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health insurance

 
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shelley



Joined: 24 Apr 2003
Posts: 12
Location: Merida, Mexico

PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2003 3:28 pm    Post subject: health insurance Reply with quote

Just when I thought I had it all in the bag (destination confirmed, documents legalized, house rented, ticket bought....) I realized I hadn't considered health insurance! I do have my provincial insurance (MSI) but that only helps me if I can make it back to Canada. God help me if I have to be airlifted! Are there any fellow Canadians out there who can tell me what route they took? I phoned Blue Cross and they want $1200.00 a year, up front! Is this standard? Are there any health plans you can join once you start working at a language school? Cheers! Shelley Smile
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MELEE



Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shelly,

By the lack of responses you got I'd guess most people working in Mexico don't have issurance. If you get a full time job there is a chance that you will get signed up for the Mexican National Health (a.k.a. IMSS or Seguro). It is possible to sign up for this service independantly as well, but in some parts of the country the quality is rather sketchy so most people wouldn't want to. In terms of general health care, doctors are quite inexpensive and you will be able to pay out of pocket for visits concerning the typical digestive problems. BUT there are accidents to think of. You might want to get some sort of accident insurance. If you would need to be hospitalized due to a bad traffic accident that would add up to a really big bill. If you can get a hold of a copy of the Transitions Abroad magazine there should be ads for different travel issurance companies there.

best of luck
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Lee_Marrero



Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 66
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A doctor office visit cost between 7 and 15 dollars US. A penicillin prescription costs about 7 dollars. I once had a frozen neck muscle, I bought a syringe and the muscle relaxant and shot myself in the butt with it, I felt better in 15 minutes! Also I got a severe infection from eating some contaminated food, I mean I was sick!! Vomit, diarhhea, wrenching abdominal pains, couldnt walk. I took a taxi to the Red Cross hospital where I stayed for 2 1/2 days being pumped up with Ivs and medicine, total cost 10 dollars for the IV drips that I had. So do try and plan ahead but dont worry too much there is reasonable health care. A furthur note I live in San Diego California 10 minutes from the Mexican border, I get all my health care down there.
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Wolfpelt



Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lee_Marrero wrote:
So do try and plan ahead but dont worry too much there is reasonable health care.

Lee, my man, this is the kind of news I like to hear! I can't believe those rates, wonderful compared to health care in the UK. How would you rate Mexican doctors BTW?

Mrs W and I just took out long-stay travel insurance, which seems like a good deal: �400 (that's less than US$650) for two people for 6 months. See, it covers nasty stuff like road accidents, losing limbs, and -- yikes --death, so I guess it's not that expensive is it? Very Happy

Wolfpelt
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Lee_Marrero



Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 66
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I really cant comment on how good it is, I would have to read the fine print. I do know that alot of those insurance policies require you to pay the full cost of any services in the foreign country and then apply for reimbursement at home. Losing a limb may cost quite a few pesos. As far as physicians go they are definitly can be considered "western doctors" the mere proximity to the US and its enourmous cultural and information spillover really does keep doctors in the know! I just had a little cosmetic surgery on May 29, it went great, the Dr in California wanted 6,000 US for the surgery, I got it 15 minutes away in Mexico for 1,500. Like I said I dont call it cheap, It is simply priced right. In the US UK amongst others we have been lulled into a false pretense that medicine is supposed to be astronimically priced, In Mexico and other places an effort is made to keep med service prices in harmony with how much people earn, it is wonderful. I am leaving for Vietnam & Cambodia next month so I went to my US dentist last week, he said I need a "deep cleaning" a cleaning along the gum line and my insurance doesnt cover it I would need to pay nearly 500 USD, I called a dentist in MEx he is doing it for me on Wednesday for 190 USD with anesthesia and follow-up visit included.
I hope this info is helpful
PS Dentist in Mexico are EXCELLENT!
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Wolfpelt



Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 12:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lee_Marrero wrote:
I just had a little cosmetic surgery on May 29, it went great, the Dr in California wanted 6,000 US for the surgery, I got it 15 minutes away in Mexico for 1,500.

Jeeze, Mexico is looking better and better! Funny you should mention cosmetic surgery cos Mrs W is thinking of getting some. Me, I find her perfect as she is but hey when a gal has her mind made up... Laughing

Those prices are truly extraordinary though. Maybe we shouldn't tell so much about Mexico in public, otherwise everybody will wanna go there and then where would we be? Laughing

Is that a permanent Far East gig?

Wolfpelt
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On the flip side of the coin, many Mexicans have no concept of the cost of medical care in the USA.

A few months ago, the father of one of my Mexican co-workers had some rather serious health problems. He was hospitalized for 10 days and underwent two operations without the benefit of medical insurance. My co-worker was bemoaning the high cost of private medical care. In his words, "It cost our family 40,000 pesos (about USD$4,000) for my father's hospital stay, operations, and all. Private health care in Mexico is getting as expensive as in the USA."

My response, "Ya, right!" He wouldn't have believed me if I'd told him what it would have cost north of the border.
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