Tips & Tricks

Tips & TRicks

Healthcare and Health Insurance

I read a lot of questions about the cost of health care and health insurance.
In my experience, the Philippines has decent healthcare in the big cities and private hospitals. The farther you are from big cities, the more difficult it becomes to find decent healthcare.
I live in Dumaguete City, we have 3 good private hospitals. For major interventions, I’ll have to go to Cebu, because my health insurance has contracts with only 2 major hospitals in Cebu.
Another question is emergency transport. When my wife had an accident 50km from the City, it took us 1 hour to find an emergency transport. And it was a transport, not an ambulance with qualified personnel!
As for the cost of healthcare, it’s cheaper than in Western countries, but major interventions still cost quite a lot. I did some research for the cost in good quality private hospitals:
– minor surgery: 50K to 150K PHP (I had a hernia surgery for 150K PHP)
– major interventions (heart, cancer, stroke): 1.5 to 4.0 million PHP, that’s up to 65K USD.
Self insurance:
many expats opt for self insurance, a good solution if you have enough money. I’d say you need 40K to 60K USD set aside for self insurance if you want to sleep soundly.
Insurance:
The older you are and the more existing health problems you have, the more it will be difficult to find an insurer. Pre-existing health conditions will systematically be excluded!
– Phil Health: useful but covers only a small part of the costs. Useful to be accepted in a hospital for emergency care without having to pay in advance.
– local insurance: several good insurance companies. Read the small script:
— many insurances stop at age 70. They promise you other insurances after this age, but no guarantee that you will be accepted and pre-existing conditions will be excluded
— they often promise a generous coverage, but there are limits to specific services per disease and year. In order to touch the complete coverage, you have to be treated for 10 different diseases every year
— not all insurance agents are honest. If they ask you to pay the premium to their private account, you might discover that they never registered you with the insurance company.
— a serious agent who fights for you is essential. He/she will help you to obtain the coverage you pay for
– international insurances
— there is a big choice for sometimes vastly different premiums. Will they cover you only in the Philippines or internationally. Often they demand a hefty sum to extend the coverage to the USA.
— do they offer to pay directly to the hospital? Even if it’s the case, they usually have contracts only with major hospitals in the big cities. If you go to another hospital, you’ll have to pay in advance and the insurance will, hopefully, refund you later. Ask which hospitals are covered.
Pre-payment
Nearly all hospitals will ask for pre-payment the moment you are admitted. If you don’t have the cash or a card that they accept, they might refuse treatment, except for absolute emergency treatment.
Even if your insurance has a contract with the hospital, this covers hospital fees. You might have a visit from the doctor asking you to pay him directly as well as from the seller of orthopedic or cardiac devices that have been implanted.
In some cases, hospitals will not let you leave the hospital before you pay the complete bill. And they will charge you for every additional day. I know, there is a law against this, but this law is very restrictive.
Rh negative
Blood of the type Rh-, especially O- is extremely rare in Asia. Most hospitals and blood banks don’t store it. If your intervention demands several units of Rh- blood, you have to find donors yourself, this can easily take a week or more. And you might have to pay donors. Most possible donors are expats, but they will have difficulty to donate if they are over 65!
In this case, you might have to return to your country for the intervention.
Care-giver
In the Philippines, you are supposed to have a person staying beside your bed 24 hours to do the basic care. If you have family here, no problem. If you alone, you’ll have to hire a care-giver. There are agencies that the hospital might recommend. The cost is additional, to be paid directly and not necessarily refunded by the insurance.
Personally, I am Swiss (72), married to a Filipina (52), and I have a European health insurance that covers me up to 500,000 USD in the Philippines and, in an emergency, in my country. The cost is 400 USD per month for the 2 of us.

Dating a separated woman

Is she legally married?

I read a lot of questions about relationships and dating here. One important legal aspect is often overlooked: Is she legally married?

🔹 Divorce is not possible in the Philippines (except for Muslims). Even if a couple has a legal court separation, they are still legally married in the eyes of the law.

🔹 A lot of women are legally married but separated. Most of the times you can have a good relationship with them without any problems. The legal husband is gone and doesn’t care, and she doesn’t care for him.

🔹 But this relationship is technically illegal. If a legally married woman has a sexual relationship with another man, it is considered ADULTERY. This is a criminal offense. Adultery is illegal for women and can be punished. Adultery doesn’t exist for the man, but he can be accused as an accessory.

🔹 The legal consequences are severe. If the case goes to court, both the woman and her foreign partner can be convicted. A conviction carries a prison sentence and a fine. For a foreigner, this also means deportation after serving the sentence. .

🔹 The good news is that it is a “PRIVATE CRIME”. The police will not arrest you on their own. The legal husband must be the one to file the criminal complaint. But here is the real-world risk: This law is often used for blackmail. If you know that the ex is still around, lives not too far, or his family lives close by, you can be a target. If the husband is angry, jealous, or just wants money, he or his family can threaten to file an adultery case against you unless you pay “hush money”, or just to embarrass you and ruin your reputation. I know of expats who have been dragged into long, expensive legal battles because they assumed a “separated” status was enough.

If you want to be absolutely sure that there is no risk, ask her for a CENOMAR. This is a “Certificate of No Marriage” issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It shows her official civil status. She might be shy to tell you about her real situation, but this document gives you the facts. Don’t take the risk. If the CENOMAR shows she is still married, do not move in together or start a physical relationship until her annulment is fully finalized by a court. It takes time and money, but it is the only way to be 100% safe.

Moving Money to the Philippines

Moving to the Philippines is an exciting adventure, but figuring out how to manage your finances and move your money can be a headache. Here is a quick, essential guide on the best ways to transfer and access your funds as an expat.
  • Direct Bank Transfers You can wire money directly from your foreign bank to a Philippine bank account. However, this is often not the most cost-effective method. Sending banks frequently charge high outgoing wire fees, and the exchange rates they offer are usually poor, meaning you lose a significant amount of money on the conversion.
  • ATMs and Cash Withdrawals Using your foreign debit card at a local ATM is convenient but comes with costs. Philippine ATMs charge a standard 250 PHP access fee for foreign cards. Additionally, most machines limit withdrawals to just 10,000 PHP per transaction, though a few allow up to 20,000 PHP. On top of the local fee, your home bank may charge international withdrawal fees. Pro tip: If you are from the US, look into banks like Charles Schwab, which reimburse all global ATM fees, effectively wiping out the 250 PHP charge.
  • Opening Bank Accounts and E-Wallets To integrate into the local economy, you’ll want a local bank account. Traditional banks generally require an Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-Card. The good news is that most nationalities, including US citizens, can open these accounts with an ACR I-Card and passport.
  • What about GCash? Yes, it is possible to open a basic GCash account without an ACR I-Card using just your passport. However, to become fully verified—which gives you higher transaction limits and access to all features—you will eventually need to provide your ACR I-Card.
  • Digital Transfer Services: Wise and Remitly For moving money from your home country, digital apps are your best friends. Wise allows you to hold money in various currencies. You can keep your funds in USD and exchange them to PHP only when the rate is favorable. You can then transfer directly to a Philippine bank or withdraw with a Wise ATM card for a small fee.
  • Remitly is another fantastic digital remittance platform. It offers “Express” for instant transfers and “Economy” for lower fees. Remitly allows you to send money to a Philippine bank, directly into a GCash wallet, or for cash pickup at local partner outlets.
  • Western Union If you are traveling to remote provinces or need to send cash to someone without a bank account, Western Union is still king. You can send money from your home country, and the recipient can withdraw it in physical cash at thousands of partner offices across the Philippines.
Managing your money in the Philippines doesn’t have to be complicated. Always monitor exchange rates and avoid exchanging physical cash at the airport. By combining a fee-free US bank card for ATMs, a fully verified GCash for daily spending, and Wise for smart currency exchange, you’ll save money and enjoy your expat life to the fullest!
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