DEEP Discounts on Health Care Investments in the Philippines – My Experience with ACE Hospitals

 

Morning all

I published a video yesterday about my experience investing in a Philippines hospital in order to gain some rather substantial discounts on medical care and/or confinement.  Some viewers commented that it was too much information in too short of a time, so the purpose of this post is to review some of the details that people have been asking about.

If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, you can click HERE see the DEEP Discounts on Health Care Investment in the Philippines vid.

DISCLAIMER
I know absolutely nothing about investing. Nada.  Wala.  Nor am I recommending that you personally invest in a Philippines hospital. I am simply passing on my experience and the reasons why I did it.  Now, with that said, let’s get into it, shall we?

CAN FOREIGNERS INVEST IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS?
Yes.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
This varies.  Some rather prestigious hospitals, such as St. Luke’s in Manila, now require over a million dollar peso investment in order to benefit from their stockholder discounts. Allied Care Experts (ACE) – the hospital network that I belong to – sells in 10 share ‘blocks,’ with pre-construction blocks costing 200,000 pesos (($4,000 USD), mid-construction blocks running at 300,000 pesos ($6,000 USD) and nearly complete/in operation blocks costing 400,000 pesos ($8,000 USD). Basically, the folks who purchased Dumaguete ACE stock before construction at 200,000 pesos got a SWEET deal.

IS IT ONE-TIME OR YEARLY INVESTMENT?
I got this question a few times.  It is a one-time investment for life.

WHEN DO YOU GET DIVIDENDS?
The jury is out on this one.  According to ACE, dividends will be disbursed once the hospital starts making a profit.  This requires the OK of the board of directors.  Dumaguete ACE stated that they hope to start dividends by the end of 2020.  I am not ‘banking’ on that as I was more interested in medical discounts for myself and – once I am kaput – the transfer of those benefits to my wife for the duration of her life (which will most likely be a lot longer than my own).

CAN I USE PHILHEALTH WITH THE DISCOUNT?
Yes, with any benefits being deducted first from Philhealth and then the discounts applying to the remaining balance.

CAN I USE THIS WITH SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT
No, you cannot use both.  You have to use either the senior citizen OR the stockholder discount.

HOW DO I CONTACT THEM?
Some hospitals/networks have websites and nearly all have Facebook pages.  All of the ACE hospitals that I contacted/texted replied promptly and professionally.  For the Dumaguete ACE hospital, simply take the elevator up to the 8th Floor and talk to the nice ladies working in the Accounting office.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
No one really knows, but conventional Christian doctrine holds with heaven, hell or purgatory (also known as Dumaguete ACE’s slow-ass elevators).  Actually, once you die, the ownership of the stock (and continued discounts) transfers over to your spouse.

CAN I SELL THE STOCK BLOCK?
Yes, but it is limited with the hospital getting the first option and you incurring a 10% fee loss on your initial investment.

WHAT IS THE “BASE HOSPITAL”
This is the specific hospital that you invest in.  In my case, that is Dumaguete ACE.  The ACE “network” is the 20+ other ACE hospitals in the Philippines.

IS ALLIED CARE EXPERTS OVERSEEN BY THE SEC?
It is now.  They hit a bit of a speedbump in April of 2018 when they had to pay a $220,000 USD fine for selling stocks in Cebu without proper authorization.  Since

WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC DISCOUNTS?
Time to get into the meat and potatoes. Please note that these discounts are quoted directly from the prospectus and reflect the benefits you would generally receive no matter what hospital/network you invested in.

DISCOUNTS FOR YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE  AT BASE HOSPITAL

  • Free board and lodging in a designated private room depending on room availability, on a first-come-first-serve basis, with the privileges defined by shareholder’s base ACE Hospital. The duration of the free board and lodging is non-cumulative, non- refundable, and nontransferable.
  • 50% discounts on professional fees during confinement and OPD consultation as defined by the shareholder’s base ACE Hospital
  • No operating room, delivery room, and emergency room fees (PHARMACY AND SUPPLY WITH PAY)
  • 50% discount on the following, excluding doctors’ PF and reader’s fee, excluding out-sourced procedures and tests: Plain X-ray, CT Scan, MRI, UTZ, Mammography (contrast not included) Routine Laboratory Procedures, (excluding send-out laboratory procedures)EEG, ECG, Tread Mill, 2D Echo.
  • Physical Therapy for 10 sessions
  • 10% discount for pharmacy, CSR and OR materials, excluding MDRP medicines* (*standardized rates as set by DOH)
  • 30% discount on Dental Restorative, Preventive, Periodontics, Endodontics Surgery and Bleaching. Ten percent (10%) discount on Prosthodontics procedure

BENEFITS FOR YOUR CHILDREN

(Note that these discounts are also applied if you or your spouse are not using your base hospital and are using one of the other 20+ hospitals in the ACE Philippines network.)

  • 50% discount on board and lodging for 45 days in a standard private room upgradable to suite room accommodation with corresponding fees
  • 25% discounts on professional fees during confinement and OPD consultation
  • 50% discount in operating room, delivery room and emergency room fees
  • 25% discount on the following, excluding doctors’ PF and reader’s fee, excluding out-sourced procedures and tests: Plain X-ray, CT Scan, MRI, UTZ, Mammography (contrast not included) Routine Laboratory Procedures, (excluding send- out laboratory procedures), EEG, ECG, Tread Mill, 2D Echo
  • Physical Therapy for 10 sessions
  • 10% discount for pharmacy, CSR and OR materials, excluding MDRP medicines* (*standardized rates as set by DOH)
  • 30% discount on Restorative, Preventive, Periodontics, Endodontics Surgery and Bleaching. Ten percent (10%) discount on Prosthodontics procedure


DOWNSIDES/CONCERNS

Dividends – The prospectus/management benefits states that the disbursals of dividends is up to the board of directors and if the hospital is making a profit. In their words: “Long term when the hospital attained positive retained earnings.”    Hmmmmmm……

Portability
– It’s great to be able to avail oneself of discounts at any of the ACE hospitals in the Philippines, but they frame such service with a rather pointed caveat:

“These benefits using the schedule of discounts given to dependents (see number II) may be availed of by the Principal investor, his/her spouse, dependents and natural parents in all medical facilities that are members of, or affiliated with, the ACE Group of Hospitals such as ACEMCs Valenzuela, Baliwag, Pateros, Quezon City, Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo,Tacloban and Dumaguete. However, such availment shall depend on the internal policy of the ACEMC concerned and provided that the granting of such discount shall not jeopardize the financial position of such hospital.” 

That’s not very reassuring.

Again, I am looking at my investment in Dumaguete ACE (and it’s network) in the long term.  And, if things don’t work out for whatever reason, I can always sell the share back to ACE for a 10% loss.

Well, that is if ACE doesn’t follow the typical “No return of deposit” policy that local landlords seem to favor…

Until next time, puppies, rainbows and unicorns ya’all!

3 comments

  1. I was told about this a year or so back. I made an appointment to see the management before the place was even open. Not one retard of the office staff even knew of this scheme. I was sent all over the building, up and down.
    I thought I’d give them another try 6 months later. I called and made the appointment, was given a time and sat there for four hours with no aircon. The doctor finally rocked up, no apology, nothing. I explained that I needed key hole surgery on my knee. We don’t do that, we don’t have the technology or equipment. So what do you do? You’re an orthopaedic surgeon I was told?
    I basically got told to go back to my own country.
    Turns out it’s the same muppet doctors from Silly Man & Holy Child. I think they end up in Dooma because they can’t cut it in the real cities. Same as the teachers.
    It was a lot easier to simply go and see a proper doctor in Cebu. I had the operation there too. Thank God.
    Be be honest I don’t think this dump of a town can deal with any type of emergency. When I had dengue Silliman said that there may not be a bed for five days, would I mind sitting in a wheelchair.
    I could go on. I’d take Holy Child over the other two even though it’s filthy.
    There’s yet another hospital opening in Sibulan. Can’t think how they’ll staff it. We went to five doctors and a nurse for rabies shots. All said they weren’t qualified. Nurses here are trained to do one little thing, just like the staff in lee plaza, it needs three to operate the checkout. A local doctor would be lucky to get a job changing bed sheets in a UK hospital I think.
    Our nanny and another employee both sat in hospital yesterday. One about pregnancy and the other about a lump. The one with a lump saw someone after 6.5 hrs, doctor didn’t even turn up for the morning appointment and the girl who was pregnant saw no one at all.

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