Lost track of this post…
Sorry to get back so late, but it’s never too late to say thank you, right?
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with me!
Well, I started seeing a doctor at Shanghai United Family and didn’t want to change.
The guys at United Family told me MSH is “the best” insurance company there is in Shanghai.
So, I was happy to hear that, which matched what a poster had said on this thread (see /profile/98-kate1504/?do=hovercard” data-mentionid=”98″ href=”<___base_url___>/profile/98-kate1504/” rel=””>>@kate1504 above).
What I have learned so far is that it depends 100% on the type of plan you have.
If it’s a good, comprehensive plan, MSH can be “the best”, as /profile/98-kate1504/?do=hovercard” data-mentionid=”98″ href=”<___base_url___>/profile/98-kate1504/” rel=””>>@kate1504 described above.
If your plan is standard, it can be “the worst” as /profile/95-drsubaru/?do=hovercard” data-mentionid=”95″ href=”<___base_url___>/profile/95-drsubaru/” rel=””>>@drsubaru described…
My plan is standard and they gave me this HUGE list of hospitals where I have 100% coverage with direct billing and prescriptions FULLY covered.
At what they call “deluxe”, high-cost medical facilities, I have 60% reimbursement with NO direct billing.
Bad news is United Family, Parkway, Sino United and East International are all “deluxe” clinics.
So, I tried to go to two of the best hospitals on their list, according to the Chinese owner of the company my husband and I work for: Huashan and Guanci.
At Guanci, NOONE speaks English, so it was a no-no from the start.
At Huashan, they actually have a Worldwide Medical Center, a completely separate international part of the hospital, on the 8th floor.
Trying to do what the Chinese owners had suggested when I complained the plan didn’t cover United Family, I tried to see a doctor in Huashan, although the lady to whom I talked on the phone to get directions to the clinic was very discouraging.
When I got there, the receptionists were really nasty and didn’t want to book me an appointment no matter what I said.
They said if I didn’t have a serious disease, they couldn’t make an appointment for me.
When I tried to make an appointment to see an OBGYN, they told me the doctor only comes on Tuesday afternoons and is very busy. I said: fine, make an appointment for me to see him when he has an opening.
After a lot of yelling in Chinese between themselves, one of the ladies said I should leave, because they would not make an appointment for me because the doctor doesn’t speak English well…
I couldn’t believe they were actually throwing me out of the hospital and then one of the three receptionists gave me a piece of paper with the name of the hospital she said I had to go to: Sino United (one of the ones where I don’t have 100% coverage).
After this not so pleasant experience, I’m back to United Family and will include the 40% of the bill that is not reimbursed by MSH in an expense report this month.
Let’s see what the witch-lady from the Financial Department has to say about that…
I’ll keep you posted…
