What will you do if you have a health problem?
Health insurance options for expats
If are living in Turkey for work or for any other reason, do you know what to do in case you get ill? How will you pay the medical expenses? Which hospitals serve foreigners? What do you do in case of an emergency? If you do not know the answers, this article is for you.
[HH] Do you have private health insurance?
Foreigners who live in Turkey can have private health insurance. Acquiring private health insurance has significant advantages in terms of health care quality. The most important being that you do not have to go to public hospitals. In Turkey, many private hospitals have agreements with international insurance companies. Thus, when insured, you can apply to the hospitals you prefer. In this case, depending on the coverage of your insurance policy, treatment costs will be covered by the insurance company.
[HH] Do you not have private health insurance?
If you don’t have private health insurance, Universal Health Insurance, or UHI, applies to you. But there are certain conditions for it. According to Law number 5510: “Foreigners who aren’t insured according to a foreign legislation and have a residence permit in Turkey, are considered insured under Universal Health Insurance. But a reciprocity principle is taken into consideration in granting that right.” Under this condition, a person who has a residence permit in Turkey and is not insured in a foreign country is considered within the framework of UHI provisions under the Law, number 5510. One important condition to be aware of is that the person must reside in Turkey for at least one year in order to qualify. After one year, the person must start paying for a UHI premium. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a citizenship number.
[HH] How much will you pay for UHI?
If you are registered as an UHI premium holder, you must pay 166 Turkish Liras every month regularly. After being registered by the Social Security Institution, you can pay premiums at any bank.
[HH] Treatment process according to UHI provisions
As an UHI holder, you can apply it to both private and public hospitals. After the health care service is provided, costs are billed by the hospital to the Social Security Institution. UHI holders or dependants can receive free health service from public hospitals. But when applied to private hospitals, they are required to pay additional fees.
[HH] For emergencies
In emergency health problems, no matter if insured or uninsured, you can apply directly to hospitals in Turkey. All hospitals (private or public) have to serve in such cases. Do not pay any fees for emergency medical services.
[HH] Which insurance is more advantageous for foreigners?
As explained above, both private and universal health insurances have some advantages. Both systems are compared below:
– The application and registration process is easy for private health insurance, or PHI. But with UHI, you need to fulfill numerous requirements.
– The health care quality service of PHI is higher than UHI.
– You can choose the most appropriate insurance package for your budget with PHI. But with UHI, you cannot choose.
– According to UHI provisions you must reside in Turkey for at least one year to have the right to be holder. But you can buy any PHI package at any time.
– Whatever your age or family situation, your UHI premiums are kept at a fixed rate. But with PHI, the amount you pay can change depending on your marital status, number of people in your family, etc.
When taking into account the comparison above, especially in terms of bureaucratic procedures, PHI seems to be more advantageous.
Hurriyet Daily News /18.12.2009
If are living in Turkey for work or for any other reason, do you know what to do in case you get ill? How will you pay the medical expenses? Which hospitals serve foreigners? What do you do in case of an emergency? If you do not know the answers, this article is for you.
[HH] Do you have private health insurance?
Foreigners who live in Turkey can have private health insurance. Acquiring private health insurance has significant advantages in terms of health care quality. The most important being that you do not have to go to public hospitals. In Turkey, many private hospitals have agreements with international insurance companies. Thus, when insured, you can apply to the hospitals you prefer. In this case, depending on the coverage of your insurance policy, treatment costs will be covered by the insurance company.
[HH] Do you not have private health insurance?
If you don’t have private health insurance, Universal Health Insurance, or UHI, applies to you. But there are certain conditions for it. According to Law number 5510: “Foreigners who aren’t insured according to a foreign legislation and have a residence permit in Turkey, are considered insured under Universal Health Insurance. But a reciprocity principle is taken into consideration in granting that right.” Under this condition, a person who has a residence permit in Turkey and is not insured in a foreign country is considered within the framework of UHI provisions under the Law, number 5510. One important condition to be aware of is that the person must reside in Turkey for at least one year in order to qualify. After one year, the person must start paying for a UHI premium. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a citizenship number.
[HH] How much will you pay for UHI?
If you are registered as an UHI premium holder, you must pay 166 Turkish Liras every month regularly. After being registered by the Social Security Institution, you can pay premiums at any bank.
[HH] Treatment process according to UHI provisions
As an UHI holder, you can apply it to both private and public hospitals. After the health care service is provided, costs are billed by the hospital to the Social Security Institution. UHI holders or dependants can receive free health service from public hospitals. But when applied to private hospitals, they are required to pay additional fees.
[HH] For emergencies
In emergency health problems, no matter if insured or uninsured, you can apply directly to hospitals in Turkey. All hospitals (private or public) have to serve in such cases. Do not pay any fees for emergency medical services.
[HH] Which insurance is more advantageous for foreigners?
As explained above, both private and universal health insurances have some advantages. Both systems are compared below:
– The application and registration process is easy for private health insurance, or PHI. But with UHI, you need to fulfill numerous requirements.
– The health care quality service of PHI is higher than UHI.
– You can choose the most appropriate insurance package for your budget with PHI. But with UHI, you cannot choose.
– According to UHI provisions you must reside in Turkey for at least one year to have the right to be holder. But you can buy any PHI package at any time.
– Whatever your age or family situation, your UHI premiums are kept at a fixed rate. But with PHI, the amount you pay can change depending on your marital status, number of people in your family, etc.
When taking into account the comparison above, especially in terms of bureaucratic procedures, PHI seems to be more advantageous.
Hurriyet Daily News /18.12.2009
