Should the music in your hotel room be free? Yes, say hoteliers

Nothing´s free anymore, not even the music or television in your hotel room, according to Panama´s Author and Composer Society (SPAC) which regulates copyright and author´s rights. According to Lic. Jose Luis Cervantes, legal advisor to SPAC, some 75 cases have been presented against hotels, including Marriott and Decameron. A fiscal court specializing in intellectual property will review the SPAC claim that hotels are failing to comply with the law and stipulates that they pay royalties for transmission of television or radio in individual hotel rooms.

Many of these hotels are part of APATEL, the national association of hotels. According to their PR representative, Hugo Rico, APATEL reacted by requiring SPAC to provide written documentation that they are in fact representatives of artistes whose work is broadcast in their establishments.

Before the 75 cases were presented, most hotels were paying royalties for transmission in their common areas like lobbies, restaurants and gyms. But since SPAC presented these cases regarding private hotel rooms, no royalties are being paid. Some hotels claim to have been victim to unauthorized inspection, a claim denied SPAC.

While many big-name hotels are among the targets, SPAC maintains that their authority to charge royalties extends to every level of business establishment which plays a radio, CD or puts on the television in a place of business. The hotels are claiming however, that rooms are considered private property and should not be subject to the tariff.

Health insurance in Panama .....what you need to know

By Ursula Keiner Ford

One of the biggest concerns for foreigners relocating to Panama is health care. Every day I get at least a couple of emails with questions about health insurance from people living in Panama or planning on moving to Panama. These are the answers to some of the questions people put to me.

Being a retiree does not give you discounts on insurance premiums. It does however give you discounts on medical consultations (15%) which cost between $30-55 and on medicines (10-17% depending on the pharmacy).

Foreigners have to pay in public hospitals since they can’t apply for social security unless they have worked in Panama for a significant period since quotas have to be fulfilled in order to be eligible.

To be admitted to a hospital in Panama you need to present proof of insurance or a credit card. If you don’t, hospitals are not required by law to give you medical care and they will send you to one of the public hospitals (which have difficulty in handling the amount of patients they receive) even if it is an emergency and your life is in danger. This makes health insurance a necessity.

Every company has a maximum age of admittance to a policy plan --usually around 62-64 years. After this you can still get insured but you have fewer options. The maximum age a company offers for admittance is 74.

Most companies require examinations for admittance which depend on your age.

To give you a quote a broker needs to know the age of the person to be insured and the age of any dependants, whether you are looking for local or local/international coverage and if you have any existing health problems.

For more information on health insurance in Panama please visit:
www.healthinsuranceinpanama.com

Obituary of an American adventurer

John Mann’s life in Panama and his years in San Blas

John Mann with the trophy for his
annual cayuco race.

John Mann, the “living legend” as his friends called him in jocular recognition of his eccentricities and unconventional lifestyle, died on November 15 aged 80, after a short illness.

He was one of an older breed of American expatriates who discovered Panama as a young man and made the republic his home.

I first met John in 1958 when we were both boarders at a rooming house on the corner of Calle Estudiante.

He had arrived in Panama a year or two before me. After fighting in Korea, he satisfied a wanderlust by buying a donkey and setting off from his native Ohio to walk down to South America. He reached Colombia, where he stayed a while, but returned to Panama and became a diver for the Panama Canal Company, later forming his own diving company. He became friends with a fellow American adventurer, Charlie Peters, who had taken a job as custodian of a Pan American Airways beacon station at San Blas, whose signal guided aircraft inbound from the Atlantic. Their friendship would decide the course of the rest of his life.

Staying with Charlie at the lonely station on Pico Feo, a mainland bluff overlooking the San Blas islands, John began to get acquainted with the Kuna Indians, becoming so engrossed in their culture that when the beacon station was abandoned for more modern navigation aids, John obtained permission to stay on. The caciques gave him permission to build a house on the aptly named Mosquito island across the lagoon from Porvenir island, the Panama government outpost.

For visits to Panama City, he usually walked through the dense jungle from the Caribbean coast to Chepo on the Pacific side.

He poses with a winning crew.

With his own hands and only a couple of San Blas helpers, he built two boats and went into the tourist business, taking groups around the islands for day trips.

Eventually, a shipping agency friend in Colon persuaded him to lecture on board the cruise ships which at one time called regularly at San Blas.

I often used to pick him up in my Cessna to help him meet his schedule and in doing so had a chance to hear his lectures. He didn’t just explain Kuna customs, he made comparisons between the everyday lives of his American and European audience and that of the Indians right down to family squabbles and marital spats. So that when the foreigners stepped onto a tiny coral island with its thatched huts and seemingly primitive conditions, they didn’t see ignorant natives. They saw people with their own joys, sorrows and problems, to whom they could relate across the barrier of environment and culture.

He published small books which he gave to the cruise passengers describing San Blas through the eyes of a little Kuna girl called Siabibi. Little classics, the books not only described the tribe’s customs but the daily life of the island communities.

Charlie Peters (left), John Mann and two Kuna helpers
pose with the donkey.

Early in his 20-year San Blas odyssey, John Mann, conscious of the need for the Kunas to maintain their identity and culture, established an annual cayuco (dug out canoe) sailing race, attracting boats from islands near and far along the comarca with about $1,000 in prize money from his own pocket. Even after he had moved back to Panama, he maintained the race year after year.

After 35 years, the Caribbean trade winds will come and go in 2008 without the spectacle of the expertly-sailed cayucos beating and tacking between the Mauki barrier reef and the jungle-clad shore. Perhaps someone, or some organization will pick up the baton and commemorate his death, perpetuating the “John Mann Cayuco Race”.

In latter years, we were partners in a company which pioneered the extraction of trees submerged when Gatun Lake was flooded to provide water for the Canal. This had long been one of John Mannís ambitions which eventually was frustrated because of administrative tangles as the Canal reverted to Panama.

John Mann was a loquacious and entertainming raconteur with a wry sense of humor which spiced accounts of his many adventures; and as he confessed, he ‘never let the truth stand in the way of a good story’. He was a keen student of Isthmian and Latin American history.

He leaves a son, John Carlos, and will be missed by his many friends.

Nips and tucks for much less bucks

By Steven Rich, Marketing Manager for Panama Offshore Legal Services

Medical tourism involves foreigners visiting Panama for the sole purpose of receiving inexpensive medical care. Instead of lying on a beach or seeing the Canal, many foreigners come here for nip and tucks and other surgical procedures.

That’s because Panama has some of the most modern health care facilities in all of Latin America. Many Panamanian doctors studied in the USA, Canada or Europe and speak English.

Panama’s hospitals are excellent. USA’s number 1 ranked hospital, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, affiliates itself with the new Punta Pacifica Hospital in Panama City. Johns Hopkins publication "The Dome" boasts Punta Pacifica Hospital "offers state-of-the-art diagnostic and clinical care".

Panama City hosts other renowned hospitals. Centro Medico Paitilla catered to the ex-Shah of Iran. Hospital Nacional is an affiliate of Family Hospital Group of Boston, Massachusetts. Many consider Hospital Santo Tomas the best public hospital in Latin America.

Less than half the cost
Standard medical care, surgery, hospitalization, and dental care in Panama are less than half the cost in the U.S. or Europe. For example, a MRI costs $2,000 in the U.S., but only $900 in Panama.

Lack of proper health insurance is a big problem in the United States. Nearly 47 million Americans lack any health insurance. Millions more are under-insured. Almost 120 million U.S. citizens lack dental insurance. Around 250 million U.S. citizens have restrictive medical insurance due to pre-existing conditions. These are incentive for the rising industry called Medical Tourism.

U.S. residents reacting to soaring prices now travel abroad seeking low cost, quality medical care. Nearly half a million Americans traveled overseas for more affordable medical care in 2006. Americans used to travel far away to Thailand and India for cheaper surgeries.

Panama now offers North Americans cheaper quality medical care closer to home.

No waiting
You don’t have to wait in Panama. Even though England and Canada have a hybrid form of socialized medical care, the waiting periods for major surgical procedures can literally be deadly. Canadians and British usually wait a year or more for a hip replacement. No waiting in Panama if you have the money.

Medical tourism is good for Panama’s economy since every patient travels with a friend or relative and stays for around a week. Most pay cash for everything from face-lifts to in-vitro fertilization.

Panama doctor’s fees run around half the cost and hospitals charge around 80% less than in the U.S. Here are some examples: Face/Neck Lift costs around $11,000 in the U.S. and only $2,500 in Panama. A nose job costs $5,000 in the U.S., but only $1,700 in Panama. Liposuction in just one area costs $4,000 in the U.S. and only $2,500 in Panama.

Dental procedures, too
Dental procedures also cost a lot less in Panama. A dental Implant costs $2,500 in the U.S. while only costing $1,000 in Panama. A gum draft costs $1,400 in the U.S. but only $450 in Panama.

Ophthalmology (eye care) procedures also cost less in Panama. For example, Cataract surgery costs $6,000 in the U.S. compared to $2,500 in Panama.

International companies now flock to promote medical tourism in Panama. South Seas

Pharmaceuticals S.A. will set up a call center in Sydney, Australia for Australians and New Zealanders to visit Panama for major surgery. Why wait a long time for the Australian government to provide you with major surgical procedures when you can come to Panama and get it done quicker?

And a special visa
Panama even offers a Temporary Special Visitor Visa for Medical Treatment. Foreigners visiting Panama for the express purpose of medical treatment in a private hospital qualify for this one-year temporary residency visa. No extensions and the foreigner leaves the country within 30 days after the treatment or hospita-lization ends.

To sum up:
Panama offers state of the art medical technology, well-trained English-speaking doctors,excellent hospital care, and lower prices. Even a special immigration visa is available for medical tourists. Medical tourism may soon become a booming industry for Panama.