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Having lived most of my live in Europe, an illusory world where free health care and a state of good health reign supreme, getting medical attention was never one of my worries. In fact, I traveled half around the world without even thinking about the need to get health insurance.
It wasn’t until I moved to Asia that I realized the luck I had had during my travels.
Why do I need health insurance when traveling in Vietnam?
Health or travelers assistance insurance is not a requirement for Vietnam or for the majority of Asian countries, so you can go there without insurance no problem. However, cross your fingers that you don’t get sick or become the victim of an accident. Truth be told, these days I prefer not to tempt fate more than I have already done up until now.
The problem with living in a country where hospitals are publicly financed and non-profit is that you don’t realize how expensive medical treatment can be.
Hospitals in Vietnam – like in the majority of counties – are not NGOs and are completely oriented towards profit. Nobody will care for you unless you can pay upfront or you are covered by adequate health insurance.
When I say that if you don’t pay, nobody will help you, I’m not talking about chump change. International hospitals in Vietnam (the only ones where doctors and nurses speak some English) tend to be very expensive, and at times cost even more than in the United States (which are already particularly expensive). We are talking about more than 100 euros for an appointment with a specialist, multiple hundreds for a stomach pump, or tens of thousands for more serious problems such as surgery followed by a multiple day hospital stay.
If you do a bit of research online, I am sure that you will unearth horrible stories of foreign tourists whose families have gone bankrupt, or who have been left to die, just because they were not covered by health insurance, or didn’t have the money to pay for the treatment.
I don’t think that when you travel, you put aside 10,000 euros just in case something happens to you, and therefore I suggest that you take out a quality health insurance policy before going to Vietnam or wherever else.
Hospitals in Vietnam
In Vietnam, just like in the majority of Asian countries, there are two main types of hospitals:
Public hospitals
While treatment in public hospitals in Vietnam tends to be much less expensive, these hospitals have multiple problems. Public hospitals in Vietnam in general have facilities, hygienic conditions and equipment which is very lacking, and which is far behind any Western standards. The main reason for this is the lack of financing and an almost collapsed public health system. In addition, the other main problem is that doctors and nurses are unable to speak a single word of English.
If that’s not enough, in Vietnam, it is common to pay extra money to doctors and nurses so that they take care of you. Don’t expect the nurse in a public hospital to give you a wheelchair and push you to go get X-rays even if you have two broken legs. If you don’t pay for it, you will have to drag yourself to the x-ray room.
If these aren’t enough reasons to not go, prepare to fight in overburdened hospital wait lines and endure a complete lack of privacy. This situation gets much worse outside of large cities.
International hospitals
The majority of international hospitals in Vietnam, although not all of them, meet international quality standards, and offer service which is comparable to what you can find in the West. In these hospitals, the doctors and nurses are capable of speaking English, whether because they are foreigners or because they are locals who have studied outside of Vietnam.
The other advantage of international hospitals is that you won’t have to fight or wait in long lines to be attended.
Considering that the majority of expats who live in Vietnam (their main customers) have health insurance with very broad coverage, these hospitals take advantage of this fact to inflate bills, which at times can end up being exaggerated.
In addition to the price, international hospitals have the disadvantage that they are almost all found in the two main cities of the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, which means that if you are traveling around the country and have an accident or get sick, you may have to travel long distances to be able to access medical attention with certain quality standards.
To conclude, if you don’t speak Vietnamese, you probably want to end up in an international hospital, especially if you are seriously ill. Considering the prices of treatments and consultations in these hospitals, it’s a good idea to have health insurance, or at least a lot of savings.
Main international hospitals
Ho Chi Minh
- Centre Medical International
Address: 1, Han Thuyen, Ho Chi Minh
Telephone: +974 4466 6009
Website: http://cmi-vietnam.com/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00
- Family Medical Practice
Address: 34, Le Duan Street, District 1
Telephone: +84 838227848
Website: http://vietnammedicalpractice.com/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00
- Franco-Vietnamese Hospital
Address: 6, Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Saigon South (Phu My Hung), District 7
Telephone: +84 854113333
Website: http://fvhospital.com/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 14:00 to 20:00
Hanoi
- Family Medical Practice
Address: 298, I Kim Ma Street, Van Phuc Compound, Dinh District
Telephone: +84 438430748
Website: http://vietnammedicalpractice.com/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00
- Hanoi French Hospital
Address: 1, Phuong Mai, Dong Da District
Telephone: +84 435771100
Website: http://en.hfh.com.vn/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 14:00 to 20:00
Danang
- Family Medical Practice
Address: 50-52, Nguyen Van Linh Street, Hai Chau District
Telephone: +84 5113582699
Website: http://vietnammedicalpractice.com/
Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00
What insurance do we recommend?
For short stays and trips, we recommend World Nomads because of its flexibility (you can choose the duration of the policy), its international coverage (if you travel to other countries on top of Vietnam, you will be covered), the fact that you can buy it online even after having left your country (many companies don’t allow this; either you buy the insurance before leaving or you can’t buy it), and you can buy it even if you are no longer a resident in your country. World Nomads also has a reasonable price, and the opinions of its community are more than positive.
Keep in mind that World Nomads is not particularly appropriate for expats (without health coverage). The reason is that with World Nomads, if you have a serious health problem, they will send you back to your country, where you benefit from national health coverage (for example, social security in Europe). Therefore, if you no longer have health coverage in your former country of residence, World Nomads may not be the best option.
The only disadvantage that I have found is that it’s a bit more expensive than the cheapest insurance plans (66 euros per month instead of 55), but I have to say that the conditions of coverage are without a doubt much better than those of the insurance policies that cost 10 euros less.
What should a good health insurance policy cover?
First of all, a good health insurance policy has to cover all medical costs (tests, hospitalization, visits, surgery), emergency transportation, repatriation, and medication.
After that, a good policy should also cover civil liability. This means that if you cause personal or material damages, it covers the costs. Keep in mind that if you get drunk and destroy a bar, or you beat someone up, no insurance is prepared to pay for the damages you cause. It all depends on the circumstances surrounding the “accident.”
On top of that, insurance may come with some interesting extras, like payment in the event of the cancellation or interruption of the trip, coverage for accidents while participating in extreme sports (for example, standard insurance policies in general don’t cover you if you hurt yourself while bungee jumping, while World Nomads offers you this possibility) or payment in the event of the theft or loss of personal property, such as your luggage, passport, camera or laptop.
Regardless of the insurance company you choose, before anything else, I recommend that you closely read the details on their website or in the contract so that you understand in which cases you will be covered and in which ones you won’t (existing illnesses stated in the policy and accidents while drunk, for example). Each policy is different, which makes it impossible to include all of the possible options in an article such as this one.
Click here to view the prices and conditions of coverage offered by World Nomads.
What to do if you need medical attention
[Disclaimer: We don’t work for an insurance company. The advice int his article is purely based on personal experience. You are advised to talk to the insurance agent of the company you choose so that you know the best way to act in the event of need].
First of all, it is very important to always have the emergency number for your insurance on hand as well as your policy number (this will be given to you at the time of purchase), whether on your cell phone or in your wallet with the name “ICE health insurance.” ICE is an acronym which means “In Case of Emergency.”
If you are unlucky enough to be the victim of an accident and are unable to communicate, any paramedic assisting you will check your telephone and/or your wallet to try to find out if you have health insurance, and “ICE health insurance” is the best way to make them understand that this is the number they have to call.
If you are in conditions in which you can call the insurance company yourself, call the emergency number that your insurance company provided to you before going to a hospital. This is very important, because the insurance company will tell you which hospitals it has an agreement with, and if you go to a hospital without calling, your insurance company may refuse to pay.
If you need to be picked up by an ambulance, in Vietnam, the emergency number is 115. Nonetheless, this service is famous for being slow and for its precarious assistance materials. In addition, only on few occasions can the paramedics speak English. Keep in mind that in large cities, international hospitals have their own ambulance service which is much more efficient and with better equipment. Obviously, the other option is to take a taxi directly to the hospital.
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*For Canadian and US residents, unfortunately due to financial services laws, World Nomads cannot provide a discount. This promotional code cannot be used with any other discount offer, including World Nomads Members’ discount for travel insurance policy holders.
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