Job Discussion Forums

Alexanndra · Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 28 Location: Mexico City

Just notice that with that type of ex-pat insurance, if you decide to move back to the US on a permanent basis, they will no longer insure you, so you'll have to reapply for regular insurance in the US, which could be a problem if you developed an illness or condition while you were in Mexico.

jfurgers · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 442 Location: Mexico City

Good point Alexandra. Thanks. I'm still relatively young though (37), so I should be ok but one never knows right?

John

hlamb · Joined: 09 Dec 2003 Posts: 431 Location: Canada

Guy (and other Canadians) what do you do for insurance when you go home to Canada for holidays? I'm no longer covered by my provincial health care plan since I've been out of the country too long and may have a three month waiting period to get covered again when I decide to move back home. Are there insurers for expat Canadians moving or visiting home?

MELEE · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:23 pm Post subject:

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

PlayadelSoul · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 346 Location: Playa del Carmen

At least in these parts, IMSS is the best option when it comes to quality of doctors. The lines are the reason I usually go to a private practitioner. I just don't have the time to wait 3 or 4 hours to see the doc. If it isn't serious, Dr. Simi is always an option. 20 pesos a visit.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Alexanndra · Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 28 Location: Mexico City

I so love Dr. Simi for colds and stomach troubles and other non-complicated illnesses. I started out using similar medicines for my dogs only, but now I use them for myself and my family. So far they have always worked, though anyone who works for a pharmaceutical company will tell you it's all expired, horrible stuff.

I used my Vrim card to have some minor surgical procedures done at the Hospital Angeles in Interlomas, and I saved a lot.

Cdaniels · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 2:18 am Post subject: Expired medicine

I'm not sure what Dr. Simi is, but many people seem to have a mistaken idea that medicines turn bad like overripe fruit or wine turning into vinegar. The expiration date only means that the strength of the medication has deteriorated. The only reason to throw expired medicine out is that the dosage information on the label will be too low.
How's emergency health care? Its not unusual to wait several hours at Emergency Rooms around here, despite claims that US health care is superior. Evil or Very Mad

Alexanndra · Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 28 Location: Mexico City

Dr. Simi is the cartoon figure used to advertise the "similars" chain of pharmacies, i.e. generic medicine.

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

In Mexico,
I always had good experience trusting the chemists. They'd give free advice, and they generally didn't try to kill me.
The Mexicans are not fond of IMSS either: �Que significa IMSS? Importa Madre Su Salud.
I never had trouble with them in Oaxaca, though. The few times I dealt with them, that is. Usually I'd have at least one doctor for a student (I dated her, too, briefly), and that doctor would usually help me out (whether or not it was my girlfriend). The queues at IMSS can be troublesome, but I expect they'd take you in, in an emergency. Surely they practice triage??
Otherwise, medical care isn't so expensive, anyway.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Whenever I need any type of medicine, I almost always buy it from Dr. Simi . . . but then one of my housemates has been working at a Dr. Simi pharmacy for years. And, no, his closet isn't full of Dr. Simi suits. He's never had to dress up in a Dr. Simi costume, at least not yet. With the private medical insurance I have via my employer, visits to a doctor and any meds he/she prescribes are free. However, with the bureaucratic process involved in using our medical insurance, unless it's something serious, it's a whole lot easier and faster to go to Dr. Simi.

Here in Merida, most of the doctors who work for IMSS also work at private clinics and hospitals, so the "doctor quality" is pretty much the same wherever a patient goes. Even at the "free" government clinic and hospital, where poor people who don't have seguro social go, most of the doctors are good. It's just that the quality and quantity of facilities are absolutely horrible, and there aren't nearly enough doctors for the number of patients who use that clinic and hospital.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

One of the big problems we have in Canada is that our doctors are often lured south to the US for the big bucks. Doctors are paid very well in Canada, but the best and the brightest can still earn 10X or more in the states. I wonder if something similar happens here in Mexico?

Does anyone know what the Mexican equivalent to the American Medical Association, or the Royal College of Physicians is? I have heard of some salaries paid to docs at IMSS being ridiculously low...less than TEFL teachers, and slightly more than DF police.

I met a registered nurse, fully trained and well-educated in Acapulco some time ago. Working at IMSS there, she was earning 70 pesos a day. How can they possibly retain well-trained staff at those rates? This nurse was turning tricks in the evenings to make ends meet, where she would make far more than double her daily pay as a nurse.

Before the lurid comments on how could I know that Embarassed

I researched and wrote an article on non-tourism employment in Acapulco a while ago.