The Ecuador Insider

“We all are beautiful on the inside.” true but it sure feels good to look good on the outside.

In the USA, a trip to the beauty salon is a luxury enjoyed once every long while, but in Ecuador, a visit to the salon for many women is a weekly routine. Why? It is SO cheap comparatively. Here are some examples of current 2010 prices (All in USD):

Women’s hair cut: USA $30, Ecuador $9
Men’s Hair cut: USA $20, Ecuador $3-5

Hair coloring: USA $75, Ecuador $35
Highlights USA $90, Ecuador $40
Manicure: USA $16, Ecuador $5
Pedicure: USA $35, Ecuador $7-10

Facial: USA $90, Ecuador $10-20
Massage: USA $80, Ecuador $10-15

This is a guest post from Clara Salgado, of Dream Ecuador, who shows foreign buyers the hottest investment opportunities in Ecuador through her real estate tours in Ecuador.

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This is the part 3 of this 3 part series on Healthcare in Ecuador…

For part 1 click here. For part 2 click here.

Continued…Yes, all the companies mentioned above will cover you for life if you get in before the age of 60, but if you are already over the age of 60, you only have one good option in Ecuador.

Cruz Blanca.

Cruz Blanca is a very popular and reputable Ecuadorian health care provider and insurer, with their own clinics in Quito and Guayaquil. If you are not located in those cities, you could still get coverage with them, get treatment in local clinics and then send for a reimbursement within 30 days of incident. Musician Steven Adler said, “You can have all the riches and success in the world, but if you don’t have your health, you have nothing.” It’s always important to take care of oneself using all the principles of good health. Regular check-ups, proper nutrition and healthful living all enable one to keep on top of their health in a careful yet reasonable way. Often one becomes overly concerned with health issues and caught up in a cycle of health worries. One health issue is reconciled when another immediately pops up to take its place. These worries become all encompassing and exhausting after a while. It is difficult to treat brain cancer. Firstly, because imaging results are often imprecise it is hard to properly assess the spread of the tumour. Second, conventional treatment is by gaining access through the skull and removing as much of the tumour as can be done safely. As you might expect it is difficult for the surgeon to be sure that all the cancerous tissue has been removed so surgery is followed by radiation or chemotherapy in an effort to kill any cancer cells left in surrounding tissue. A healthy lifestyle has the potential to prevent around a third of all dementia. Even people in the early stages of the disease can still make a difference if they make changes beneficial to the health of their brain. Although it is not by any means conclusive, medical science and research have proved that a healthy lifestyle makes a difference to the health of our brain. You can learn more about A Mind For All Seasons.

With Cruz Blanca there are no deductibles, only a $2 administrative fee for each session of treatment you require.

There are no age limits. And 100% of medication fees are covered (if they are generic meds).

As with all the plans in Ecuador, medical treatments in your own home are also available and costs of ambulance are covered 100%.

For people 65 and up, you will need a light medical exam for admission (basically a cancer and blood test). The cost of this exam with them is $100.

There are NO maximum limits of coverage with Cruz Blanca, and monthly premiums start for males and females in their 50s at $37.19 per month.

For someone over the age of 65, the monthly health insurance premiums are $120 (with no maximum limits of coverage), that’s why there is a need of Compare Life Insurance as requirement of any individual varies. But if you can get someone to sign up with you that is under the age of 44, you would only pay $87.44 a month. The return amount that comes as life settlement might vary.

But Cruz Blanca does not work with Insurance brokers, so for a brokers help, you would probably have to pay additionally for their services.

Or you could always hire an in-house maid, which in Ecuador starts around $300 a month.

Remember in Ecuador to always keep your ORIGINAL documents in order to receive a refund, otherwise you could have issues. And always remember to ask for the reimbursement within 30 days of the incident, in Ecuador the policies are very rigid regarding these things.

For more case specific information, or to buy coverage in Ecuador, try Katty Mejer, a bilingual health insurance broker in Ecuador at (cell) 099822232 or write her at kmasesores at hotmail.com (tell her Domenick sent you).

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This article is part 2 of a 3 part series on healthcare providers in Ecuador.

Caution, there are many health care providers and insurance companies in Ecuador, but many of the lesser known ones have been known to try to find small exceptions in order to skip out on paying the larger bills of their clients. For example, if you got in a car accident, they may say you don’t qualify for coverage because the car was speeding at time of accident, and is when getting help from professionals from the Cossé Law Firm LLC is essential to help getting this coverage even after accidents. This is great post to read more about accident attorney.

 To avoid this, I would only recommend working with one of the most established health care insurers of Ecuador: BMI, Salud S.A., Grupo Generali, Cruz Blanca, or AIG. While looking for personal injury lawyers to ensure this doesn’t happen to you.

In Ecuador, most health insurers have a maximum limit payout available per calendar year.

For example, as of the spring of 2010, for a male 18-31, the monthly premiums would be $35.77 for a maximum yearly payout benefit up to $15,800. For a female over 70, the monthly premiums for the same maximum yearly benefit would be $150.82 a month, for a male over 70, $211.15 per month (with Salud S.A.).

Now with the same company, Salud S.A., for yearly coverage up to $84,700, a male over 70 would pay $842 per month premiums and a female over 70 would pay $601.

The health insurance provider BMI offers interesting group rates, starting at $51.30 per month per person for groups from 5-24 people. The interesting thing about this coverage is they don’t have a yearly maximum benefit payout, instead a maximum per incident payout, which for the monthly premium mentioned would be $50,000 per incident.

Every health insurance provider in Ecuador has a list of affiliate clinics, where you will pay only a 10% deductible upon point of treatment. If treated elsewhere the deductible tends to be 20%. Some plans allow you to only pay the deductible, some require you to pay the full amount and then ask for a reimbursement.

With the reputable companies mentioned above, reimbursement is a harmless process that usually takes less than a day for small amounts, and less than 5 business days for large amounts. You will need to fill out a form, and have original copies of the prescription, receipts, bills, and other related documents.

One trick I have learned to ease the process of reimbursement is to work with one of the many insurance brokers in Ecuador.

For no extra fee, a good one will handle all your paperwork and be sure you get a reimbursement and treatment in a timely fashion. You could even call them when you have emergencies (and they would serve as a translator) and they will get someone over to you. For this, I would recommend both English and Spanish speaking Katty Mejer (her details are listed at the end of this report).

Now, if you are over 60 in Ecuador and looking for a new health insurance policy, things get a little sticky. (But that is why you bought this report, right?)

Yes, all the companies mentioned above will cover you for life if you get in before the age of 60, but if you are already over the age of 60, you only have one good option in Ecuador.

For part 3 of this 3 part series click here.

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For those looking for a place with cheap, but high quality health care options, Ecuador just might be for you, but it is vitally important to take into account the few pitfalls that persist and understand how the system works before you come.

In Ecuador there are two basic types of medical facilities, public hospitals and private clinics. The public hospitals are very inexpensive, but also the level of care is very poor, often with long waits, even in emergencies.

Rеhаbіlіtаtіоn іѕ a mеdісаl term thаt dеfіnеѕ a person’s рrосеѕѕ оf regaining lоѕt сараbіlіtіеѕ. When ѕuссеѕѕful, іt allows the patient tо rесоvеr frоm dеbіlіtаtіng іnjurу. Rehabilitation ѕеrvісеѕ саn also be used tо solve mоrе thаn juѕt physical рrоblеmѕ. Various оrgаnіzаtіоnѕ or rеhаbіlіtаtіоn сеntеrѕ wоrk tоwаrdѕ rehabilitating іndіvіduаlѕ ѕuffеrіng frоm аlсоhоlіѕm, drug аddісtіоn аnd mеntаl dіѕеаѕеѕ. Sоmе rehabilitation сеntеrѕ are actively іnvоlvеd іn thе rеhаbіlіtаtіоn of рrіѕоnеrѕ, prostitutes аnd dеѕtіtutе children. You can see this website for more detail about the Bridgeway Care and Rehabilitation Center.

A lоt of rеѕеаrсh іѕ dоnе tо identify thе fасtоrѕ undеrlуіng these addictions. Rehabilitation centers use different methods tо trеаt dіffеrеnt раtіеntѕ. There аrе plenty оf treatment mеthоdѕ to сhооѕе from. Trеаtmеntѕ аrе сuѕtоmіzеd ассоrdіng to a patient’s іllnеѕѕ аnd hіѕtоrу. Thе tіmе required fоr rehabilitation mау vаrу frоm person to реrѕоn. Outраtіеnt trеаtmеnt рrоgrаmѕ are hеlрful fоr patients in the іnіtіаl stages оf аddісtіоn. A раtіеnt wіth a long hіѕtоrу of an аfflісtіоn uѕuаllу rеԛuіrеѕ mоrе tіmе аnd specialized trеаtmеnt. Suсh a patient mау require аttеndіng аn inpatient residential рrоgrаm thаt оffеrѕ аrоund-thе-сlосk treatment in a rеѕіdеntіаl соmmunіtу оf соunѕеlоrѕ and оthеr раtіеntѕ.

For example, I recently had a facial skin treatment done with a local dermatologist, and $30 later, my skin looked and felt 5 years younger.

I also got a teeth cleaning and had a few cavities filled, and $60 later, my mouth never felt better. Never had it been so thoroughly treated in the US.

There are also best private health insurance UK option available, which are highly cost effective and easily available as well as provide coverage to all the serious illness.

Taylor Benefits has been providing Medicare Advantage Plans to people that gives them benefits in future. You will need to sign a contract, but you can opt out whenever you wish with no penalties and even get a reimbursement of prepaid premiums not used.

The Medicare supplement plans cover all types of illnesses and accidents except drug or alcohol related, or mental problems stress related.

In Ecuador, mental problems are not yet seen as real “health problems”.

Also, many plans don’t cover the cost of a wheel chair (if needed) and usually have a limit they will pay for fake limbs.

For people under 60, no medical exams are needed to begin coverage. For people over 60, the medical exam is not too rigorous, just a basic test making sure you don’t have some type of cancer or Aids.

Most health insurance plans also cover 100% of medicines, if issued under a doctor’s prescription, but only if the medicines are generic (not name brand).

In Ecuador, the generic medicines are in huge supply and tend to be identical to the name brand medicines, and at a fraction of the cost.

For part 2 click here… thanks…Domenick

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When the soon-to-be number 1 economy in the world takes notice in a tiny little country like Ecuador, you better listen.

Chinese and Ecuadorian officials announced this week that an enormous loan of $1 billion dollars has been approved and will be given from the Chinese government to the Ecuadorian government.

The money will be used by the Ecuadorian government for governmental projects and state spending.

One stipulation was set that notes that at least 20% of the funds need to be spent on oil projects that directly benefit Chinese companies in Ecuador.

The Ecuador government is notorious world wide for simply not paying loaned money back (aka a high risk play).

Personally, I don’t think the Chinese ever expect to see their money back.

But they are certainly not stupid, I believe they are simply buying friends and leverage (aka power) for some big future plans in Ecuador.

This deal certainly was good for Ecuador, some of the funds will go directly to projects that positively impact investors, like road and bridge construction. One big plus of the current administration NO ONE can deny is that a lot of $$ has been spent in those areas and great strides have been made. Ecuador is more accessible than it was 5 years ago.

So why do you think China is investing BIG in Ecuador? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below…

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