Teaching Abroad: The Health Issue...

Notes from the General Manager:

In the US, a woman donated her kidney to her boss, and was fired shortly after the operation.  According to the suit filed by the NY Human Rights Division, Deborah Stevens worked at the Atlantic Automotive Group, but returned to work with nerve damage due to the surgery, was berated for taking sick days and then fired by the boss who had benefited. I wonder if she will sue to take the kidney back?

I have been in the US all week helping my disabled parents move house, and to celebrate the 80^th box packed and unpacked, we went out to a local chain restaurant.  We got to chatting with the waitress about health issues (as you do when you are with your elderly parents- it’s unavoidable) and she mentioned that she has no health coverage because it’s too expensive.  She is one of almost 40 million working Americans in this situation and it occurred to me that medical care is one of the many unrecognised perks of working abroad.

International schools usually provide some form of medical coverage to their staff. Whether it’s as simple as an agreement that they will pay your medical bills, or a government issued medical card or even top of the line, gold-plated expatriate medical insurance such as Bupa Gold, it’s always worth asking about even if it’s not a make-or-break decision point for most teachers.   There are a couple of questions to ask, again not because you will walk away,  but so that you can plan ahead. 

1.    Does your medical coverage cover me when I am travelling or back home on summer break?

2.    Does your medical coverage cover my xyz pre-existing condition?

3.    Is the coverage for emergencies only or preventative care?

4.    Is there a co-payment (a fee charged to you at the time of medical service), and what is it?

The thought of needing medical attention abroad is scary for most teachers because they don’t know whether they will find a half-mad, nominally-trained witch doctor or a glistening state of the art medical facility with good food. Most imagine the former.   I can say that in my experience, for most common problems, and problems common to the area, teachers find that they are well cared for. I was talking to the head of HR of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools in Kazakhstan last week who had a stroke last month whilst working in Astana, and he said he had never had such great treatment. The doctors were speedy, highly trained and spoke flawless English and when he had his doctors from Belfast review the files, they said “we couldn’t have done any better”. And he didn’t pay a cent for it.

Now I’m not saying that you should go abroad to get your ailments treated. This is not an opportunity for medical tourism. Schools are hiring you to work and if you are too sick to work they can easily send you back, especially during your probationary period when your teaching, attendance and attitude are being carefully evaluated.  On top of this, many insurance policies don’t cover pre-existing conditions and most countries require some form of medical check before your visa can be issued, which screens for many things such as HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis as well as other chronic ailments.

The best idea, of course, is to stay healthy, but if you should need medical attention whilst working internationally, you will be far better off than my waitress and 40 million other Americans.

A man walks into a doctor's office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. "What's the matter with me?" he asks the doctor.

The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly."

Wishing you the best of health,

Diane Jacoutot

General Manager