By Alison Massey

If you are living or working in a strange country with your family, especially with young children, you’ll certainly not want to take risks with healthcare provision.

Children, on the whole, are pretty resilient to sickness but travel, particularly in the tropics, puts pressure on their ability to build up immunity to disease. And, of course, young children are inclined to be accident prone.

Full healthcare provision can be expensive – medical costs are soaring globally. Medical services also vary dramatically from excellent to rock-bottom depending where you find yourself in the world. And the availability of local healthcare facilities to expat families is also subject to huge variations. So it’s as well to get the priorities straight from the start.

1. Make sure the medical insurance cover you take out is sufficient for the needs of your family. I would recommend that you opt for at least US$1.5million of cover per year for your family – including an option of repatriation, so that in the case of serious conditions or long term treatment, you can bring you can bring your children home.

2. Ensure your plan gives you access to the very best medical facilities in the region. If your healthcare policy doesn’t help you find your way round the local system, you could easily make the wrong choice at a time of crisis for your child.

3. Get adequate cover for all in-patient care charges, to include drugs, surgeons’ fees, MRI/CT scans and so on – but also hospital accommodation for both you and your child. In more remote areas, emergency transportation costs should also be built in.

Matching your needs

There are a number of other areas you should consider. Dental cover is an important consideration for children, particularly for those over six. Maternity care is another major consideration if your family is still growing. In particular, it’s important to review the full extent of any maternity package. And make sure your policy is flexible enough if you’re moving from country to country. 

Most expatriates begin with little knowledge of the healthcare provisions of the country they are going to. That’s why the Goodhealth website provides the unique Healthcare Database containing a wealth of information to help you, from locally approved doctors to translations of prescription drugs. On-the-spot representation by your insurer can also make all the difference when you’re faced with local bureaucracy or language difficulties. 

The network of hospitals and clinics you plug into should not only offer you and your children the best consultations, emergency care and medical treatment, it should also be hassle free. So I would recommend you opt for direct-billing, where all invoices are settled directly by the insurer.

Controlling costs

Not everyone can afford an inclusive healthcare package and there are ways of cutting costs. Your policy should cover all the essentials outlined above but it’s the smaller incidents that push up the cost of the premium disproportionately. With the arrival of flexible insurance products you are able to opt for a menu of benefits that fit your pocket. And also, by increasing the excess on your policy, you can reduce the cost of the premium whilst still retaining control over the risks to your family.

The sure way to protect your family and avoid costly hospital bills is to double check the cover options provided by your policy.

Alison Massey is the Marketing Director of ExpatWomen.com’s Preferred Health Insurance Provider: Goodhealth Worldwide.