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Malta Expat Health Insurance

The tiny island nation of Malta located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, about 100 kilometers south of Sicily and almost 300 kilometers north of continental Africa. It is home to just 410,000 residents, but what it lacks in size Malta certainly makes up for in charm, character, beauty, and history. Malta is made up of a total of five islands with a combined land mass of only 316 square kilometers, the main island called Malta holds the majority of residents while some also live on Gozo while only a few dozen villagers make Comino their home, the remaining two islands, Kemmunett and Filfla, are inhabited) In 2010 over 1.2 million tourists flocked to Malta to experience its well preserved architecture, including the worlds oldest free standing buildings from the Phoenician colonization, ancient ruins from the Roman Empire, and exceptionally well preserved cathedrals and homes from the middle ages through the British colonial period. Malta's beaches may be small, but the crystal clear water surrounding the islands is ideal for swimming, windsurfing, and diving, and never drops below 13°C even in winter. With so many cultures having called Malta home over the last 3000 years, the cuisine is a unique fusion of North African and Sicilian along with local traditional flavors. All of these interesting features, along with a decent economy and stable government that succeeded in achieving European Union membership in 2004 make the draw to see and experience Malta almost impossible to resist.

Malta Healthcare and Insurance

With records showing that Malta's first hospital was already in operation 1372, it is only fitting that the current medical system be excellent. The World Health Organization ranked Malta's health care system as the fifth best worldwide, a stellar accomplishment for any country. Health care is available from both public and private sources and is often times slightly more affordable than many other parts of Europe. As a result, medical tourism has become a burgeoning industry in Malta, with patients coming from as a far away as the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to take advantage of the excellent care available.

As of this writing, there are seven hospitals in Malta. The newest one, construction completed in 2007, is the public Mater Dei Hospital. It is in fact, one of the largest health care facilities in Europe and offers the full spectrum of treatments that are to be expected of a modern health care center. Other public outlets include St. Luke's Hospital, which was the main hospital from its construction in 1939 until Mater Dei was opened, the Paul Boffa Hospital for oncology, the Mount Carmel Hospital serves as the public's mental ward, the Zammit Clapp Hospital which specifically tailors care to the elderly, and the geriatric care center St. Vincent De Paule Hospital. On the island of Gozo the only hospital available is the public Gozo General Hospital. Conveniently, all three inhabited islands are in very close proximity, so travel between them is easy if someone on Gozo or Comino requires treatment on Malta. For visitors, it is important to note that most needing medical care from the public sector will need to go to Mater Dei or St. Luke's Hospital as the public hospitals other are usually by referral only as they are specialty care facilities. In addition to hospitals, there are several health centers to serve the non-critical needs of the Maltese.

Private hospital offerings are also well represented in Malta. The St. James Hospital network has five locations in Malta, with services ranging from typical treatments and testing to plastic surgery and augmentation. The St. Phillips Hospital is also operating in Malta. While the private facilities are not as large as the public ones, the services are of equally high standard, but their range of services are not as all encompassing as the Mater Dei Hospital and not all offer emergency treatment and may need to refer patients to the larger public facilities for some treatments. Several private clinics are also available, including many specialists and most feature wait times drastically shorter than their European counterparts. The wisest course of action for anyone traveling to Malta for a specific treatment is to contact the health care facility they are interested in using and make sure that the procedure is within its offerings and that their schedule will coincide with the care center's required time frame for treatment and post-operative visits if any are necessary.

Malta Health Concerns

With a system very similar to Britain's National Health Service, all Maltese are entitled to receive free necessary health care at any public medical facilities. Malta health insurance for residents is paid for through taxes garnished from wages, and dispersed evenly to all its citizens so that all are covered equally. Additionally, all European Health Insurance Card holders are entitled to public health care at their countries' reciprocal rate. Australian citizens are covered for necessary treatments as well, as long as their extent of stay is under one month. Persons not qualified for free or reduced rate care will be expected to arrange payment either out of pocket or through a private third party insurance company. It deserves to be mentioned that health care in Malta is excellent, but not overly cheap. For this reason, the Maltese Ministry of Health strongly urges all who do not qualify for free care to purchase traveler's Malta health insurance prior to arrival within the country.

Malta Travel Advice

With such a dense population on such a small footprint, Malta's natural resources, in particular fresh water, are in high demand. Water is drinkable, but with over half of the water in Malta coming from desalination plants, locals obviously want everyone including visitors to use it as sparingly as possible. Communicable disease is very well controlled through preventative health care measures, so tourists and visitors should not be overly concerned with exposure to these types of health risks. Nevertheless, the Maltese government requires that all visitors be vaccinated for diphtheria and tetanus prior to arrival and travelers from counties with a poor history of inoculation may be required to present their vaccine card prior to entrance. Regardless of the government's requirements, it is always good practice for all persons to ensure that all their childhood vaccines and adult booster shots are always up to date. The most common problems that visitors experience when visiting Malta are sunburn, heat exhaustion, and dehydration, all of which are easily preventable and curable.

Malta Expat Health Insurance

Malta is a living history lesson of the Mediterranean region from prehistoric times to modern day, and with exceptionally beautiful scenery and warm weather, it is hard to find a more perfect vacation destination. The only thing that could spoil such an amazing trip would be an unexpected trip to the hospital due to accident or injury while visiting Malta. Expat health insurance plans that we work with can provide a number of coverage benefits, and often include ways to include other optional benefits packages to you’re your needs. Global Health Insurance offers Malta expat medical insurance packages, as well as International Health Insurance coverage which is honored worldwide for any who may be traveling to Malta or beyond. With numerous plans and packages to choose from, Global Health Insurance has consultants who will help you free of charge to find the right coverage for you and your family's needs.