What do you associate with Switzerland? It's a word that will conjure up a fair few images that are common to many of us. And some of these are bound to include things like cuckoo clocks, quality chocolate, clean air, clean streets, expensive designer shops, mountains etc.

Being one of the smaller nations though, there aren't all that many famous names that you instantly associate with the country - Roger Federer, Ursula Andress, errr .... Another thing that people associate with Switzerland is its healthcare, which is widely regarded to be one of the best and is often held up as a model of excellence.

And while the Swiss system is envied the world over, it doesn't appear to be all that expensive. Indeed, a smaller percentage of GDP is spent on healthcare in Switzerland than in, for example, the United States of America - meaning that the former currently gets quite a lot of coverage in the media of the latter.

 People in Switzerland compulsorily pay basic medical insurance which is known as the following:
 Soziale Kranken Versicherung (German)
Assurance maladie (French)
Assicurazione mallatie (Italian)

 What this means is that depending on what treatment is required, some or all of the cost is paid when a Swiss national goes into hospital. However if the patient isn't fully covered they will pay towards their treatment. In some cases foreign nationals (who are staying short term) may have treatment covered under a reciprocal agreement between nations.

 Switzerland, with its long history of cutting edge pharmaceuticals and precision machinery, also has a large private medical sector, with the larger cities often providing very high quality facilities. However, if you have private medical insurance you may not be covered for treatment in high cost facilities - it's best to check with your insurance provider to get all the information first.

Companies providing international health insurance provide a lot of support to customers abroad including up to date information on outbreaks and security issues. Would you retire to or go to work in Switzerland, or do you prefer it as holiday destination?

Expats in Rome

Of all the cities in the world, Rome has to be one of the most beguiling. And in many ways it's the city most central to Europe's history. We'll be doing a post on Italy and healthcare in the near future, in the meantime here's a short video about this amazing city:

International healthcare summary: South Africa

Given its distinctly un-British weather (some sun, in other words), its compatible time zone, and a reputation for diverse and vibrant cultural life, it's no wonder that South Africa is a popular destination for UK people looking to live abroad.

There are upwards of 200 000 British expats in South Africa, and the country is a regular fixture in the top ten lists of the places British people emigrate to. Sunshine and beautiful countryside - obviously - are a given, but what about the South African healthcare system?

Like many countries, South Africa's healthcare system is split between public and private provision - with the majority of health professionals working in the private sector. The public health sector is widely reported as being overstretched. Recently, moves have been made towards the introduction of a universal health care system with a pilot scheme being introduced during spring of this year and hopes of the project being rolled out fully over the next fourteen years.

In contrast, private healthcare in SA is regarded as being the best there is out of any of the African nations - with some of the more hi-tech facilities in cities such as Johannesburg being described as impressive.

Obviously, with the country's healthcare system at the time being very much more balanced towards the private sector, finding the right private medical insurance is a must-do for expatriates. Making sure you're covered to the right level is also very important, to ensure not just peace of mind but to avoid paying upfront charges for any treatment you may require.

One of the benefits of international health insurance - easily available online - is that it's quick and easy to set up, and even if you're far from home you have can have the assurance that support is there when it's needed most.

Wiring cash internationally: how fast though?

In these days of high speed broadband internet access and online services for just about anything you could imagine, the idea sending a cheque anywhere seems like a dim and distant memory from times far past. Like opening a can of Coca-Cola and not knowing what to do with the detached portion of the ring pull.

So you'd think that remittances would flow internationally at lightning speed these days. A press of a button on a smartphone here resulting in - a microsecond later - the virtual "ching ching" of a a virtual cash register (or other coffer) elsewhere. But that's not always the case, according to an interesting article published in the Telegraph this week by the newspaper's finance expert Liz Phillips.

In fact, according to Phillips' article, the fastest time ever - the world record, if you will - for transferring money overseas - is a not really all that fast 6 minutes 49 seconds. Don't get me wrong, this is still relatively impressive. If you could travel back in time and tell, say, HG Wells that remittance would one day be this speedy, he'd have thrown back his head and laughed in celebration at the awesomeness of future technology.

 But as the article points out, differences between banking systems and time zones mean that, in practice, getting the money from geographical location A to overseas geographical location B generally takes a fair bit longer, with same business day transactions often being about as quick as it gets.

But hey, maybe these are just the vagaries of the global village :)

International health cover for businesses: is there a knowledge gap?

HR & global management magazine Relocate recently reported on research findings carried out into international healthcare, looking at firms who have staff based overseas. The research is timely, since while there are already many UK nationals living and working abroad, there are high numbers of people who are either considering a move abroad, or who would move abroad for work if the chance arose. In fact, over a quarter of UK workers would move overseas to take up a better job, according to a BBC report last year. One of the most striking figures in Relocate magazine’s news article is that only 5% of the employers taking part in the survey believed they had a full understanding of international healthinsurance. Only 5%? I hear you ask... Well, the figure might seem quite low, but these things can be quite tricky to understand, so it's not altogether surprising that so few employers claim 100% knowledge of the subject. But given the differences in healthcare abroad - and the importance of having appropriate and adequate cover - the hope would be that generally even if the employer themselves doesn't fully understand the whys and wherefores, then at least the HR department or financial adviser to the employer would be versed in the intricacies of private health cover for employees working overseas. Most of the expatriate health insurance providers provide a range of options for customers and their websites may also have individual country guides with further info. It's also often worth talking to providers for more expert info on these products.

Kuwait healthcare conference

Here on the blog we're pretty interested in healthcare where the middle east is concerned. Lately there's been a lot of talk about Dubai's Heathcare City (note: link is in Spanish but you can translate it if you're using the Google Chrome browser) but what about the rest of the area? Thuis youtube video gives a glimpse as to what's happening in Kuwait:

Healthcare in Belgium: expatriate guide

There is, of course, that famous (and very, very old) joke that goes: I bet you can't name five famous Belgians.

Well, as a music fan and also a fan of Belgium my retort would be that Jacques Brel is probably worth five of your standard calibre celebrities alone. Belgium is famous for many things - being the capital of the European Union, fine beer, great mussels served with chips (moules frites), amazingly delicious waffles (gaufres) and also the diffent kinds of confectionary that really only the Belgians, the French and the Germans can do with such inimitable style and great taste.

 Belgium is also renowned for its healthcare system, which is regarded as being among the best in Europe, which is generally very good for healthcare all round. This is good news for prospective expatriates, since (along with education (for those with school-age children), acquiring the necessary level of proficiency in the local language, and cultural acclimatisation) it's one of the most important factors in any expatriate's list of things to get sorted.

 The Belgian healthcare system, like many others across the world, is split between public and private providers. The state scheme (French: "mutuelle", Flemish: "mutualiteit") is paid for by contributions to a health fund - there are various organisations responsible for these but the payments are fixed by the government. It is imperative for expatriates to make sure they have enough medical cover to ensure that any treatment they may require. This is because there may be part of the treatment that needs to be paid for and isn't reimbursed.

Most of the big insurers such as AXA PPP International and BUPA have websites with good information on private medical insurance for people either living abroad or intending to.