British Expats Swine Flu and Medical Insurance

Swine flu is spreading throughout the world, the WHO have now declared it a pandemic. Fortunately so far the virus seems to be relatively mild with a low associated death rate. Of course this could change rapidly if the virus mutates further.

So what should British expats do? Don't panic is probably the best advice, but equally sticking your head in the sand and hoping nothing happens to you is perhaps not a good alternative. There are a number of questions that you perhaps need to consider. These could include, how well your adopted countries health care system is likely to be able to cope with mass infections and how well your medical insurer is able to offer you assistance if the worst happens.

Just by way of example, consider the circumstances currently in Thailand and the UK, countries with similar sized populations. Both countries have swine flu victims although there may well be more cases in the UK. Both governments have also disclosed the size of their anti-viral stockpiles. The UK has enough to treat half the population (around 30 million doses) while in Thailand current stocks (420,000 doses)are available for a very small part of the population certainly less than 1%. There are plans to increase this by another 100,000 doses.

Thailand has excellent medical facilities but no underlying primary health care system like the UK so it is highly likely that without adequate supplies of relevant drugs being administered in a controlled way these facilities are likely to be overwhelmed. Which begs the question what happens to the British expat in Thailand if you get sick with the flu? Well if you have medical insurance you can no doubt access private facilities in the country but if these are already overrun then medical repatriation might be your only alternative. This is always assuming that your insurer can offer such facilities.

But where would you be evacuated too? Perhaps countries around the world with top rate medical facilities and drug stock piles might not welcome you. Of course you can always go home, can't you? Maybe not as if this quote from the Telegraph is to be believed.


" It's noteworthy that during the 2006 bird flu scare, the Department of Health in London made clear that expatriates would be left to fend for themselves. "


Now I am not suggesting for one minute that the current outbreak is going to result in British expats being refused treatment in their host countries or indeed in the UK but it just might be a good time to review your medical insurance cover and particularly the section that deals with repatriation as swine flu continues to spread throughout the world.