The Global Insider - euro-center.com · Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01 We would like to...
Transcript of The Global Insider - euro-center.com · Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01 We would like to...
Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01
We would like to welcome you to our first
edition of ‘The Global Insider’, the Euro-
Center customer newsletter.
We have understood there to be an inter-
est in receiving further information from
our local offices in regards to network
expansion, changes in local regulations
and cost containment efforts. The market
is moving forward and so must we.
According to the latest data by Finaccord*,
the global market for separate travel insur-
ance and assistance is expected to reach
USD $18.1 billion by 2017. We at Euro-
Center want to convey what it is that sets
us apart from the competition. The same
Finaccord study cites the largest anticipat-
ed areas of expansion to be the Asia-
Pacific region and Latin America. Euro-
Center has had offices on the spot for
many years in Brazil, China, Bangkok and
Australia. We know the area and can assist
with your future developments.
Euro-Center offices are working on your
behalf to ensure that any claims or assis-
tance that is required locally be addressed
with a true understanding of regional prac-
tices. It is our intention to display why and
exactly how we support the best results
for your business. Each quarter we will
provide you with four articles from local
offices around the world. Our mission is
simple- we want to tangibly demonstrate
what ‘Local Assistance-Worldwide’ really
means.
References* http://www.finaccord.com/
documents/press_releases/2014/press-release_travel-
insurance-and-assistance-worldwide-series.pdf
THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS
Local presence and knowhow, committed
employees, customer focus, quality and
transparency in the case processing. In
addition to our professional qualifications,
we look for the following when hiring em-
ployees worldwide:
Multi-cultural fluency, i.e. an understand-
ing of the customer’s background as well as
the local healthcare system and regional
challenges.
Language skills in both local and customer
languages so that customers are serviced in
their preferred language.
Unbureaucratic and service-minded
approach.
Credible and professional behaviour.
Welcome!
Krizikova 36a
186 00 Praha 8
Czech Republic
Phone: (+420) 221 860 330
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.euro-center.com
The Global Insider June, 2014
Featured Euro-Centers Lisa Resling Halpern
Global Commercial Director
Lisa Resling Halpern page 1
Global Commercial Director
Tanja Roug Wijnen page 2
General Manager Euro-Center Cape Town
Ronald Groenendijk page 4
General Manager Euro-Center USA
Hanne Stender page 3
General Manager Euro-Center Mallorca
Central America Network Extended
Healthcare Developments
Recent Network Development
The Euro-Center Advantage
When is a network truly great?
Medical Inflation in South Africa
Welcome!
The Euro-Center Holding Team
Euro-Center Cyprus Staff
Euro-Center Holding—Praha
Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01
Africa means business and Euro-Center
Cape Town is excited to be part of the
current surge happening on our continent.
With the global economy slowing and an
increase of financially stable countries in
Africa, international companies are eyeing
the continent’s opportunities. The most
compelling evidence can be seen in the
increased requests for local information,
medical assistance and direct billing in
areas previously primarily occupied by die-
hard NGO- and mine workers.
The Euro-Center Cape Town Team is work-
ing hard to keep itself abreast of any early
indications and developments in anticipa-
tion of requests to come. On the basis of
this, we believe that new countries to
watch in 2014 could be Equatorial Guinea,
Ethiopia, Chad and Congo DRC.
Page 2
We all have the same medical facilities and
challenges available in Africa. However,
when can one rightfully claim to have a top
class network? Indeed, we have a large
number of providers reaching into the
many thousands. But numbers alone are
not a sufficient benchmark. Instead, what
really proves capability is the company’s
ability to set up a network for an expatri-
ate operation in what appears to be ‘terra
incognita’ at short notice. Or to be able to
provide instant assistance to the adventur-
er who underestimated the continent.
How is this done?
The trick is to nurture contacts at key facili-
ties and individuals who are thrilled at
being connectors in international assis-
tance. People, like our own staff, who see it
as a personal challenge to make things hap-
pen. Providers who do not mind going the
extra mile at no charge: It may be a phone
call, a reference, an overview of landing
strips, security information – the list is end-
less. With tenacity, contacts and the ability
to keep communication familiar in Franco-
phone African, an Africa-Arabic dialect or
what ever might work, we see the resistant
rural GP offer cashless service. Or the local
4x4 owner lend his car.
As Nelson Mandela famously stated: “It only
seems impossible, until it’s done”.
Find creative solutions according to this
motto, and a truly great network is built.
When is a network truly great?
Medical inflation in many African nations is surprisingly constant and in tune with national inflations. However, in South Africa the picture
differs.
While the national inflation is approx. 6%, indicative statistics provided by Anton de Villiers, head of Monitoring and Research at the Council
for Medical Schemes shows that the medical inflation for specialists sits at approx. 9%, while inflation at private hospitals lies at 10-12%.
There are several contributing factors. “Nursing staff receive salary increases above the country’s inflation rate”, explains Roly Buys, Funder
Relations and Contracting Executive of Medi-Clinic South Africa. With a worldwide demand for nurses, higher salaries are offered overseas.
South Africa further suffers from a shortage of medical specialists, and supply and demand dictates their rates. Another factor highlighted by
Buys is the cost of medical technology.
On the brighter side, the devaluated South African Rand makes medical treatment
very reasonable for overseas insurances paying in western currencies. The Rand
has devaluated by a third since January 2012 where one EUR bought 10 ZAR. It
now buys 15 ZAR. This exchange rate is expected to stay status quo or even see
the Rand devaluate further in anticipation of the outcome of the South African
elections later in the year.
South Africa is therefore still a good destination for policy holders in need of high-
er level treatment, even with a high medical inflation rate.
Medical Inflation in South Africa
Tanja Roug Wijnen
General Manager
Euro-Center Cape Town
Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01
Page 3
The past year has been an exciting and chal-
lenging year. Euro-Center Mallorca is the
first Euro-Center, with a lifelong history all
the way back since 1971. It started as Eu-
ropæiske´s Service Center in a small office
just around the corner from where we are
today. At the end of 2012 the Board decid-
ed to close the office in Costa del Sol, and
move all the activity to the Mallorca office
as of March 2013. We have learned a lot,
and have had to sadly say goodbye to some
colleagues.
I am happy to say that we have found dedi-
cated and qualified staff during the past
year. We are now have 11 multi-language
staff in the office, from Spain, Norway, Den-
mark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Brazil and
Argentina. Our cover area is Spain, Portugal,
Andorra and Gibraltar.
Euro-Center Mallorca
Recent Network Development
Cost Containment is definitively the key
word for the insurance companies. Euro-
peiske in Norway decided to start a Saving
Project in Spain after the presentation of a
steerage program where I participated
together with Euro-Center Turkey and
Cyprus. As a staring point we have made
the Canary Islands our main focus. We
have reached far and we have still a long
way to go, but it has been decided to ex-
tend the project to the rest of Spain as well
as Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.
A lot has changed in the Spanish private
health sector over the past few years.
Large investors are buying hospitals, which
are then converted into really big hospital
chains. One example is Quirón who bought
USP Hospitals, and are now the biggest
group of private hospitals in Spain with 21
hospitals and 45 health care centers. In
some areas this has turned into a monopo-
listic situation and our biggest challenge is
to reach a reasonable price agreement,
and keep the costs down.
As you all may have heard, we have struggled to avoid private intermediaries charging the private travel insurances in the public health care
and not accepting the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) both in Spain as well as in Portugal. After a lot of focus on this matter in the
international press and a severe warning to the Spanish authorities from the European Commission, we now experience that normally the
public hospitals do accept the EHIC card.
In October last year we had a case in a private hospital in Mallorca where a UK citizen travelling on a cruise trip was hospitalized. Euro-
Center has collaboration and a price agreement with the hospital, and we placed a guarantee of payment to the hospital as requested by
the assistance company. After some days we were informed that an intermediary was involved, due to the fact that this intermediary has a
contract with the cruise ship company. The intermediary made the poor lady sign a “compromise to pay” and a consent form. The interme-
diary forwarded us an invoice for the amount of €79.200 for the hospitalization including coronary angiography and angioplasty with stent
implantation.
After many weeks of negotiations with the hospital insisting on paying directly to them, we ended up paying €37.300. In other words, a
saving of €41.900. We will continue to keep a close eye for any future development. We want to thank the insurance company for the close
collaboration, the understanding and patience in this case. As you can see it has paid off.
The Euro-Center Advantage
Hanne Stender
General Manager
Euro-Center Newsletter Vol.01 Issue 01
Euro-Center USA
We are pleased to provide information
about Euro-Center USA and our services.
Our international team of customer service
and assistance professionals is here to assist
with all levels of inquiries. We look forward
to providing you with key developments in
our region and our organization.
About Us
Since 2000, Euro-Center USA has been the
local service center for corporate travelers,
expatriates and tourists requiring medical,
travel and emergency assistance. We work
with thousands of medical providers and
hospitals across our service area in the Unit-
ed States, Canada, Mexico and key areas in
the Caribbean. With the illustrious New York
City as our location, we are the extended
arm for our overseas insurers with members
in our region. We are committed to provid-
ing the highest level of service, with cost
and transparency being our focus.
Our Services
Our extensive local knowledge and key col-
laborator relationships allows us to provide
quality customer service, claims handling
and assistance support for our policyholders
on a localized basis. We help them navigate
the complexities of the US healthcare sys-
tem, and work to ensure costs are custom-
ary and contained to the fullest extent. We
are constantly building our provider net-
work to further extend our coverage.
Our Staff
We have an ethnically and culturally diverse
staff that bring decades of cumulative
health care, customer service and assistance
experience. Our team speaks your language,
including English, Spanish, Danish, German,
Dutch and Korean. With our customer-first
perspective, we strive to make sure that
every interaction with our customers, poli-
cyholders and providers are seamless, pro-
fessional and ethical experiences.
Our Provider Network
Our network encompasses an expansive
region across the United States (including
Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and its territo-
ries), Canada, Mexico and the Dominican
Republic. Through our collaborative part-
ners, we utilize thousands of contracted
providers that directly bill us and provide
discounts on services rendered. We work
with major, world-renowned hospital facil-
ities, national urgent care clinics and phar-
macies, dentists, specialists from every
type of practice and family doctors.
Euro-Center USA is pleased to announce
that we have extended our coverage area
into Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
We are currently working with medical
clinics in major tourist areas such as Can-
cun and Playa del Carmen in Mexico, and
Punta Cana and Puerto Plata in the Domin-
ican Republic. We are also scheduled to do
several site inspections in this area and
intend to work closely with our colleagues
in Euro-Center Latin America, who already
has very strong provider relationships in
these areas. Our knowledgeable and profes-
sional Spanish-speaking staff is ready to
assist.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the healthcare landscape in the United States is
ever-changing. Since the ACA went live on January 1st, enrollments have surged for the
Federal and State-run health care insurance options. Insurers in the USA made major
changes in their plan coverage, now called ‘Essential Health Benefits’. This includes:
Ambulatory patient services
Emergency services
Hospitalization
Maternity and newborn care
Mental health and substance abuse disorder services
Prescription drugs
Rehabilitative/habilitative services and devices (physical and speech therapy, etc)
Laboratory services
Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
It is important to note that grandfathered plans in existence before 23 March 2010 are
excluded from this provision. However, all health plans must:
End lifetime limits on coverage
End arbitrary coverage cancellations
Cover adult children up to age 26
Provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), a short, easy-to-understand
summary of the plan coverage and costs
These changes have already affected and continue to affect our overseas insurance cus-
tomers with policyholders in the United States. We have extended our expertise to our
customers and stand ready to provide continued guidance on the best way to approach
plan changes that can make plan transitions more seamless.
Central America Network Extended
Healthcare Developments in the USA
Ronald Groenendijk
General Manager