Poland - never again

Cant remember what we pay here but i think its about 3000 zloty per year for a family of 5 with Medicover. My wife looks after it so i kind of lose track of the amount. Plus my ZUS payment in my dzialalnosc gosp of course !

It is more then that for a single person for one month in the U.S.
I can't imagine what a family of five would be.
Like the wages between Poland and the U.S. health insurance is proportional.
We have endless free clinics for the poor however.

Eh idk about that... healthcare costs in poland re a far low percentage of income than the us..

I do think Marino was actually himself. He spent a ton of time debating Greece's greatness and Macedonian theiving of its culture, and the terrible decisions of greeces politicians.

Another factor may be that our Blue Cross covers about everything from surgeries to hospital stays.
What kind of coverage do you get with your Medicover for 3000z a year ?


Give him a phone call tomorrow and ask him.

ZUS/KRUS also covers hospital stays, surgeries, etc. I don't know about medicover as I've never had it.

Also i dont have his number. Last time i heard from him was when we'd post In the same threads.

I just read the reviews for medicover for its warsaw facilities. It seems its not just their hospital thats awful but all their facilities. All the patient reviews are awful with only a few nurses and interns giving 5 stars to boost the average. I dont think id ever buy any sort of onsurance from them. Actually it seems like a lot of people have very poor experienced related to finances and payment which is quite rare in poland. I guess since medicover is a private publicly traded company they operate differently

This is the complete opposite of my and my familys experience with private practice in poland which has been excellent, superb modern care, and very attentive nurses. The public hospitals in poland vary from bad to great - it really depends on the hospital and staff. I remember one time as a kid like 7 years old having such a bad nose bleed for some reason I mean blood was just p1ssing out of my nose and as much as I tried to keep it on napkins and my t shirt I still got some on the floor and the staff was furious... bit they still.kept me waiting in the hallway and wouldnt put me in a room till.my mom literally grabbed a doctor and he treated me.... but on the other hand my grandma goes to the public hospital called the 'military hospital' because she loves the care there, the food is great which is uncommon for pl hospitals and the staff is attentive

Nonetheless, if money were no option and I needed some procedure that was life threatening id still choose USA first and foremost. Poland may be good for a kidney stone or hernia, but if you need a heart or liver transplant or have cancer, I'd still go with USA.

All I know is that a nurse (my mother's friend) once told me that all the private insurance contracts are just additional. You need to get insurance from ZUS/KRUS to get hospital treatment for sure.

But why are we talking about Polish health insurance. If you travel abroad, you need to get medical travel insurance before leaving your country.
It's easy within the EU - in Poland you go to your local NFZ departament and have an ekuz card issued. Still you need to make an effort to apply for it.

As for non-EU residents, I guess it all depends on their medical insurance or lack of it.
Still in case of emergency, you will be helped. Then you'll get a receipt/invoice (I don't know really) for the treatment. If you have a medical insurance that covers medical treatment in Poland, your insurance company will sort it out.

If you don't, it will be your debt.
As for visiting GPs etc with a private health insurance, they need to have a contract with your insurance company to treat you. Otherwise pay.

I go to the NFZ and get an EKUZ though to be honest I'm not sure how much I trust it, a year and half ago I was at a conference when a Czech doctor doing a presentation (it was kind of an interdisciplinary conference) said he really hoped that none of those present ever actually had to use the EKUZ....

Just to clear something up which is very important. The Polish card E-Kuz ONLY entitles you to emergency treatment in an EU country, the same treatment as any other EU citizen (or the local citizens) would be entitled to. It does not cover anything else. In the same way, my British card entitles me to emergency treatment ONLY in Poland should I ever need it.

I have personally experienced this - A British man was taken very ill in Poland and ended up having a heart by-pass. However, he had his own private holiday insurance and the level of treatment was dependent on his level of private insurance. He had to stay longer in Poland and his own private holiday insurance paid for everything.

Common misconception, Terri. It actually covers you for all treatment needed, as long as it's within the realm of a tourist/business visit and not if you're resident there.

europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/temporary-stays/index_en.htm

It doesn't have to be emergency, it only has to be treatment that is needed now and is unplanned. For instance, if you lose some medicine that you take and you need a replacement, then the EKUZ will cover you on the same basis as a local resident, even if it's not an emergency.

Just one more very vital thing. What will happen to British tourists after Brexit who visit EU countries. I suppose that the card will NOT cover them for anything at all - as it is an EU card only and Britain will not be in the European Union.

The EFTA countries are included in it, even though they're outside the EU. As far as anyone knows, the transitional arrangements will be in place until the end of 2020 at least. After that, who knows? The most likely scenario is that nothing will change though.

I think you can add that to the list of things that nobody bothered giving any attention to before the vote !

With Medicover we have generally had a positive experience - but it's not always like you can just turn up and see someone, you might have to wait for five days and sometimes longer for an appointment. The advantage for me is that I am often working in other countries in the region, and they also have facilities in Hungary and Romania. But I am also in the ZUS systems - for instance when one of my kids had a severe problem with his leg and he went to a state hospital brackets after being seen by a Medicover doctor)

I had an operation on my knee once here and that was not covered by Medicover - I just went to a private clinic and stayed two nights and I was very impressed by the service.

Thanks for the info on E-KUZ - I wasn't even familiar with that system. Luckily my health has been good so I've never gave much thought to medical experience... but I'm sure as I get into my 30's and 40's, my teens and 20's will definitely be catching up with me... Good to have other options besides just ZUS/KRUS. Although I think Polish facilities are wonderful, especially the private ones and certain public hospitals, I'd still trust a more developed country like Germany for example to handle a more complex procedure like a liver transplant or cancer. USA is still regarded as the top notch medical provider - however it's ridiculously expensive. Even with insurance, it has put an innumerable amount of people into debt they'll never be able to pay. Social Security barely even covers the cost of medicine for most seniors, let alone rent or food...

There's even more to it. If the waiting time for a medical procedure is longer in Poland than in the Czech Republic (for instance), you can go to the Czech Republic and get treated there for the same thing while the Polish NFZ pays. They try to keep it quiet in Poland for obvous reasons, but the details are all here - crossborderhealthcare.org/en/legal-information/

It's very common with smaller routine things when you live somewhere like Kudowa-Zdrój and the nearest clinic is in Wrocław - so you can just go to the clinic in Hradec Kralove instead, just as long as it's covered by the NFZ.

Do you have to have EKUZ? Weird.

Nope, just this - ekuz.nfz.gov.pl/sites/default/files/zalaczniki/S2%20PL.pdf

Luckily, I have never had to use mine.
I remember a story of someone I know coming home from a winter break in Italy with a broken leg but I don't really think I even bothered to ask if he had an additional insurance from the travel agency.

Still, if you travel abroad, make sure you have proper travel insurance.

About Poland? A Country you detest, don't care about, a country you are not emotionally attached to, a country that put you off so much so that you never again wish to visit it even!! hell, you made a dance and a song about it by starting a thread expressing your feelings on the subject on a certain internet forum.

So forgive me if I call you on this - and say BS!


Right, so you came over to an American forum to learn about Polish people talking to you in English. Hmm.. didn't you say you're a Pole yourself at the very least you have left Poland as an adult?

What possibly could you learn about Polish people on an American forum? Don't tell me you don't know how to write or read in Polish? I mean you can tell me whatever you want or nothing at all but as to your reason I don't buy it, not a reasonable person would, so it is a fail and BS.

Well, you have answered my questions very well. I have no more questions. All is crystal clear.

I'm feeling generous, so I'll answer YOUR question - you really don't want to know.

He doesn't. Kaprys already established that, as he refuses to answer simple questions in Polish. He also used the wrong translation on numerous occasions while trying to prove that he knew Polish.

He's simply stolen the real Rich Mazur's identity, for reasons unknown.

I think to just get a rise out of you.

Wow... to go through all that trouble just to provoke emotions on the internet. Profoundly, deeply disturbed. Let's hope whoever was posing as "Rich Mazur" gets the psychological help they very clearly need. The same also goes for anyone who assisted or supported them in this thread. Mental illness of a very disturbing variety.

Fight fire with fire.

So disturbed. So sad. So very, very sad.

I have to agree and then add to it the fact no sense of humor at all.
Polish people are afraid to laugh at themselves when the joke is on them.

I don't know/care what his problem with you is, but the obsession is a sure sign of deep psychological problems (I'm completely serious, he's unhinged and probably dangerous and liable to snap some day and hurt people).

Just for fun, tell everybody here who gives a s*** - I don't - how an average American would be able to use the phrases I used here:

Dom Towarowy na Alejach Jerozolimskich
plaszcz ortalionowy na Chmielnej
sklep za zoltymi firankami

Here are two possible answers. (1) That American, in fact, lived in Poland when these terms were in use. (2) That American knows a Pole who lived there and got these terms from said Pole to help the above mentioned American better fake being Polish. (3) Picked them up by googling.

I confess that by now I find your being so suspicious and obsessed amusing.

Can anyone explain to me without getting hyper emotional why it is obligatory to like the country where you were born or the language you were raised on? There are at least 30 civilized countries and many languages to compare and choose from. By what rule and logic are Poland and Polish special enough to be still in love with either after 50 years of separation?

Why is me saying that I didn't like Poland when I lived there and when I visited lately so horrible? I didn't like Polish food before I emigrated either and I continue not liking it here. It's fattening, served typically in all-you-can-eat cheap buffet restaurants, and usually too cold. It's actually disgusting.

Polish language is considered one of the most difficult to learn and sounds bad to me. I will take Italian or French any time over Polish. The American English is the best in every regard - grammar, sound, and directness. I remember the sound of Voice of America. It was music to my ears. The British English from the BBC was close but no cigar. It sounds pompous and high brow.

Finally, the people. Argumentitive, opinionated, looking for faults, critical of everything, suspicious, fishing for hidden meanings, drunk way too often, unassymilating, living in the past with all those Polish books, flags, and music. Still pissed off about Yalta. In the US, Poles are seen as thieves, drunks, and notorious visa overstayers. Just like blacks, always voting for the Democrats, causing both parties to ignore them.

I can understand easily what two people are saying from 100 feet. When two Polish guys talk at the club 10 feet from me all I hear is noise sprinkled with a lot of kurwas. That is how know their nationality - from those kurwas.

I have no identity crisis. All my family is here. We never speak Polish. My wife and I are 100% Anglo - always. We argue in English. I speak English everywhere - Polish delis and Consulate included. Whatever nostalgia was left in me, after my last visit, it is gone for good. Coming for a visit to this forum did not help any either. In fact, it confirmed all of my past generalizations.

Its not obligatory at all - you are entitled to not like your country.

What club are you talking about where people say kurwa ? If its a Polish club that would be a curious choice for you to attend if you have dedicated your adult life to forgetting Poland.

If its a club like a disco that would be a curious choice for an old timer whos been married for 40 years

Why go to a Polish deli if you find Polish food disgusting?

@Rich Mazur
No one tells you to like/love Poland or the country you were born in.
You may hate it all along.

We're questioning your story (American health insurance that somehow covers all Polish clinics and hospitals, no local currency while in Poland, no possibilty to withdraw the money from any ATM apparently), your claim that you're Polish and apparently lived here till the age of 22-24 but you don't speak Polish (you can't answer simple questions in Polish and all the examples of Polish phrases you give contain mistakes - the latest one too).

Putting so much effort in creating an online persona and not being able to stop after being exposed is deeply disturbing.

Isn't it curious how he couldn't even provide the name of the insurance company in question, yet he was able to talk about the details of the policy?

It's just painfully obvious that everything mentioned here is coming from what people have said anecdotally on PF and elsewhere, along with random things copied from the internet without any context.