One of the greatest concerns facing expatriates in Indonesia and visitors is the adeqacy of medical facilities and the safety provided by their medical insurance. Mike Woolf of InterGlobal provides some answers:

What is InterGlobal and why would it be of interest to expatriates in Indonesia?
InterGlobal is an award winning international private medical insurance company with our head office in the UK. We have representative offices in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, South Africa and the UK.

InterGlobal medical insurance plans have been available in Indonesia for the past 5 years through a successful partnership with PT Asurani Rama Satria Wibawa. With a team of 15 dedicated staff based in our Jakarta office, we are able to provide full customer services and most importantly claims assessments and payment approvals for prompt settlement. Our policy holders are able to receive professional adivce locally without having to phone overseas.

What sort of problems do expats living in Indonesia face medically and how can you help solve them?
The fear of not receiving the best or even adequate medical treatment should illness or accidents happen. There is a preception amongst many expatriates that medical care in Indonesia is well below international standard and therefore most major medical treatments are taken overseas. Though there are some good hospitals in Indonesia, there appears a lack of discipline and standard protocols that exist in more developed countries which can lead to poor diagnosis, post surgical infection and the need for prolonged treatment.

Therefore, many expatriates seek treatment overseas with Singapore being the most popular destination due to its proximity to Indonesia and its reputation as a centre of medical excellence. However, the cost of treatment in Singapore has become very expensive over the past 2years with the abolishment of the Singapore Medical Association Guideline on Fees. This is where InterGlobal helps. We provide a wide range of benefits designed to cover treatment anywhere in the world to cover the most expensive medical treatment centres. We are also able to issue payment guarantees to hospitals and coordinate your admission and discharge thus avoiding the necessity of policy holders to fund their own costs whilst waiting for their medical insurance claim to be approved.

How can a person or a company really plan to cover the worst case senario medically?
Most international plans have very high limits but these are very rarely reached. In fact our largest claim in Indonesia just exceeded US $ 250,000 that was as a result of a serious road accident. We have experienced a number of claims over US $100,000 but most are upward of US $ 20,000. Many companies tend to purchase medical insurance for their expatriate staff and local senior management staff to cover the costs of in-patient treatment. However, certain out-patient treatments can be very expensive. We had a cancer claim where the treatment was taken as out-patient and the cost was in excess of US $50,000. We also had and out-patient claim where a prescribed course of injections cost US $4,500.

To cover most scenarios, my advice is to buy a plan that covers both in and out-patient treatment. We have four plans with various limits. For employee groups, we are able to design a plan to meet a company's budget.

Is getting adequate coverage easy? We often hear of cases where claims have been turned down because of "pre-existing conditions". Doesn't everyone have them?
Getting coverage is easy- you only need to complete an application form and pay the premium. There is no need for a medical check-up or pre medical questionnaire. Like all medical insurance plans we do exclude pre-exsisting medical conditions (PEC) and obtaining coverage for them can be difficult. However, we only exclude medical conditions that have arisen in the 2 years prior to application and if these conditions do not arise in the first 2 years ("Moratorium period") of our plans, we will look to cover them in the 3rd year and beyond. For an example, if you rhad symptoms 3years ago, this would not be PEC. Likewise if you had symptoms last year, this would be a PEC but eligible for cover in the 3rd year if symptoms had not arisen in the first 2 years of our plan. Many insurers do have a lifetime exclusion but with our "Moratorium", we can include PEC's in the 3rd year.

What happens if someone gets ill here? What should they do? Who should they call? You or the hospital? 
Even though I am not a doctor, I do sometimes get the first call! Having been here (in Indonesia) for over 20 years I am often asked where is the "best  place to go". The choice of doctor, clinic, and hospital  including location rests with the member at all times. However, InterGlobal policy holders do enjoy special privileges. For routine out-patient treatment we have "cashless" services with SOS Medika, Global Assistance and Medikaloka in Indonesia and the Pacific Healthcare Group in Singapore.

Now if it is serious and the treating doctor recommends hospital admittance, you can contact the 24 hour alarm centre at International SOS in Jakarta. They will then arrangee admission (local or overseas) and the placement of a Letter of Payment Guarentee (LOGS) with the hospital and clinics, if the treatment is covered by a members plan.

If someone has to be medivaced, what happens then?
The first call is made to the International SOS alarm centre. They will then make the necessary arrangements to ensure the patient is stabilized before any evacuation takes place. Sometimes moving patients causes more harm than good. Each case is treated on its merits. Most patients are taken to Singapore as it is considered the closest centre for quality care but if you are working in eastern Indonesia, a trip to either Darwin or Perth is likely.