Hey OP 👋 I think it depends a lot on what kind of retirement you're planning, where your residency will be, and where in the Philippines you want to live. If you're retiring from a regular employer, I'd first check whether they offer any kind of international retiree coverage. Some do, but you might have to pay upfront overseas and then file for reimbursement. By snail mail. If you're doing something more like FIRE, working only until you've saved enough to quit, then yeah, you're probably looking at private insurance. Personally, I'd look at PhilHealth paired with something like Pacific Cross, then compare that with international plans. PhilHealth won't replace good private coverage, but it can still help with some costs. The biggest thing to watch in the Philippines is PECs (pre-existing conditions). Private insurers can medically underwrite you, impose long waiting periods (up to 3 years), exclude certain conditions entirely, or price things differently depending on the policy and your medical history. I'd start looking into all that well before retirement instead of waiting until you're older with more medical history. I'd also ask where you plan to retire. Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Roxas City or somewhere more provincial makes a huge difference. Healthcare in the Philippines isn't just an insurance question, it's an access question too. Being 20 minutes from a major private hospital and specialists is very different from being a plane ride away. Do you have a spouse or partner? 🤔 That matters too. Whether they'll have employer or retiree coverage, or whether you'll need to plan healthcare costs and an emergency fund together. Another option, depending on your health and finances, is PhilHealth plus some private coverage, and keeping a decent medical emergency fund. Some people also set aside enough that if something really serious happens, they can go to Thailand or elsewhere in the region for treatment. We all know basic outpatient care in the Philippines is still fairly cheap. It's hospitalization where they get you, practically asking for your firstborn. 😂 Still, take this with a grain of salt, or rather a grain of rice, because a lot can change depending on how far off retirement is and which administration gets elected. My wife and I already have a home there with solar, though we're not fully off-grid. Even so, we're starting to question whether the Philippines is still worth it overall, because it's not what it used to be. Healthcare isn't much of a worry for us right now, since we also live outside the Philippines and are covered by Tricare. If you're still several years from retiring, I'd worry less about picking the “best” insurer today and more about where you want to live, which hospitals and specialists are nearby, whether you'll have a spouse or partner in the picture, and what coverage you'll realistically need when the time comes. Hope this helps. This was brought to you by the rare occur…

My take: live near a good hospital, get PhilHealth (6k a year), go in for regular checkups and treatment at the hospital (very cheap), and put 300k in the bank for medical emergencies. Lose weight, exercise, quit smoking and drinking. Be happy. Die when you get old 🤷

My family here has Pacific Cross. We've had to use it several times, and it's saved us about 230,000 in hospital costs. We researched local insurers a lot and PC came out on top.

PhilHealth + William Russel (UK)

I have UnitedHealthcare (UHC) as my US Medicare provider… and I use their SafeTrip policy. 6 months. $500.