if there’s one smart move we made before leaving germany, it was to sign up for the mawista health insurance. as i’ve blogged previously, the efficiency of the health care system in germany is something i have been very impressed with. as we were not sure what kind of health insurance we’d be getting here in singapore and how long the paperwork will take to get the family covered, we decided to sign up for a year’s coverage with mawista to bridge the gap. basically, it’s like a year long travel health insurance.

it turned out that the local health insurance we have here does not cover a lot of things. pregnancy and childbirth, for example, isn’t, as it’s not considered to be an illness. so if we didn’t have mawista, we would have had to cough out the S$4000-6000 from our own pockets for the delivery alone. that’s assuming it’s going to be a normal, straightforward delivery. as it is, we’ll have to shell out the cash upfront anyway, but at least we get reimbursed later. now i understand why, during my first consultation with the OB-Gyn, upon seeing on my records that i am a pinoy, the receptionist asked whether i plan to give birth here in singapore. i thought it was a ridiculous question then. after all, where else would i want to give birth? i live here, don’t i? but now, i get it.

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