabilities added. The V.A. does not keep the current rating with disabilities which have been rated before so having all the ratings forms will show the hospital what conditions they can treat. They have the enrollment form at the hospital but in an emergency situation they could possibly provide medical care if the veteran has the rating sheet(s) because the hospital can call the FMP office in Denver and get permission for emergency treatment of a rated condition. The best thing to do is get enrolled.
Veterans who are receiving benefits from the V.A. but are not retired from the military can get medical care for their dependents under the ChampVA program at Hospital Nacional. The application must be submitted and the veteran should have the award letter with them. The hospital has the application. I do not have personal knowledge of whether the hospital could provide emergency care for a dependent but I imagine they would.
Mrs. Elsa Bermudez is Hospital Nacional´s liaison and is in charge of the Tricare and FMP programs at the hospital. Her telephone number is 507-207-8344 or 507-207-8349 and her fax number 507-207-8337. Her email address is: ebermudez@hospitalnacional.com.
Hospital Nacional was the first hospital in Panama City, Panama to offer medical care under Tricare and FMP when the U.S. military bases closed in Panama in December 1999.
I have had surgery to replace a herniated disc in my neck, had my knee scoped, and been treated for a stomach condition. I also had a colonoscopy, stress test, and many other procedures. I have been an inpatient many times and have been provided what I consider the best medical care in the world.
My wife had our baby delivered in the hospital and Tricare doctors took care of my her throughout the pregnancy. My daughter has been seen at the hospital since she was born. They have fine doctors to take care of kids as well.
Hospital Nacional has around 100 beds. The hospital is a very modern facility in a three-story building, with the clinics located in the building adjacent to the hospital.
Both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion are represented in Panama. I served as the VFW Service Officer for more than 4 years.
I assisted veterans recover around a million dollars in back pay while holding this position.
I continue resenting veterans for the American Legion and as a private individual. I do not charge for any services. I learned how to be a service officer by doing my own claim because we did not have any person in Panama who knew how to do the paperwork.
The VFW provides me with training every 6 months. It’s the best training in the world. I love taking care of veterans and their families. I do it as a 100% disabled veteran myself, and as a retired U.S. soldier as well.
My email address is: darryldalley@hotmail.com. Please email me if you have any questions or comments about this information. If you need help with claims to the VA I can assist you. It does not matter what service organization currently represents you.
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS INFORMATION.
If you retire and then move to another country, are you able to receive your social security benefits?The answer is YES. However, there are countries that have restrictions and you will not be able to receive your Social Security Benefits.
In countries where there are a relatively large number of Social Security customers, American embassies and consulates have personnel who have been specially trained to provide a full range of services, including the taking of applications for benefits.
You May Write To:
Social Security Administration
Office of International Operations
P.O. Box 17775
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-7775
If you are a U.S. citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the U.S. as long as you are eligible for them.
Regardless of your citizenship, there are certain countries where we are not allowed to send payments. For more information, please see Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States, Publication No. 05-10137, for a list of countries where we are not allowed to send payments.
If you are planning to be outside the United States for six consecutive calendar months or more, you can find out if you can receive your Social Security payment by using the Payments Abroad Screening Tool.
If you are a United States citizen, you can travel or live in most foreign countries without affecting your eligibility for Social Security benefits.
However, there are a few countries—Cambodia, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam and many of the former U.S.S.R. republics (except Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia)—where we cannot send Social Security payments.
If you are not a United States citizen, the law requires us to stop your payments after you have been outside the United States for six consecutive calendar months unless you meet one of several exceptions in the law which will permit you to continue receiving benefits abroad. These exceptions are based, for the most part, on your citizenship.
For example, if you are entitled to worker’s benefits and are a citizen of one of the many countries with which the United States has a reciprocal arrangement to pay each other’s citizens in another country, your Social Security benefits may continue after you leave the United States (see a list of countries where we can send payments inYour Payments While You Are Outside The United States, Publication No. 05-10137).
If you are planning to be outside the United States for six consecutive calendar months or more , you can find out if you can receive your Social Security payment by using the Payments Abroad Screening Tool.
If you work outside the United States, different rules apply in determining if you can get your benefit checks. Most people who are neither U.S. residents nor U.S. citizens will have 25.5 percent of their benefits withheld for federal income tax.
For more information about receiving benefits abroad, we recommend you read the booklet, Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States (Publication No.05-10137) and International Agreements, Payments Outside the United States, and Social Security in Other Countries at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/.
Information For Travelers
American Citizens Service Unit July 2007
Location: Clayton, Building 783
Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 8:00 - 12:00 except on U.S. and Panamanian Holidays. The ACS Office closes the last Wednesday of each month.
Phone: (507) 207-7030
Fax: (507) 207-7303
email: Panama-ACS@state.gov
U.S. Address:
American Citizen Services Unit
Consular Section, Unit 0945
APO AA 34002
Panama Address:
Seccion Consular
Embajada de los Estados Unidos
Apartado 0816-02561
Zona 5
Panama, Republica de Panama
PASSPORTS REQUIRED FOR AIR TRAVEL TO UNITED STATES
AS OF JANUARY 23, 2007
