US citizen wanting surgery in SNG....which medical insurance to get???

[gingerlady]

Hello,
I am a US citizen residing in Hawaii with a serious eye condition that needs surgery. After doing extensive research, I have found the Dr. that I want to perform this surgery, but he lives in Singapore! So, I do have Medicare, but that is only for the U.S.
My question is.....which international insurance company should I contact?
The clinic has emailed me that while they don't have affiliation with insurance companies, they do accept LOG (Letter Of Guarantee) from most of the international insurance companies, except Aetna. I am starting to contact some of them, but I would appreciate any tips from anyone who might have had a relative or friend come to Singapore for surgery and had some kind of intl. insurance that covered them.
Thank you so much for any help in this matter.

Best wishes,

Deborah

[malcontent]

You wouldn’t contact any international insurance company, because they wouldn’t cover preexisting conditions. You also wouldn’t care about the LOG… that is only for locally insured who don’t want to put up a large cash deposit. If you can afford to fly here from Hawaii, this won’t be an issue for you.

Medicare is not going to cover any surgery done outside the US, and if you don’t already have an existing insurance plan with coverage outside the US, you will be paying with cash in full, no different than the multitude of cash basis medical tourists from SE Asia… it’s extremely common, and no issue at all.

It’s too bad you can’t find a good surgeon in the mainland, at least Medicare would have you covered. It could be an easier flight as well, there are no direct HNL-SIN flights. Most common connection is via Tokyo, around 7-8 hours, then another 6-7 hours to Singapore.

[Myasis Dragon]

Everything that malcontent said, and...

You may wish to look at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. JCOH accredited. Much cheaper than elsewhere.

Still the same insurance problems, though. You can't get insurance for problems you already have.

Getting the surgery done in the US under Medicare coverage is your best bet.