Health Care For Veterans in Panama
Hospital Nacional in Panama City

by Darryl S. Dalley

Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Hospital Nacional and have never worked for the hospital.

With long waiting periods to get in the Veterans Administrations (VA) hospitals you may find that if you qualify, the fastest and best care is available in Panama City, Panama. Hospital Nacional located on Avenue Cuba and Calle 38 & 39 in Panama City, Panama is just as modern as any stateside hospital and boasts the most modern equipment. The fully bilingual doctors and staff are highly qualified and ready to provide service to eligible U.S. veterans and their dependents.

Hospital Nacional accepts Tricare Standard and Tricare For Life, which are the health care programs for retired U.S. military personnel and their dependents. Prior to visiting Panama you should inform your healthcare provider in the U.S., if you are under any program but Tricare Standard, that you need to be transferred to it because you are going on vacation to Panama, or that you are coming to live permanently. A veteran or his dependent may transfer from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard twice a year. If you live in Panama you will just keep your enrollment with Tricare Standard.

At Hospital Nacional you are responsible for the payment (deductible) of $150 a year for the veteran or $300 for a family (size of family does not matter). I recommend that you pay the hospital the full deductible on October 1st, which is the start of the new fiscal year. Once your deductible is paid you can seen by any doctor, be treated as an inpatient or outpatient, get ambulance service, physical therapy, x-rays, CT scans, ultra sounds, and many other services at no cost to you, the veteran.

Hospital Nacional processes all the paperwork and submits it directly to the Tricare offices in the U.S. Getting same day appointments or appointments when you want is no problem at Hospital Nacional. That is their standard. They state that the U.S. veterans get the red carpet treatment every time they come to the hospital. You won’t stand in long lines waiting to get lab work done, x-rays, prescriptions filled or any other services taken care of.

In summary, for the Tricare program Hospital Nacional provides all the services a veteran or their dependents need.

Hospital Nacional also takes care of U.S. veterans under the Foreign Medical Program (FMP) and ChampVA. The hospital has a very close relationship to the FMP headquarters in Denver, Colorado especially with Ms. Nancy Martinez.

At Hospital Nacional they can treat any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 0% or higher. Again, the hospital staff does all the paperwork and will set up all the appointments and take care of the veterans needs including required hospitalization for any service-connected disability or disabilities. Having a disability rated at 0% is gold in Panama because you can get treatment.

The hospital bills the FMP directly, so there is no out of pocket cost to the veteran.

I suggest that if you live in central or South America and have a V.A. rating you should enroll in the FMP now. However, if you are just planning on traveling to Panama I recommend you bring a copy of your rating decisions.

To make it clear, sometimes veterans appeal their decisions and have other disabilities added. The V.A. does not keep the current rating with disabilities which have been rated before so having all the ratings forms will show the hospital what conditions they can treat. They have the enrollment form at the hospital but in an emergency situation they could possibly provide medical care if the veteran has the rating sheet(s) because the hospital can call the FMP office in Denver and get permission for emergency treatment of a rated condition. The best thing to do is get enrolled.

Veterans who are receiving benefits from the V.A. but are not retired from the military can get medical care for their dependents under the ChampVA program at Hospital Nacional. The application must be submitted and the veteran should have the award letter with them. The hospital has the application. I do not have personal knowledge of whether the hospital could provide emergency care for a dependent but I imagine they would.

Mrs. Elsa Bermudez is Hospital Nacional´s liaison and is in charge of the Tricare and FMP programs at the hospital. Her telephone number is 507-207-8344 or 507-207-8349 and her fax number 507-207-8337. Her email address is: ebermudez@hospitalnacional.com.

Hospital Nacional was the first hospital in Panama City, Panama to offer medical care under Tricare and FMP when the U.S. military bases closed in Panama in December 1999.

I have had surgery to replace a herniated disc in my neck, had my knee scoped, and been treated for a stomach condition. I also had a colonoscopy, stress test, and many other procedures. I have been an inpatient many times and have been provided what I consider the best medical care in the world.

My wife had our baby delivered in the hospital and Tricare doctors took care of my her throughout the pregnancy. My daughter has been seen at the hospital since she was born. They have fine doctors to take care of kids as well.

Hospital Nacional has around 100 beds. The hospital is a very modern facility in a three-story building, with the clinics located in the building adjacent to the hospital.

Both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion are represented in Panama. I served as the VFW Service Officer for more than 4 years. I assisted veterans recover around a million dollars in back pay while holding this position. I continue representing veterans for the American Legion and as a private individual. I do not charge for any services. I learned how to be a service officer by doing my own claim because we did not have any person in Panama who knew how to do the paperwork. The VFW provides me with training every 6 months. It’s the best training in the world. I love taking care of veterans and their families. I do it as a 100% disabled veteran myself, and as a retired U.S. soldier as well.

My email address is: darryldalley@hotmail.com. Please email me if you have any questions or comments about this information. If you need help with claims to the VA I can assist you. It does not matter what service organization currently represents you.