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Health Care

Uruguay Rated #1 for Prosperity in South America

October 29, 2009 by Brian



MainTitle
The third edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index was released this week. This index ranks 104 countries (accounting for 90% of the world’s population) based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth with measures of happiness and quality of life.

The 9 areas the Legatum Prosperity Index looks at are:
1.    Economic Fundamentals
2.    Entrepreneurship and Innovation
3.    Education
4.    Democratic Institutions
5.    Governance
6.    Health
7.    Personal Freedom
8.    Security
9.    Social Capital

The highest-ranking South American countries are Uruguay (33rd), Chile (36th) and Argentina (38th). The lowest performing country in South America is Venezuela (74th), just ahead of Bolivia (73rd) and Ecuador (71st).

Uruguay scored especially well in 3 areas:
•    Personal freedom at 14th
•    Safety and security at 26th
•    Health at 28th

Full details about Uruguay’s rankings in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index can be found here. If you want to see how Uruguay’s ranking stacks up against the US, click here.

Since Ecuador was our second choice if Uruguay didn’t work out for us, we were surprised how low it scored on the Index given its preference as a hot spot for expats. In fact, International Living named Ecuador the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2009. It just shows how it important it is to get your information from multiple sources when deciding where to live as an expat.

Read the Index’s key findings related to South America here.

More information on the Prosperity Index, including full country rankings, background on data and methodology, and profiles of each country can be found at www.prosperity.com.



Filed Under: Culture, Financial, Health Care, News, Politics Tagged With: 2009, Ecuador, Legatum Prosperity Index, uruguay

Getting Health Insurance in Uruguay:
Asociación Española

October 15, 2009 by Brian


We mentioned on previous blog that we had decided to pursue private health insurance through Hospital Britanico in Montevideo. We went this route because we were told time and time again that it was the best health care in Uruguay, and the best place to have a baby in Uruguay.

While the care we received there was great, we decided to go another route. This decision was mostly due to the fact that every time we talked to the Hospital Britanico Scheme office, their price for delivering the baby kept changing. So much so, that the amount they wanted up front more than doubled from our original conversations! Yikes.

Nuevo_edificio So, after doing some more research, we decided to pursue medical coverage through Asociación Española, one of Uruguay’s largest mutualistas. Asociación Española is named a "Baby Friendly Hospital" by the Ministry of Health, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF initiatives. And, they have the most comprehensive Pediatric Department in Uruguay.

In addition, their health insurance rates are much lower than Hospital Britainco’s health insurance rates. Brian and I will each be paying UY$1446 per month (U$S 69.69 as of today’s exchange rate), which includes funeral coverage in addition to health care coverage (tax included). The rate for Zoë is UY$ 867 (U$S 41.78) per month, including health care coverage and funeral coverage (tax included).

There is an additional fee of UY$ 1085 (U$S 52.29) per month if you want a private room, but we decided to forgo that for now. You must pay 12 months of fees before you can actually have a private room (only 7 months for delivery of the baby). So, she said we can think about it and pay the full 7 months of fees later if I decide I want a private room.

Asociación Española has arrangements with SUAT for emergency services, so we also signed up with them. The rate is UY$ 290 (U$S 13.98) per month, and they currently have a special for 4 months free.

That brings us to a total of UY$ 4629 per month, or U$S 223 (if only the US dollar would stop losing value!) for all three of us to have health insurance, emergency service coverage and funeral coverage. This is UY$ 1302 (U$S 62.75) per month less than Hospital Britanico (and we did not have funeral coverage with them).

Getting health insurance with Asociación Española was very simple. We just went down to their Departmento de Socios office at Rivera 2341 and met with a woman who spoke English (we were told you must get there between 8 am and 1 pm to be able to meet with someone who speaks English; no appointment necessary).

We told her we wanted to sign up with the hospital, provided our passports and signed a couple of papers. They didn’t even ask us any medical questions like they did at Hospital Britanico.

She recommended that we get photo ID cards for the hospital since we don’t have our cedulas yet (Uruguayan ID cards). There is an extra fee of UY$ 17 (U$S 0.82) each for the cards, but they make them for you on the spot. We paid the cashier; they took our pictures and gave us our Asociación Española ID cards.

Then she walked us over to the SUAT representative and gave her our information. We signed a couple papers and she provided our SUAT ID cards. Our coverage was effective immediately and we don’t have to pay anything until next month.

It was a very easy process to get health insurance through Asociación Española. Now, the next step is to find a good English-speaking Obstetrician at Asociación Española. Any recommendations are welcome!



Filed Under: Baby, Health Care Tagged With: asociacion espanola, Health Care, health insurance, health insurance in Uruguay, hospital britanico, mutualistas, uruguay

The Exploring Uruguay Forum is Now Live!

October 2, 2009 by Brian

Thank you to all of our blog readers for asking so many great questions about Uruguay. The number of questions we’ve been getting has increased significantly, so we decided it was time to create the Exploring Uruguay Forum.

We’ve been working hard on getting the forum ready over the past several days and we’re excited to announce that it’s finally live.

So, come by the Exploring Uruguay Forum today and post a question about Uruguay. Or, share your experiences with living in Uruguay, or visiting Uruguay.

Thanks in advance for contributing to the community!

Filed Under: Baby, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Family, Financial, Food and Drink, Health Care, Household, Language, News, Packing, Politics, Real Estate, Services, Travel, Uruguay Blogs, Web/Tech Tagged With: exploring uruguay forum, forum, uruguay, uruguay forum

Getting Health Insurance in Uruguay: The Hospital Britanico Scheme

August 20, 2009 by Brian

When we first moved to Uruguay, we decided to purchase travel insurance to cover our medical needs for the first three months. We figured that would give us enough time to decide which Uruguay hospital to get private health insurance through.

The three of us are all healthy, without any medical conditions, so we knew we would have our choice of hospitals in Uruguay. After doing some research and talking to a lot of people, we decided to pursue health insurance in Uruguay through the Hospital Britanico Scheme (private health insurance plans in Uruguay are called “schemes.”).

The first step we took was to contact the Hospital Britanico to get information on the health insurance plans they offered. They sent us over the current rates and plan options.

The current monthly rates (in Uruguayan Pesos) as of today’s date are:

Children (under 18 years):
1st son/daughter       private room $1398
2nd son/daughter      private room $1327
3rd son/daughter       private room $1260

Adults:
From 18 to 29 years    private room $1665     premium $1982
From 30 to 39 years    private room $1974     premium $2353
From 40 to 49 years    private room $2148     premium $2564
From 50 to 55 years    private room $2834     premium $3391
From 56 to 60 years    private room $3037     premium $3623

(We asked what the difference between private and premium rooms were. We were told that they are basically the same. However, the premium rooms are the most recently built rooms and they might have a better view out of the window. We went with the private room.)

Out-Patient Department (Ambulatory)
To use the Out Patient Department you will have to pay a fee, this may be different depending the type of service required.

Medical consultation                                            $120
Auxilliary services such as Laboratory, Radiology   $120
Scans, mamographies, etc.                                  $250
Emergency door                                                  $220
Emergency outside Montevideo                             $300
MRI                                                                    $1200
Home visits                                                         $350

Pharmacy
With a doctor’s prescription you are entitled to a 50% rebate at the Farmacia “El Tunel” (across the street from the Hospital Britanico – they also make home deliveries). There is also an option to pay an extra monthly fee of $198, which will drop the price for each prescription $180 per prescription.

Other benefits that may be included in the monthly subscription are:

Emergency ambulance service:
SEMM:  $294
SUAT:   $275
UCM:    $270
EMERGENCIA UNO:
Adults:  $205 / $406
Kids:     $175 / $300

(With Emergencia Uno, the first $ figure is for months where you do not use the service. The second figure is for months where you do use the service. We elected to go with Emergencia Uno.)

Funeral coverage with Previsora Martinelli at a rate of $110.

Surgical coverage in the United States at a monthly rate of $265.

Travel Insurance (annual contract):
VIP: $73 per month (coverage up to $100.000 / $250.000)
BASIC: $39 per month (coverage up to $200.000 / $350.000)
PLUS: $120 per month (coverage up to euros 30.000)

After deciding that we did want to move forward with the Hospital Britanico health insurance plan, we contacted the Scheme office to set up an appointment for our health examinations and interviews.

The examinations are very straightforward. Mine went very quickly (I was in and out in just over an hour) because I have been going to the Hospital Britanico for prenatal care and they already had a lot of my information on file. They asked me questions about my medical history and took my blood pressure. Since I didn’t know my height in centimeters, they also had to measure me.

They will typically take blood and urine samples to run some basic tests (which I already had done as part of my prenatal care). If you are a female, you will also need to have a gynecological exam unless you can provide records for one in the last year.

Zoë’s medical exam was even more straightforward than mine. They asked us a few questions about her birth and medical history, and then asked a few questions about my health and Brian’s health. They did a very quick exam and we were done. Her insurance was approved the same day (I was told it usually takes about three weeks for adults to be approved).

For Brian: blood/urine, blood pressure, height, weight and a few questions and done. We found that getting health insurance in Uruguay was much easier than it is in the US. For the three of us, our coverage for the Hospital Scheme and Emergencia Uno service comes to UY$ 5931 (U$S 256.42 as of today’s exchange rate) per month.

If you’re interested in health insurance through the Hospital Britanico Scheme in Uruguay, vis
it their website or contact them by phone at 487-1020, extensions 2201 or 2253 from 8 am to 8 pm.

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: health insurance, hospital britanico, scheme, uruguay

Baby Update! We’re having…

August 14, 2009 by Brian

A girl!

We had our ultrasound yesterday afternoon at Hospital Britanico and the ultrasound technician said that she’s 99.99% sure it’s a girl!

Her name is Kaylee Joy – her middle name is for my Grandma Joyce who I’ve always been very close to. I think it’s going to be so much fun to have two little girls so close in age.

Our due date is either Feb. 5, 6 or 7… We’ve been told different dates at our last few appointments. Regardless, we are stoked. Hopefully Kaylee isn’t quite the size that Zoë was (10lbs 1oz) when she is born…

But if she is, we’ll love her just the same.

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Health Care Tagged With: Baby, hospital britanico, ultrasound

Having a Baby in Uruguay Follow Up: First Trimester Down!

August 5, 2009 by Brian

If you didn’t read our original blog about having a baby in Uruguay, you can find it here.

We’re happy to report that we’ve made it through the first trimester!

Everything is going well with my pregnancy and the care I’m receiving at Hospital Britanico has been great. I’ve found an obstetrician that speaks English, which has been very helpful, although I am a little nervous about the fact that not all of the labor and delivery staff will speak English.

If it were anything other than delivering a baby, I wouldn’t worry so much about the language barrier. I guess we need to brush up on Spanish medical terminology.

The latest discussion in our house is whether we’re having a baby boy or baby girl… I think we’re having a boy; Brian thinks we’re having a girl. We have another ultrasound next Thursday, so we’re hoping to find out if we’re having a boy or girl in just over a week (right before Brian embarks on a weekend journey to the States to pick up my maternity clothes and baby stuff). Of course we’ll keep you updated when we get the news.

Although I don’t think she quite understands yet, Zoë points to my belly every morning and says “baby.” I still think she’s going to be in for a bit of a shock when we bring an actual baby home in February. But she is a very loving little girl, so I think she’s adjust just fine with a little time.

I was just thinking today about how different it is going to be having baby #2. When Zoë was born, Brian was able to stay with us in the hospital.

This time around, he’ll have to stay with Zoë at night, so I’ll be at the hospital alone with the new baby. While it’ll be different and I’m sure Zoë will be wondering where mommy is, it’ll give me some private bonding time with the new baby before we bring him or her home and mommy is pulled in multiple directions.

That will have both its pros and cons. When I was still recovering after having Zoë, it was nice to have Brian there to change Zoë’s diaper (he actually changed her very first diaper) or bring her to me so I could feed her.

But, I guess the positive side is that I’ll get extra snuggle time with the new baby and can sleep knowing that Brian isn’t laying on an uncomfortable cot next to me ☺ We’ll see how I actually feel about it when the big day comes.

We’ll keep you posted on our blog in the coming months about how things are going. And of course, we’re still working on our ebook to help other expatriate families understand the process of having a baby in Uruguay.

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Health Care Tagged With: having in baby in uruguay, hospital britanico, ultrasound

Massage in Montevideo Uruguay

July 11, 2009 by Brian

UPDATE: Jan is no longer in MVD. Both her and Ken moved on to the beautiful Andes in Ecuador. Not only will we miss them, but our backs will too 😉

If you’ve been looking to get a massage in Montevideo, Uruguay, you have a few options. There are a number of clubs or “spas” around that offer massage services. If you want an “okay” massage, you can get one… BUT… if you want a GREAT massage you’ll want to go to Jan Wallace.

Even though most of you haven’t heard of Jan, many celebrities have. Jan started practicing massage in 1983. She was trained in Oregon and first licensed there. Oregon has very strict licensing guidelines as opposed to Uruguay, which has none.

After practicing for many years in Oregon she moved to San Diego, California where she worked at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad. La Costa Resort and Spa is the #2 Spa in the world. She was Barbara Walters preferred massage therapist at this spa. After Jan’s time at La Costa, she created her own massage business in San Diego.

Now Jan lives here in the Pocitos area of Montevideo, Uruguay. We had the pleasure of meeting Jan and we immediately took advantage of her services. Wow…  Jan gives an awesome massage. We are now her regular clients.

She is trained in a variety of massage techniques, including Swedish Massage, Shiatsu/Acupressure, Reflexology, Sports Massage, Lymphatic Drainage Massage, Trigger Point Therapy, Deep Tissue and Pregnancy Massage.

Additionally, Jan one of a select few individuals in the world who practices Bio Energy Therapy. Bio Energy Therapy is a non-invasive treatment that can help with may chronic problems that are often considered incurable. We opted to use this therapy to help heal some back, neck and shoulder pain. We were surprised at the speed with which we experienced positive results. Jan can explain this technique in much greater detail if you’re interested in learning more.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Health Care, Services Tagged With: Bio Energy Therapy, Massage, Massage in Montevideo, montevideo, pocitos, Therapist, uruguay

We’re Having a Baby In Uruguay!

July 3, 2009 by Brian

Yep, we’re having a baby in Uruguay! Zoë is no longer going to be an only child… she’s going to make such a great big sister.

We officially got word from the doctor today that everything looks good and our little one is expected around February 6, 2010. That means I’m nine weeks along. We couldn’t be happier. We definitely planned on having another baby in the future, but it looks like the future is coming faster than expected.

So after we told our families, there was a common question among them…  “Are you going to come back to San Diego to have your baby?”

Our answer: “Why would we do that?  Uruguay has great hospitals and wonderful medical care. We live here… Uruguay is our home for now, so we plan to have our baby here.”

After talking with some friends that had a baby in Uruguay, we’ve decided to look into having it at Hospital Británico (the British Hospital in Uruguay). The technology and service level is top notch, and we’ve been referred to a Doctor that speaks excellent English.

We’ve found that there isn’t much information available online about what to expect when having a baby in Uruguay. We were looking at into buying into a Uruguayan Hospital’s Insurance Plan. We still are… but being pregnant is considered a pre-existing condition. That means we’ll be paying all pregnancy related expenses from doctor’s visits to tests to the delivery out of pocket.

We’ll also be journaling about our experiences with pregnancy and having a baby in Uruguay. How that benefits you is… After our little one is born, we’ll be putting everything into an eBook that will hopefully make it easier for other expatriate families to navigate the process of having a baby in Uruguay. And of course, we’ll have updates here on our Uruguay blog!

Brian, Chrystal & Zoë

Filed Under: Baby, Culture, Family, Health Care Tagged With: Baby, Baby in Uruguay, British Hospital, hospital britanico, Insurance, Pregnant, uruguay, uruguay blog

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