# US expats living in Mexico - healthcare?



## Split the USA (Jun 29, 2015)

Are most of you using the Mexico national healthcare system? I understand that costs around $300 per year per person. What does it cover and what doesn't it cover? Do you need to be on a particular visa like Temporal/Permanente to participate?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

https://www.expatforum.com/expats/showthread.php?1466554&p=14708086&amp=1#post14708086


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## almot (Aug 25, 2012)

1) Most are registered, not necessarily using.
2) Costs depend on the program (there are 2), and on income. Higher-income members also pay users fee per procedure, those can be a lot more than $300.
3) Long list. Besides, there are 2 very different programs - IMSS and Seguro Popular.
4) Yes, need RT or RP.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

almot said:


> 1) Most are registered, not necessarily using.
> 2) Costs depend on the program (there are 2), and on income. Higher-income members also pay users fee per procedure, those can be a lot more than $300.
> 3) Long list. Besides, there are 2 very different programs - IMSS and Seguro Popular.
> 4) Yes, need RT or RP.



Regarding your point #2: Are those fees per procedure at Seguro Popular? I have never seen that with IMSS. Also, does Seguro Popular ask about income? IMSS has never asked me for income information.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

When you sign up for SP there is a 'means test'. If you rent (even if it is the Taj Majal) or if the floor of your house is dirt, SP is free. I haven't looked recently, but I believe you could possibly spend as much for SP coverage as IMSS coverage, but in that case you probably shouldn't be using up SP resources.

For either SP or IMSS you need a CURP. 

We have IMSS but recently questioning if that is smart. If you are relatively healthy, IMSS might make sense. I have had docturas at IMSS who did not know how to properly take my blood pressure. One did not know how to put paper in the printer. At the same time I have had specialists who have outside practices and are some of the best in town. Trouble is, sometimes you need to wait 6 months or more to get an appt at IMSS. For specialists, all records seem to be on paper. When you set an appt it gets entered into a book (literally). Last week (second week in Oct) I met a specialist who said - come back in 6 months - the girl at the desk said - sorry, we are not making any more appts this year. You need to come back in February to set an appt when we have new books ... During that visit I had a brief conversation with the Duke University trained specialist who I have been seeing over the last 3 years for the same condition. He said - if you were in the US we would have operated on you a long time ago. But you are in Mexico and we want to make sure surgeries are truly called for. I had no problem with that. 

If we were to have an emergency today we would not rush off to IMSS - our first stop would be the top notch Red Cross clinic. There is also a brand new, squeaky clean state of the art hospital whose emergency room I have visited once (at a cost of like $50 US). I spent more at the pharmacy afterwards...

If you have surgery at IMSS you need to find a suitable blood donor (beforehand). If you are lucky they will let you self-donate. You also need to have a family member who will act as your 'nurse' and who might have to sleep on the floor beside your bed.


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## almot (Aug 25, 2012)

TundraGreen said:


> Regarding your point #2: Are those fees per procedure at Seguro Popular? I have never seen that with IMSS. Also, does Seguro Popular ask about income? IMSS has never asked me for income information.


Yes, there may be a co-pay with SP. Not a small amount, by me. Though people who paid this, were in much higher income bracket.

Yes, SP ask about income and living conditions, though their questionnaire is not very clever.

I agree with what Lat19 said - quality of treatment depends on a particular clinic, not on IMSS vs SP. There are good SP hospitals and horrible IMSS, and vice versa. Have a feeling that top notch SP and IMSS clinics are few and far in between, in most of the country. The rule on having a caregiver vary from clinic to clinic, I doubt it is really a rule but in subsidized system you stress them too much when you are single. In private system they are more flexible, both on caregiver rule and on blood - you can pay for blood.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Over the years I have had one procedure at IMSS which required anesthesia (and therefore an overnight stay). The steps required to setup that procedure were daunting.

It went something like this; (1) have lab work done. (2) show the results to the surgeon (3) surgeon sign off and orders up chest x-ray (4) in my case a sonic-gram was also ordered (5) need an appointment with internist who looks at the big picture and blesses you for surgery. (6) if there is a knife involved you need blood. in my case I gave my own but that still required a half day class on giving blood etc. (btw - there is a cut off as to age you can no longer give blood) (7) time to set a date for the procedure. you need to check-in (in person) weekly to see if your date has been set. (8) all of the steps up to this point have a time factor involved. if at any point a timer expires, you have to go way back in the steps. (9) show up on the morning of your procedure - the surgeon may or may not show up. if there is no surgeon, see step 8. (10) you will be given a gown with your butt hanging out and seated in a hallway queue waiting for an operating room table. At this point, in my case, the anesthesiologist stopped by to tell me what to expect. He said - we will be giving you a spinal. You will be awake. NO WAY ! In the end he put me out. (11) My 65+ year old wife was my nurse. I shared my room with two other patients. My wife literally curled up her jacket and used it as a pillow on the floor at my bedside. (12) In the morning the surgeon stopped by and blessed my release. He gave us the paperwork to assure we could get in to see him for a follow-up in a week's time. By no means am I complaining. That is simply a very honest recollection of what was involved.

I could have paid for a private surgeon/hospital experience, and I have for something else. But I/we wanted to experience it the IMSS way using a 'relatively simple' procedure to get a feel for what to possibly expect in the future, should we need it.

btw - I could NOT pay for blood and when I asked that question it really ruffled some feathers. Just what kind of people do you think we are !!!

also - we have been told often that if we ever need a serious operation we should take a cab into Mexico City and walk right into the main IMSS hospital there. (Or if I were to have a heart attack). even some well-to-do friends have said exactly that. Apparently there you will get some of the best medical care in Mexico.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

In Mexico it is federal law that selling blood is illegal and strictly enforced. It has to be donated.


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## almot (Aug 25, 2012)

Donated and then charged for, in a private system. Maybe the law concerns individuals only? Also, I hear that in emergency situations patient is not required to donate your own blood or look for a donor, including IMSS and SP hospitals.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Not only for individuals but illegal to sell or buy blood for all Mexican institutes and private hospitals, Cruz Rojo etc.. IMS S, Seguro Popular, ISSSTE, Cruz Rojo have regular screened donors with donor cards and have blood banks when needed but only when donors are not found for a particular patient as required.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

The first year we lived in Mexico we hunted around for ways we could contribute. One thing we tried was to donate blood. Cruz Roja would not accept it ! They have a rule that you have to live in Mexico (solid) for a period like 2 years so that you (someone from outside Mexico) don't contaminate others. I found that interesting. They will type your blood immediately and for free however. 

If there is a bright spot - if you were to self donate blood at someplace like IMSS it has a long shelf life (maybe as much as a year).


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lat19n said:


> Over the years I have had one procedure at IMSS which required anesthesia (and therefore an overnight stay). The steps required to setup that procedure were daunting. ...


Where in Mexico was the IMSS hospital located?


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> Where in Mexico was the IMSS hospital located?


Morelos.


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