money problems in paradise...

[chikahdorah 0]

i am a nurse, and 10,0000$ (more or less 400,000 pesos!! for a motorcycle incident is crazzzzyyy... Yes good medical here is costly. BUT, on the first place, why would your fiancee's family go to an expensive hosp such as st. lukes when they can go to a public hospital. i mean, Maybe they should have thought about expense too.

Lets say her brother will undergo ORIF, ORIF costs like less than 150,000Pesos (total) in a public hospital. I dont have anything against private hosp, infact they are the best. But public is not that bad, he will also get treated there.

What kind of surgery is her brother supposed to undergo anyway?

OP, ask your fiancee what hospital her brother is admitted. And from there you can ask how much a particular surgery cost, dr's fee, room fee. pigmonk is right, if he is in public hospital, it will be a lot cheaper than $10k..

[hellINTIM 9]

I had motor accident 10 years ago it was pretty bad it cost us around 100k pesos for hospital bills , medicine around 30k pesos, therapist around 50k pesos we can say all expenses will be around 200-250k pesos that was 10 years ago.

But guess what if ur fiancé families don't have money to pay the hospital they can always go to welfare . We have enough money to pay the hospital bill but my mom ask for help in welfare so we can pay the therapist .

Welfare granted us 75% of the hospital bills and then I asked my doctor if he can help me too . He gave me 20% off for dr pay. Overall my mom only payed around 10k pesos.

If your fiancé family not shy to ask for her help (if they asked her for help) they won't bother to asked welfare too ...

I'm just saying .....

Oh btw I went to Philippines orthopedic that Is public hospital ... We asked private hospital the near to my town the dr said it will cost us almost the same except they are nearer than Philippine ortho.

Edited December 18, 2012 by .MythaG-

[pigmonk 16]

well, i asked a Doctor from PGH, Dr. cabatingan, he said it depends on the surgery you are to undergo. in PGH, all you need to pay is the doctors fee who will operate, anesthetist, and meds. In Leyte province where i was once assigned a year ago, its also a public hospital, more then 300,000 pesos for such is unbelievable.

[chikahdorah 0]

I had motor accident 10 years ago it was pretty bad it cost us around 100k pesos for hospital bills , medicine around 30k pesos, therapist around 50k pesos we can say all expenses will be around 200-250k pesos that was 10 years ago.

But guess what if ur fiancé families don't have money to pay the hospital they can always go to welfare . We have enough money to pay the hospital bill but my mom ask for help in welfare so we can pay the therapist .

Welfare granted us 75% of the hospital bills and then I asked my doctor if he can help me too . He gave me 20% off for dr pay. Overall my mom only payed around 10k pesos.

If your fiancé family not shy to ask for her help (if they asked her for help) they won't bother to asked welfare too ...

I'm just saying .....

Oh btw I went to Philippines orthopedic that Is public hospital ... We asked private hospital the near to my town the dr said it will cost us almost the same except they are nearer than Philippine ortho.

really? 200k 10 years ago is like 500k now.. I dont think it will cost like that in a public hospital. my friend from Davao who undergo brain surgery last 2 years was only asked 100k as dr's fee.. some meds are free. no room fee.

For the OP, do what is right. You should help them as they will become your family too soon. But don't put yourself on debts. Prioritize.

[hellINTIM 9]

they put a stainless thingy in my legs they called it Anthena bcoz it looks like TV anthena. my 2 bones in my legs was broken and i lost some muscles also.. they called it open fractured communited thingy.. the stainless itself cost 20k already. motor accident is expensive if they going to put stainless in your bone.

[chikahdorah 0]

they put a stainless thingy in my legs they called it Anthena bcoz it looks like TV anthena. my 2 bones in my legs was broken and i lost some muscles also.. they called it open fractured communited thingy.. the stainless itself cost 20k already. motor accident is expensive if they going to put stainless in your bone.

yes you are right. The stainless thing now cost more than 20K. it's Comminuted fracture.

Edited December 18, 2012 by chikahdorah

[hellINTIM 9]

yes you are right. The stainless thing now cost more than 20K.

yap...

OP dont get fool yes motor accident is expensive but it doesnt means pay it all... :bonk:

[Darnell 8,478]

I offer these up for your reading pleasure..

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/338298-arguments-about-sending-money-back-home/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/330398-help-with-mama/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/332742-sending-money-to-the-family-back-in-the-phils/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/322507-best-way-to-teach-my-filipina-to-budget/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/291307-filipina-wife-issuesadvice-please/

Have a longish read..

[pigmonk 16]

yap...

OP dont get fool yes motor accident is expensive but it doesnt means pay it all... :bonk:

:thumbs:

[John&Juvy 36]

We dont know, But maybe the OP's fiancee wasn't asking the whole amount of the money to pay for the surgery of her brother. She was probably just told him if how much is the total cost of the surgery. IMO, just give what ever you can only afford, I'm sure they will appriciate any help from you.

Hopefully the brother will be ok...

Edited December 18, 2012 by John&Juvy

[Tahoma 2,292]

But guess what if ur fiancé families don't have money to pay the hospital they can always go to welfare .

^^^ I agree, if the family does not have the money to pay the hospital, they should talk to the social worker at the hospital. The social worker will help them get a deep discount on the bill. Find out the discounted price before you send any money to the family.

[Juliet and Steve 93]

(Steve here) As a registered nurse (RN) by trade, frankly, I'm conufsed. (As was pigmonk) Few surgeries in RP cost 420,000PHP. Triple bypass (CABG) does cost about 840,000PHP and the price is similar for a kidney transplant, and that's at St. Luke's probably the highest cost hospital in RP. And for the person who stated that heart surgery cost US$40,000 well, I remember Juliet saying no to a fella as we got off the ferry between Cebu and Bohol and when I said: "Why'd you tell the cabbie no?" Well, she said "He wanted 400 peso for the fare, we'll walk around the corner and it'll be 120 peso", so I don't doubt you, but frankly whoever paid that much probably didn't need to because it should have cost one half or one quarter that much. See: http://www.phc.gov.ph/services/treatment.php or google using keywords "cabg triple-bypass and philippine cost"

I find myself asking what kind of surgery will cost this fellow 420,000PHP that has not already killed him? Though I'll admit it can be possible with muliple fractures especially involving the hip and if he's bound up like a mummy that might be the case.

If it were me I'd want to know quite a lot more about just what this surgery is and I'd want to hear about it from a doctor, not from a famuily member. And I'd absolutely want any money to be sent to be transferred to a medical facility--not to a family member. I might try to find a local doctor outside the hospital and pay the fellow a few hundred $US to go visit, and simply act as a go-between. It may be a few hundred well spent.

Consider this: The average salary for a RN in the Phils is $406 per month. (2004 was the most recent that I could find a good list, I'm sure it's more today) Thus $10,000 is as much as a professional nurse working in Manila makes is 69 years. The average salary for an engineer is $406US/month, thus this surgery would use up the entire 24 years of income for a professional engineer working in Manila. The point here is that if this were the child of an engineer or an RN--he/she would be extremely hard pressed to be able to pay for it.

I cringe to say it but even the "round number" of ten thousand dollars raises a red flag for me. Note: I'm not saying you are being fleeced, a red flag is a warning--not a conviction.

As far as suggestions of pay a portion, uh--I'm not sure that's wise. If 420,000PHP is truly necessary for a string of ortho (bone) surgeries, what good is sending 50,000PHP going to do? Maybe fix one leg and leave the broken hip and back still fractured?

Juliet and I have already discussed that aspect of finance. I can afford $200/month to go to the support of her family. That's her job--to be a good daughter--to support the family, that's the way it is in RP. And $200/month is more than her entire income would be if she was a professional RN working at a major hospital. ( If at some time she starts working (and that's up to her) she can then send as much as she wants. But Juliet is wise, one reason that I adore her, and she has already seen what happens when her sister sends "too much." And so one brother has turned into a vegetable instead of finding whatever job he can and what good is that? It's all a balancing act.

As far as "emergencies" we've discussed that too--I brought it up and my take is that when she is here we'll put $100 a month inta a savings account and let it grow for eventual emergencies that will undoudtedly materialize. Then we will use it based upon triage.

Triage: (from thefreedictionary.com)

1. A process for sorting injured people into groups based on their need for or likely benefit from immediate medical treatment. Triage is used in hospital emergency rooms, on battlefields, and at disaster sites when limited medical resources must be allocated.

2. A system used to allocate a scarce commodity, such as food, only to those capable of deriving the greatest benefit from it.

It's a rough place to be especially as it's her brother, and I hope it all works out for the best in the end. It truly is hard for many of us to come to the realization that in RP if you don't have the cash, there are times when it is simple: you die, or suffer till you do.

And as an American who just yesterday got notice that my job is gone as of Jan 11th--along with my medical insurance I wonder how soon the same scenario (pay up or die) will be coming to America. (And yes I'm taking Obamacare into account when I say that). Be careful--help if you can, but remember money gone today may be money that you need for your spouse or child in the future. Good luck.

[Karee 4,190]

I don't know about PI, but the "my brother got in a motorbike accident" line is among the top 3 in Thailand of ways to scam money from foreigners. Maybe #1. A few others, farm tractor is broken down, buffalo is sick or died.

I knew girls in Thailand that would send the same story to 5 different foreigners around the world for $. I'm not saying this is the case with your situation, but as soon as I saw motorbike and brother, it brought back memories.

[Tahoma 2,292]

And I'd absolutely want any money to be sent to be transferred to a medical facility--not to a family member.

As far as suggestions of pay a portion, uh--I'm not sure that's wise. If 420,000PHP is truly necessary for a string of ortho (bone) surgeries, what good is sending 50,000PHP going to do? Maybe fix one leg and leave the broken hip and back still fractured?

^^^ I agree, send money to the hospital...not the family.

Note: The hospital will treat all of the brother's injuries. The bill will come later. Then, if the bill isn't paid, the hospital might not let the brother leave. However, the family may be able to get the social worker to have the bill reduced to Php50,000.

[hellINTIM 9]

^^^ I agree, send money to the hospital...not the family.

Note: The hospital will treat all of the brother's injuries. The bill will come later. Then, if the bill isn't paid, the hospital might not let the brother leave. However, the family may be able to get the social worker to have the bill reduced to Php50,000.

:thumbs:

correct, and if the injuries is totally damage like mine . they will tell u to stay at least a week or so in hospital,. in those time maybe his family can find another way to pay the bills. I stayed at hospital for 21 days...... i argued to my dr to let me out bcoz i cant take to stay in hospital anymore..