Private Mexican Health Care Insurance

sm1mex wrote:I have Met Life through Bellon Insurance across from Handy Mail and Deli 8.  excellent service and the cancer exclusion was only for 30 days on my policy, not 2 years.  I have used Met Life and the Bellons many times and they always help me immediaately and Met Life always pays.

but what is your annual premium?

I am just renewing my policy. It is 39,500 pesos with 7,000 pesos deductible per illness. I am 66 years old. I have a friend that is about 73 and that person has a 30,000 pesos deductible per illness and his policy is 15,000 pesos a year.
It all depends on what plan you pick and the deductible. The reason I pay more and chose the lowest deductible is because I have had several medical conditions, one catastrophic and my future health is unpredictable so I carry the lowest deductible because I may need it again soon. Met Life has already paid over 150,000 U.S. on me so I am a loss leader. My relative was just in the hospital with emergency surgery and the total hospital and doctor bill is going to be between 70 and 80,000 pesos. My relative paid her 7,000 pesos deductible and was discharged. Met Life picked up the rest. Health insurance is very affordable down here depending on what policy you choose. If possible, every one should try to get some type of health insurance BEFORE they get a problem, then it may be impossible to get insurance. My insurance has saved me from financial catastrophe.

So, as a ballpark, and for budgeting,  private insurance per person should be around $250.00 mo? We are still NOB, my husband is still working, has private insurance and Medicare here.  We are both healthy and if we decide to retire to Mexico, we would have a slush fund for paying cash for anything out of the hospital.  When we retire, I would not have insurance either place as I'm not 65 for another 5.5 years.  I would need private insurance for myself.  

Is my husband better off getting private insurance there or getting a secondary insurance to his Medicare in the US and coming back to the US for any serious illness?  This is what I'm wrestling with when making our retirement plan.

Medical care here is superb and much less expensive than NOB.  Medicare is useless here.  Serious illness at our age usually means cancer or heart issues.  If one of you has a heart attack you need care HERE not there.  IMHO, same for cancer.  If it was me, I'd want to be near home and friends and that's here.  It's best to check with one of the recommended insurance brokers here to get an idea of cost.  Your guesstimate is high for your age.  Get your insurance here before age 64, there are few options after that.

Thank you David.  It sounds like it will be affordable for me, Steve might be another story since he's almost 67.  I'm going to try and see if I can get a quote via email, otherwise, we will be in town next month and see what we can find out then.

You may find more helpful information here:
http://rollybrook.com/health.htm

annied wrote:Thank you David.  It sounds like it will be affordable for me, Steve might be another story since he's almost 67.  I'm going to try and see if I can get a quote via email, otherwise, we will be in town next month and see what we can find out then.

Send an email to Jesus Tejeda, one of the most popular agents here; jtejeda17@hotmail.com get quote from him.

Thank you for his email address! I sent a message today.

annied wrote:So, as a ballpark, and for budgeting,  private insurance per person should be around $250.00 mo? We are still NOB, my husband is still working, has private insurance and Medicare here.  We are both healthy and if we decide to retire to Mexico, we would have a slush fund for paying cash for anything out of the hospital.  When we retire, I would not have insurance either place as I'm not 65 for another 5.5 years.  I would need private insurance for myself.  

Is my husband better off getting private insurance there or getting a secondary insurance to his Medicare in the US and coming back to the US for any serious illness?  This is what I'm wrestling with when making our retirement plan.

I should be doing three other things right now instead of being here, so I will make this fast and short.

Why do you want insurance? For an existing condition, for a possible future condition, or for emergencies?

• Cheapest: Seguro Popular. The Mexican government's insurance for those who do not have insurance. So cheap you do not have to ask how much. Covers some things (some drugs, including some expensive HIV medications), sutures, consultations, even covers a pacemaker if you need one. Downside, waiting in line like cattle. Lack of better medications, lack of medication in stock. In an emergency, it is 99.999999% useless.
  

• IMSS - The Mexican insurance for non-government employees. A huge step up from Seguro Popular. Cost $300 to $500usd per year. Has real hospitals and real drugs (even tenecteplase, as long as they did not just use the last dose on the last patient). In an emergency, do not expect them to actually have anyone to drive the ambulance, but if you can get to the IMSS hospital (by Cruz Roja ambulance), they could save your life (IMSS has about 7 hospitals that can be reached in 25 to 45 minutes, Seguro Popular uses what are equivalent to "county hospitals" that are already at 300% capacity). Downside, has age and medical restrictions for entering, has been known to cancel people who have any condition. If you can get it, do so, and never use it for anything except an emergency.
  

• Medicare: Look at part C? (or is it Ω)?. Somewhere there should be something stating they will reimburse you for a life and death emergency treatment outside the USA.
  

• Full private insurance: Affordable at first until you hit around 70. Expect to pay over $1000 per month for it when you are older and more likely to actually need it
  

• Major Medical policy: There are some group policies that pool together to get a group rate. Raising the deductable makes it affordable for when you get older and need it. Example: http://boomers-in-paradise.org/
  

• Pay out of pocket: Works for most things. Try to stay healthy. Anything except major emergencies can be affordable.
  

• Evacuation flight: $15,000 to $45,000. Most cheaper companies want you to wait to be stable first. If you are stable, you probably do not need flown out. Other services such as http://airevacinternational.com/ have a higher price, but will fly a true emergency patient with portable intensive care equipment.
  

There is no 911 service here. Most emergency ambulance service is provided by the Cruz Roja (Red Cross). They can take you to any private clinic or hospital. They also treat many of the minor to moderate emergencies. They cannot take you to a public (government subsidized) hospital without permission from them first http://drsamchapala.com/wp/?page_id=42 .

Very informative post Dr. Thelin.

Muchas gracias.

Dr. Thelin - Gracias!  Boomers in Paradise or another major medical group policy looks like what I'm after.