You can opt to buy local insurance or sign up for Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth, the government’s national health insurance program that ensures affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible health care services for all citizens. Benefits for inpatient treatment are not comprehensive, but very worthwhile. You can save thousands of pesos with a major surgery. You can enroll as an Individually Paying Member. Just accomplish the PhilHealth Member Registration Form and submit to any PhilHealth office, along with a photocopy of your Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR I-Card) issued by the Bureau of Immigration to prove your residency in the Philippines. The cost is Php 100 per month and the insurance will cover your whole family, including your spouse. If you or your spouse are going to be responsible for all or part of the medical needs of the extended family, make sure they are all signed up, too.

If you are eligible for VA medical care, you can get care in the VA Outpatient Clinic. This clinic is the only VA healthcare facility located in a foreign country and located on the U.S. Embassy property.

The health care system in the Philippines is pay-as-you-go. Often, your first stop will be the cashier’s office so be sure to have money with you to pay for health care. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to pay for medical care at the time you receive it. It is best to inquire the hospital first if they will accept your foreign medical insurance cards. The table below lists foreign health insurance and the hospitals that accept them.

Since availing insurance benefits varies by HMO, insurance plan, and servicing hospital, we recommend that you inquire about your Medicare Advantage benefits by HMO or plan name. You can send specific inquiries to the respective customer care and credit/billing departments of the hospital.

You will find that medical services cost much less in the Philippines. Your total cost for routine health care may be less than what you will pay for deductibles and co-payments in the U.S. For serious illness, you will be charged tens or thousands of dollars. Check this table to find out how affordable medical operations are in the Philippines compared to the U.S.