Guyana Health Insurance for Expats

International Health Insurance for Expats in Guyana

For maximum peace of mind and financial security, expats in Guyana are strongly urged to secure international health insurance. Beyond medical bill coverage, expats can also freely choose benefits from dental to maternity care coverage, all of which they can also extend to their family as well.

This Pacific Prime guide will discuss health insurance in Guyana, along with the country’s available options for health insurance, the healthcare system, as well as general well-being and safety tips for expats.

Recommended International Health Insurance Plans for Expatriates Living in Guyana

Cigna Global Insurance Plan

• Worldwide Coverage (excluding the US)
• Access to Cigna's trusted network of hospitals and doctors
• Numerous Deductible Options
• 24/7 Customer Support
• 4 Core Insurance Plans

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AXA Global Health Insurance Plan

• Experienced Personal Support 24/7
• Easy Online Access
• Virtual Doctor Service
• Mind Health Support
• Maximum Annual Benefit Limit up to USD $8,000,000

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The Healthcare System in Guyana

Guyana’s healthcare system consists of the public and private sectors. The public sector consists of five primary levels of care and allows access to basic healthcare, though quality may vary. Meanwhile, private healthcare offers greater quality care despite the much higher cost.

In the following sections, we will go over the public and healthcare systems in Guyana.

Public Hospitals in Guyana

Guyana’s healthcare system is overseen by the Ministry of Public Health and offers free universal healthcare for all citizens and residents. The following are the five primary levels of public healthcare in Guyana:

• Health posts
• Health centers
• District hospitals
• Regional hospitals
• Referral hospitals

While allowing access to free, basic healthcare, it’s unfortunately common for public hospitals in Guyana to fall short of their private counterparts.

The quality of care is considered subpar, infrastructures are inadequate, waiting times may be long due to possibly crowded facilities, and there is a shortage of modern equipment and staff. Below are some examples of notable public hospitals in Guyana:

• West Demerara Hospital: This hospital features a multitude of areas of healthcare services such as dental care, x-rays, emergency medicine, and more.
• Lethem Regional Hospital: This hospital features various areas of medical specialties such as pediatric care, women's and children’s healthcare, dental care, and many more.

Because of the shortcomings of Guyana’s public healthcare as mentioned earlier, it’s understandable why expats tend to shy away from public hospitals in favor of their private counterparts.

Private Hospitals in Guyana

Private hospitals in Guyana, despite the much higher cost, are a preferred alternative among expats. This can be seen in its facilities boasting greater quality care along with better medical staff and equipment. Below are notable examples of private hospitals in Guyana:

• Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital: This private hospital offers numerous medical services such as dentistry and orthodontics, ophthalmology, neurology, pediatrics, and many more.
• Davis Memorial Hospital & Clinic: This Seventh-day Adventist hospital offers a multitude of medical services such as general surgeries, HIV care and treatment, ambulance, massage therapy, and many more.

It’s worth noting that private hospitals, while providing greater quality care, aren’t particularly accessible financially either as they are primarily located in more urban areas of Guyana like its capital, Georgetown.

Thus, expats will want to carry at least private health insurance so that they can access these higher-quality private hospitals in Guyana while simultaneously keeping their finances safe from potentially overwhelming medical bills, which brings us to our next point.

Health Insurance Options for Expats in Guyana

When it comes to options for health insurance for expats in Guyana, the only viable option available is private health insurance. While the public healthcare system is overseen and financed by the Government of Guyana, facilities are considered subpar as mentioned before.

Private Health Insurance for Expats in Guyana

Due to the limitations of public healthcare in Guyana, private health insurance is generally preferred among expats due to various benefits such as free hospital and specialist selection, greater healthcare accessibility, and more.

Below are the key benefits of private health insurance for expats in Guyana:

• Free Selection: With private health insurance, you can freely select any specific doctor or hospital you would like to visit, which may also include hospitals with multilingual staff, shorter waiting times, or superior amenities.
• Multilingual Staff Access: Through the free selection feature, you can choose specific hospitals with multilingual staff. This not only ensures access to quality medical services, but also smooth, easy communication with doctors and nurses.
• Access to Hospitals with Shorter Waiting Times: Additionally, you can also pick specific hospitals known for shorter waiting times, allowing you to get the right form of treatment you need promptly.
• Access to Hospitals with Better Amenities: You also have the option to choose specific hospitals with increased amenities such as larger, more spacious wards. This would be especially useful for hospitalized patients or future mothers who are expecting a child.
• Additional Benefits as You Need: If you need to, you can also add on any benefit you would like. These may include dental, vision, and maternity care coverage, which also means you can extend these coverage areas to your family for maximum peace of mind and healthcare accessibility.

Since public healthcare in Guyana has a multitude of shortcomings, international health insurance is strongly recommended for expats.

Let’s say you live in areas in Guyana where private hospitals are not accessible to you and subpar quality treatment is common for existing public hospitals in your area, this is where the medical evacuation coverage comes in.

With medical evacuation covered under international health insurance, you can then access better hospitals abroad without straining your finances as all transportation expenses will be completely covered regardless of your selected distance or the method of transportation.

Recommended International Health Insurance Plans for Expats in Guyana

Since international health insurance is highly recommended due to limited hospital accessibility in Guyana by default, we have gathered some notable international health insurance providers such as AXA, April International, and more, and will briefly discuss their shared benefits below.

Cigna Global

Health insurance plans from Cigna Global are equally as comprehensive as they are customizable, granting expats maximum flexibility with the addition of round-the-clock customer service. Types of health insurance plans from Cigna Global include the Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans.

Each health insurance plan under Cigna Global has its unique coverage limits and benefits. Below are the common benefits seen throughout Cigna Global’s health insurance plans:

• Hospitalization
• Inpatient and daypatient treatments
• Cancer treatments
• Physiotherapy
• Accidental death or total permanent disability compensation

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AXA

AXA Global’s health insurance plans provide many levels of customizable coverage, including hospitalization, outpatient treatments, emergency care, and medical evacuation coverage. Thus, AXA’s place as a favorite among expats’ health insurance plans is evident in its flexibility.

The following are notable examples of shared areas coverage throughout all of AXA’s plans:

• Hospital charges and surgery
• Virtual doctor service
• Mind health service
• Emergency coverage
• Medical evacuation and repatriation
• Wide range of cancer treatment
• Ambulance transport
• CT, PET and MRI scans

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Geoblue

The Xplorer plan from Geoblue comes in both essential and premier variations. These plans cater to expats traveling from the United States for business, studying, or just leisure purposes. What’s more, expats also have the option to select between worldwide coverage options with or without the US.

Some common features shared throughout Geoblue’s health insurance plans include the following:

• Diagnostic lab work and X-rays
• Surgery
• Inpatient medical emergencies
• Emergency evacuation and repatriation
• Yearly physicals

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April International

April International’s expat health insurance plans offer hospitalization, outpatient services, dental, and maternity coverage. Additionally, they also include a user-friendly mobile claims and support service, a 24/7 telemedicine service, as well as a large direct billing network.

Some key examples of the shared areas of coverage seen throughout their plans are as follows:

• Inpatient treatment
• Outpatient treatment
• Emergency repatriation
• Emergency evacuation
• Maternity coverage
• Vision and dental coverage

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Factors to Consider When Securing Insurance in Guyana

Some factors expats should consider when securing health insurance in Guyana include foregoing price-based biased decisions in favor of plan comprehensiveness and the country’s problematic healthcare accessibility, which we will be discussing in the following points.

• Don’t Decide Based on Price: As with any health insurance plan, never decide solely based on price. This is because, while affordable, the cheapest plan won’t guarantee comprehensive coverage and leave you with odd gaps of uninsured areas you’ll be forced to pay out of pocket for.
• Comprehensiveness Comes First: Instead, decide based on the plan’s comprehensiveness. You can start by defining your healthcare priorities, to which you can then pick the benefits you’d like to add to your plan, all of which you can also extend the coverage to your family for maximum peace of mind.
• Guyana’s Subpar Public Healthcare: By default, it’s common for public hospitals in Guyana to have lower quality of care, a shortage of medical staff and equipment, and potentially long waiting times.
• Guyana’s Problematic Private Healthcare Accessibility: While the country’s private hospitals offer greater quality of care, they aren’t particularly accessible either and this could be even worse for expats living in more rural areas where these hospitals aren’t accessible.

Health and Safety Tips for Expats in Guyana

Expats in Guyana should be on the lookout for health and safety issues such as break-ins, pickpocketing, or burglary and robbery, as well as food, water, and mosquito-borne diseases such as Typhoid or Hepatitis and Malaria.

Below are health and safety tips in Guyana that expats should keep in mind:

• Crime Risks: If left unattended, your belongings (including valuables, cash, or documents) may be left vulnerable to pickpockets or burglars. They may also break into your hotel room or house if not properly locked.
  • Prevention: Don’t leave your belongings unattended and avoid carrying large sums of cash, excessive valuables, and documents. Instead, keep any valuables and documents back at home or in your hotel room, and make sure you carefully lock all doors and windows.
• Diseases: Foodborne, waterborne, mosquito-borne, and other infectious diseases like typhoid, hepatitis, leptospirosis, malaria, and rabies are incredibly common and can be caused by various means such as contaminated food and water, mosquito bites, or infected animals.
  • Prevention: Avoid undercooked, raw food and contaminated water in favor of freshly-made meals and bottled water. Make sure to also keep your doors and windows properly closed to prevent mosquitoes from entering and avoid contact with infected animals’ body fluids such as blood or saliva.

Recommended Vaccines for Expats in Guyana

As a preventative measure, expats in Guyana should get both routine vaccine updates and additional vaccines. Some routine vaccine updates expats should know to include general immunizations such as influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, which we have listed below:

• Influenza
• COVID-19
• Polio
• Shingles
• Chickenpox
• TDAP (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis)
• MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella)

On the other hand, other vaccines such as the Hepatitis A and B vaccines, along with Measles and more, are strongly recommended. Below are the other types of vaccines expats in Guyana are strongly urged to get:

• Hepatitis A & B
• Measles
• Rabies
• Typhoid
• Yellow Fever

If you would like to learn more about any further recommendations, including vaccine doses, we recommend checking out the CDC’s vaccination guide for Guyana for further reading.

Emergency Numbers in Guyana for Expats

In the event of an emergency, expats will be able to use Guyana’s various emergency numbers to reach out to the police, ambulance services, and more, which we have outlined below:

• Police: (+592) 225-2700, 226-4585 or (+592) 227-6123
• Ambulance: 913
• Fire Department: 912

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the quality of healthcare in Guyana?

The quality of healthcare in Guyana is low and inconsistent. Emergency medical care and hospitalization for major illnesses or surgeries are also limited due to a shortage of trained staff as well as poor sanitation. What’s more, private hospitals are also not particularly accessible.

Is healthcare in Guyana free of charge?

Universal healthcare in Guyana is free of charge to a certain extent, which means expats may need to pay for some services like prescription medication or mental healthcare out-of-pocket. Because medical facility accessibility can be problematic here, international health insurance is recommended.

What are some common health issues in Guyana I should be on the lookout for?

Be on the lookout for Malaria, Hepatitis, Typhoid, and rabies. These diseases can be transmitted through contaminated food and water, mosquito bites, and infected animals’ body fluids. Most of these diseases are vaccine-preventable while Malaria will require anti-malarial medication.

Conclusion

Because public and private healthcare in Guyana have their share of shortcomings that make treatment accessibility extremely problematic for expats, securing international health insurance is strongly recommended for maximum peace of mind and coverage not just for yourself, but also for your family.

And this is where Pacific Prime and our brokers with over 20 years of experience come in. We can help you not only select plans but also compare them so that you can choose a plan that best aligns with your unique medical priorities as well as your budget range.

Contact us today or compare quotes with our online quotation system!