Health care in Cambodia

Health care in Cambodia?
As I will be re-locating to Cambodia in the next few months my concerns are with the health system.  What health insurance do most expats have? and what are the most recommended hospitals in P P? all information on this subject will be greatly appreciated. I have managed to glean some recommended Doctors from older posts, Dentists seem to be well covered as well. cheers!

I've used a couple of dentists in SR and have been very happy with the results.

Doctors however... my father-in-law was in the SR hospital and it's one of the most miserable places you could hope ever be admitted.  He didn't fare too well with the medical treatment and died a few days after being discharged.

I spoke with a Swiss ex-pat who said the best thing is to find an insurance broker who can get you a good health policy *with* options for being airlifted out to Singapore or Thailand.  If you are seriously ill, get to another country for medical treatment.

I don't think the training for doctors is adequate for people who have been used to a higher level of care in another country.  My understanding is that the pass mark for a medical degree is 25%.

Cambodia now has excellent medical services, be it in PP only. There is a Sunrise Japan hospital, under Japanese management, small but with modern equipment, and there is the Royal Phnom Penh hospital, a subsidiary of Bangkok hospital, one of the best of Thailand. Thai and other foreign doctors provide many services and their equipment is state of the art, e.g. MRI scan, CT scan, Hemodialysis, Cardiac Catheterization.
They also have a ground and air emergency service.

I take their health check-up annually ($99) but one can also take their extended check-up which includes about everything, for $380).

Thank you Ulric for you information, it does look a bit dire in Phnom pehn though, I did look into one plan, a somewhat complex document the cost beingUS$4000 per year for a single person, but did not go into it too far, your suggestion bears looking into!  All the best.

geoffreynielsen wrote:

Thank you Ulric for you information, it does look a bit dire in Phnom pehn though, I did look into one plan, a somewhat complex document the cost beingUS$4000 per year for a single person, but did not go into it too far, your suggestion bears looking into!  All the best.

Insurance is very expensive if you are a senior. Your $4000/year can be doubled if a person is 67 years old or over, even without pre-existing conditions. And I doubt that an air transfer to Singapore is included, I guess not but who knows.

Don't forget insurance companies have one goal: earn as much money off their customers as possible. That leads to exclusion of existing conditions, or even higher contributions.
Personally I skipped insurance for myself ($600 a month) but have insurance for my girlfriend and daughter. I stick to annual check-ups and treatment if necessary, paid out of my pocket.

HI Joekhmer thanks a lot for your input. I presently live in India and have done so for the past 17 yrs, here medical treatment is very good, big modern hospitals and very cheap. If you don't mind waiting around a bit to see a doctor or get admitted, the very good Government hospitals are free for everything, I have never had to think about insurance or worry about health issues. I do plan on moving to Cambodia so the salad days of not worrying about health are over, your method of health check ups is one I follow as well. I went home to Australia in March this year, and the health system is free there, so I hopped in and had a colonoscopy whilst there, got the all clear and do not have to have another for 4 years, reason I had that is in Aust it's all about getting looked at for possible bowel cancer, or any thing they can prevent with early detection. I guess anything really worrying perhaps in future I'd  jump on a plane and head back for treatment, airfares to Australia are cheap. It's just the here and now with me, like having a secure feeling that there is some type of medical care around in Cambodia if needed. I agree with you too in regards to the insurance costs, I checked out an Australian one recently, it was all about what they didn't cover, just about everything pre-existing  like nothing for asthma, if you have been to hospital within a 24 month period, most people like myself with asthma have, anyway tough luck there. The evacuation part looked sketchy too. Not to Bangkok  but an economy flight back to Aust for treatment, costing them nothing for the treatment. So in all anyone could do that themselves.At the moment here its the end of the monsoon season in South India torrential rain for weeks, constant damp and a no win just trying to keep the mold at bay that gets into everything. and causes me breathing problems, I just put myself into hospital a month ago, just for the rest in a private room with TV, very affordable, but then you always have to check out  again and back to all that water and steamy heat with nearly 100% humidity, though I have not always lived in this state, I moved over from a much dryer state where I did quite well, maybe should have stayed put. Here for four years has been a bit of a battle. Not too sure about the weather in Phnom pehn! but I would hazard a guess that it would not be as steamy as Kerala is, sauna conditions at times and no respite for days, the heat I don't mind but the very high humidity is the clincher that can put a dampner on an otherwise okay looking day..  So Joe I'm off in search of perhaps another cluster of mold, it just creeps in and takes over.. sort of like "the Thing"  ll the best!

Yes GeoffreyNielsen, I can imagine humidity and mold play bad parts for you. I have had my share when living for 9 months in the rain forest in Cambodia, with a humidity of over 90%. Not only were my clothes never dry, my books were smelling mold, but more severe I got trouble with my joints, mainly knees and hips. I went to Sihanoukville every 6 weeks anyway and after a visit to the International clinic here I learned that each time I got back into the humidity I got my pain back. In Sihanoukville it was ok with help of a physiotherapist. Doc said you should move to Sihanoukville, the wind from sea is less humid, so your pain will disappear, which it did after moving here.

The hospital I mentioned earlier is a good one and they provide many services, also Colonoscopy, so no need to fly to Oz and back to get it.

Anyway, good luck with your move to Cambodia!

Thanks Joekhmer, I do remember reading a little while back you mentioning about having problems with the rain forest humidity, I did wonder then if it was a lung issue, but it was not, and glad to hear your on track with your treatment, and thanks, i'm looking forward to the move as well. I will miss India, but things change, and have done here the past three years, I do write on line  and have already been censored with being banned from writing over the past two years, the political scene here is very volatile to say the least, the less said the better.

Hi,

There are some clinics and hospitals which expats might visit in Cambodia, and they do work with insurance companies for direct billing:

Phnom Penh:
- Central Hospital;
- Sunrise Japan Hospital Phnom Penh;
- Royal Phnom Penh Hospital;
- Princess Clinic

Siem Reap:
- Royal Angkor International Hospital

Francis

Hi, be careful with the Royal in SR as I had to pay 840 dollars for my 24 hour treatment and then clam it back from the insurance company.

May I know which insurance company you choose? They might not work with insurance companies as many as hospitals in developed countries.

As far as I know they work with a few insurance companies for direct billing, such as MSH, Cigna, Aetna, and some Japanese insurance companies as well.

Hi, you are right, the insurance company said that the hospital wouldn't deal with them directly and the hospital said the insurance company wouldn't deal with them. It took over a month to get the money back from the insurance company.

Yeah, if the insurance company has few clients in Cambodia, basically they do not have the motivation to develop local direct billing network here......It is troublesome