Health Insurance for Expats in Malta

                             

 

The new Mater Dei Hospital in Malta "is one of the ever-biggest projects undertaken in Malta. It is like a small village built around a chapel and surrounded with all amenities including restaurants and shops."

Read all about it at: Blokrete, Limited, Construction

 

Believe it or not, health insurance--or the lack thereof--is the reason many people are leaving America.  It's my reason.

Among the world's nations, Malta is rated very high for health care.  In fact, it is rated 5th.  The US, by the way, is rated 37th.  See the  research below:

 

Ranking of World Health

June 30, 2007 in News by gorgiamus

The World Health Organization issued figures on June 20, 2000, that rank health care systems around the world for the first time. They indicate that European health systems are generally performing best and that the United States is lagging behind, largely because of unequal distribution of health care services...

According to the report, the five top nations for health care were France, Italy, San Marino, Andorra and Malta.

 

Read the rest of the article on this blog:

The Independent MH/CD Union-Voice

 

Now, what about the health insurance?  Which do you want first--the good news or the bad?  Let me be optimistic for a change:

The good news is that international health insurance for foreigners or expats is less expensive--at least up until the age of 65--than health insurance in the US.  The main reason is that health care costs in Europe and the rest of the world have not skyrocketed like they have in the US.

 

In my case, I am 55, self-employed and paying $900 per month (including the annual deductible of $2000) for Anthem Blue Cross in New Hampshire.  That's a lot.  Too much.  Not affordable for me.  And this will go up every year.  When I reach 60, it will likely double.

 

In Malta, I am applying for health insurance through Atlas Healthcare, which is sort of the Blue Cross of Europe.  In England and France, it's known as Axa.

 

Now, this is private health insurance.  Most Europeans--including the Maltese--are eligible for free (or national) health care.  But many EU members add on some private insurance so they can have a choice of care in the rest of the EU.  For example, many Maltese--with private health insurance--go to England for major procedures or treatment because they believe they will get the best care there.  And many British expats do the same.

 

The potential cost for me--for the best international plan with Atlas--will be about one-third of what it is in America.  That means that I can go anywhere in the world for care--except the US and Canada, naturally.  But I would be covered for emergency care in the US if I was visiting.

 

And--if I get a job in Malta and pay into the national healthcare plan, I would be eligible for the free Maltese healthcare.  This means the cost for the private health insurance through Atlas would be cut by 25 percent of my present quote.

 

Sounds good, right?  Now the bad news--which I just found out two days ago.  Atlas will not cover any pre-existing conditions.  None.   Ever.  So, if you have a serious illness and take serious medicine for it, you will not be covered for that illness--medical visits, medicine, emergency care--anything.  Now, this is a tough pill to swallow (pun intended). 

 

In fact, I do swallow a few tough pills, and this makes it a lot more expensive than I originally thought.  I will have to pay for my medicine out-of-pocket in Malta.  One bit of good news--medicine is generally cheaper in Europe than in the US.  So adding on the monthly cost of my medicine to the premiums would now increase my monthly health insurance to around $550 a month.  (By the way, this includes the bad US dollar rate.)

 

So now I'm applying.  As for the application procedure, I'm too exhausted to go into that tonight.  But let's say that getting into Harvard Medical School might be easier than getting into the Maltese healthcare private insurance plan.

 

Listen, as you read this, do me a favor?  Wish me some luck with this whole application business.  Grazzi.  And I'll let you know what happens, but I think it's going to take a long time to get through this process.

 

Here's a link to Atlas Healthcare in Malta.