Medical Insurance as a Foreign Expert Resisdent (from Z Vsa)

Medical Insurance as a Foreign Expert Resisdent (from Z Vsa)
Sep 24, 2007 03:57
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: offline	I have an urgent contract issue which is not the fault of either my college or me. The college is also working on solving it. If anyone can add any info it would help. 1. Foreign expert contracts must (I believe) have a component which is issued by the Bureau of Foreign Experts and typically has an attachment from the local employer. Is the main part from the Bureau the same in each Province ( I would have thought so because the one I have in front of me is from the State Bureau). Also, is it permitted for the employer to change this main component? (I had always thought it is not permitted as that can negate core provisons which are set by national regulation). 2. Has anyone else got a mandatory requirement to take out health and accident insurance? While these are good things and a major risk for us working here the only quote they have been able to get is 55,000 RMB a year for a person betwen the ages of 50 and 60, or 5,500 rmb a month which is around the average salary in educational institutions!! (There will be no teachrs if this is applied. 3. An extra question: if we need hospital treatment may we go to a standard hospital? I am told that Chinese teachers get rebated around 80% of the cost. I had assumed that we were covered by this arrangemnt too, but now I am told we are not, so even if we can ttnd local hospital, without insurance we really are putting our neck on the line working here. Also, it is not normally possible to get insurance overseas (certainly if you do not have private cover there, and travel insurance is a maximum of 3 months in one trip. At least this is so for those of us from Australia. My added complications, or they might be part of the answer (!) are that my employer is not the college and the employer now wants me to sign a new contract with this provison, even though I signed one earlier without this provision! This is in clear contravention of the contract item that says there can be no changes to the contract without agreement...as you would expect. Sure, I can refuse to sign or I can simply p.ss off but hopefully we can find a solution. The college is trying to solve the issues but I would like to find out as much background and hear what is happning elsewhere. Thanks Paul

Sep 24, 2007 03:57

APAULT
Points:
Join Date: Mar 11, 2006
Status: offline

I have an urgent contract issue which is not the fault of either my college or me. The college is also working on solving it. If anyone can add any info it would help.

1. Foreign expert contracts must (I believe) have a component which is issued by the Bureau of Foreign Experts and typically has an attachment from the local employer. Is the main part from the Bureau the same in each Province ( I would have thought so because the one I have in front of me is from the State Bureau). Also, is it permitted for the employer to change this main component? (I had always thought it is not permitted as that can negate core provisons which are set by national regulation).

2. Has anyone else got a mandatory requirement to take out health and accident insurance? While these are good things and a major risk for us working here the only quote they have been able to get is 55,000 RMB a year for a person betwen the ages of 50 and 60, or 5,500 rmb a month which is around the average salary in educational institutions!! (There will be no teachrs if this is applied.

3. An extra question: if we need hospital treatment may we go to a standard hospital? I am told that Chinese teachers get rebated around 80% of the cost. I had assumed that we were covered by this arrangemnt too, but now I am told we are not, so even if we can ttnd local hospital, without insurance we really are putting our neck on the line working here. Also, it is not normally possible to get insurance overseas (certainly if you do not have private cover there, and travel insurance is a maximum of 3 months in one trip. At least this is so for those of us from Australia.

My added complications, or they might be part of the answer (!) are that my employer is not the college and the employer now wants me to sign a new contract with this provison, even though I signed one earlier without this provision! This is in clear contravention of the contract item that says there can be no changes to the contract without agreement...as you would expect. Sure, I can refuse to sign or I can simply p.ss off but hopefully we can find a solution. The college is trying to solve the issues but I would like to find out as much background and hear what is happning elsewhere.

Thanks
Paul

Sep 24, 2007 06:26

JABAROOTOO
Points:
Join Date: Jul 4, 2005
Status: Offline

Sorry Paul,
None of my SAFEA contracts had anything to do with Medical Care and my first contract I had a separate 'Medical Care Condition' Appendix which only really covered Y1000 of medical expenses -not including hospital fees.

I'm afraid I was not at all well covered in those first three years trusting that nothing dire would befall me. Travel insurance is available from home for up to a year but it gets expensive so I never took it out.

I'm now working for a Hong Kong based company who are paying for health and accident cover for me while I work for them. Actually, you may be able to take out a policy like this yourself. I have no idea what the premiums are but it is an Accident and Death Insurance Policy with Metlife which they have offered to all my Chinese Nationa Colleagues.

Perhaps your college can help you to have a look at something like this.
Cheers
P

Sep 24, 2007 12:09

APAULT
Points:
Join Date: Mar 11, 2006
Status: Offline

Thanks Jabaroo. I have only just found out that I m contracted to an agency of some sort, my fault for allowing the school to fill that in the contract later...! I don'tthink the part time FAO person had any idea that was an important pont, and at the time I probably would not have bothered about it. Now the agency has modified the core government contract so there are three new clauses..all very obvious from the different and incorrect English. They want me to sign the new contract.... so u see the point of my questions. I want to be covered in China but I am not interested in signing a revised contract that probably isn't valid as it modifies the govt component of the contract and potentially reduces my pay...to near zero!! The school is not interested in paying so much obviously. The FAO part timer is working on it too based on what I have argued and we are looking at various possibilities but a visa issue which I won't expound on here adds to the complication so maybe I will be in HK for good by the weekend!! And I thought I was beginning to understand the way things work in China !!!

Thanks for the name of yr insurance company, and if they have offered the policy to the nationals too, it cannot be too expensive.

Naturally I will post the outcomes here for the benefit of others, I just might be doing it from outside the mainland!!

Sep 28, 2007 00:07	#3
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	For others who might want to take out medical insurance, PICC has offered us (being oldies under 60) cover at 1280rmb pa subject to a approval based on medical history. This seems to provide cover equivalent to that which local teachers receive (ie around 80% rebate on costs in a hospital).

Sep 28, 2007 01:26

AL32
Points:
Join Date: Sep 11, 2007
Status: Offline

Thanks Paul,

I will definately look into that coverage from PICC sometimes next week, when I'll finally be in the 'Mainland' again.
This is much better than the RMB50,000+ you told me earlier...
I hope that you will sort out all the glitches of your new contract/visa and get decent work conditions.
Otherwise, keep in touch; who knows I or someone else might be in a position to find you a good job with no headache...
Take care.

Sep 28, 2007 06:32	#5
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	No such job Al! And no way I am going back to frozen Sjz!

Nov 25, 2007 09:06	#6
IANMWASHBURN Points: Join Date: Nov 22, 2007 Status: Offline	Hello...Do you have contact details for "PICC Health Insurance Co Ltd," in Qingdao? Thanks.

Nov 25, 2007 23:53	#7
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	No details for Qingdao but there will certainly be an office there. Try: China International Services 10 6894 8899 chinajob.com\|insurance www.picchealth.com If those fail, contact me again.

Nov 26, 2007 14:40	#8
MICKKINCHINA Points: Join Date: Nov 21, 2007 Status: Offline	Hi After reading this intresting thread,I can only presume that you managed to sort out the changes that was being asked of you! reg your core goverment contract! Im curious of the out come paul please let me know what happens.

Nov 26, 2007 15:52

APAULT
Points:
Join Date: Mar 11, 2006
Status: Offline

Firstly, although I signed a contract in June, when I came to the college for the start of term, the 'employer' had not in fact signed it as I had assumed. So I had no basis for refusing to sign a revised contract. Of course I could have refused but in discussions with my college I decided to sign (they were equally disapproving of their agent's behaviour).

There was no problem with the authorities in accepting the modified contract in order to get the Z visa. The contract was one retyped by the agent, not what I knew as the standard one supplied by the Bureau of Foreign Experts.

In fact the agent took until the end of October to complete their work, so for 2 months I was working on an L visa with the knowledge of the relevant departments, apparantly on the grounds of urgent employment need.

Jan 10, 2008 04:26	#10
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	I was perusing job ads and came across this in one of them: Accident and Death Policy: Provided in accordance with government requirements to the value of RMB 100,000

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