# Health insurance for elderly



## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

My aunt is planning to come to live with us in Mexico City. She is from New Zealand, and is in her 80s. She has nobody left back home and is lonely. Despite Covid, her doctors and specialists think it's a good idea and that she's fit enough for the change. She already has permanent residency status in Mexico as she's lived here before and got it. Our BIG worry is private health insurance. From what I've read, she won't get any due to her age, plus she does have some pre-existing conditions. I understand that she could get IMSS, but that doesn't sound adequate, and from the posts I've seen here, reliability is a big issue. We're with AXA, which we've never used, but that has an age limit too, though I'm not sure if that applies to adding a family member to an existing policy (have to check). I see that Americans can rely on some cover from home when they move to Mexico, but once citizens leave NZ, they're on their own. I doubt a lot of 80-somethings are moving abroad these days, but what are older people doing for health insurance in Mexico? Also, I've read some people here saying that many hospitals in Mexico don't accept private insurance. What does that mean?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Your aunt will probably have to pay as she goes, as most people do for routine care, and even brief hospitalizations. I doubt that affordable insurance will be found for an octogenarian. (I am one, too)
I hope she does not have COPD, as the elevation of Mexico City might be a problem.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MickCG said:


> My aunt is planning to come to live with us in Mexico City. She is from New Zealand, and is in her 80s. She has nobody left back home and is lonely. Despite Covid, her doctors and specialists think it's a good idea and that she's fit enough for the change. She already has permanent residency status in Mexico as she's lived here before and got it. Our BIG worry is private health insurance. From what I've read, she won't get any due to her age, plus she does have some pre-existing conditions. I understand that she could get IMSS, but that doesn't sound adequate, and from the posts I've seen here, reliability is a big issue. We're with AXA, which we've never used, but that has an age limit too, though I'm not sure if that applies to adding a family member to an existing policy (have to check). I see that Americans can rely on some cover from home when they move to Mexico, but once citizens leave NZ, they're on their own. I doubt a lot of 80-somethings are moving abroad these days, but what are older people doing for health insurance in Mexico? Also, I've read some people here saying that many hospitals in Mexico don't accept private insurance. What does that mean?


Mick, you are a good nephew to invite your aunt to come live with you and your family in Mexico City. Of course, it helps if she has lived here before and has permanent residency. Has she kept up with her Spanish?

Re health insurance, I am a long-time permanent resident of Mexico and am from the States. I have never heard of being able to rely on coverage from home, unless you have been paying for Medicare and can return home for a specific medical situation. I am 75 and paid for private medical insurance for a few years. When I hit 66 (more or less), the company made me take some tests and have one of their doctors examine me. I didn't meet their standards, and so they wouldn't renew my policy. Since then I have had several health problems (gall bladder surgery, a bad eye infection, and a rare gastro-intestinal infection, which took ages to cure). I paid for everything on my own. I am not very well-off financially, but was able to save a good amount of money by not having to pay the increasingly-rising cost of the insurance. I hope this information helps.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Mick, you are a good nephew to invite your aunt to come live with you and your family in Mexico City. Of course, it helps if she has lived here before and has permanent residency. Has she kept up with her Spanish?
> 
> Re health insurance, I am a long-time permanent resident of Mexico and am from the States. I have never heard of being able to rely on coverage from home, unless you have been paying for Medicare and can return home for a specific medical situation. I am 75 and paid for private medical insurance for a few years. When I hit 66 (more or less), the company made me take some tests and have one of their doctors examine me. I didn't meet their standards, and so they wouldn't renew my policy. Since then I have had several health problems (gall bladder surgery, a bad eye infection, and a rare gastro-intestinal infection, which took ages to cure). I paid for everything on my own. I am not very well-off financially, but was able to save a good amount of money by not having to pay the increasingly-rising cost of the insurance. I hope this information helps.


So you were able to get rid of the gastro-intestinal problems. I am glad to hear that.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

No, she doesn't have COPD, but does have a heart condition, though it's controlled and isn't an impediment for travel/high altitude.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

Her Spanish is not the best now, but she'll manage. I obviously misunderstood the posts about US Medicare, then. It did sound too good to be true. I have no idea about private hospital fees here which is what our main concern for our aunt would be. I'll need to investigate. I have health insurance through my spouse's employer, but we've never used it. I wonder if they can kick us off too. Good to hear you got over your maladies! Thanks for the info.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

MickCG said:


> Her Spanish is not the best now, but she'll manage. I obviously misunderstood the posts about US Medicare, then. It did sound too good to be true. I have no idea about private hospital fees here which is what our main concern for our aunt would be. I'll need to investigate. I have health insurance through my spouse's employer, but we've never used it. I wonder if they can kick us off too. Good to hear you got over your maladies! Thanks for the info.


Oops, sorry - I should have selected reply with quote for my two replies. I'm obviously new here.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> So you were able to get rid of the gastro-intestinal problems. I am glad to hear that.


Thanks, TG. I appreciate your good wishes for my health.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MickCG said:


> Oops, sorry - I should have selected reply with quote for my two replies. I'm obviously new here.


No te preocupes, Mick. We're glad you found us.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MickCG said:


> Her Spanish is not the best now, but she'll manage. I obviously misunderstood the posts about US Medicare, then. It did sound too good to be true. I have no idea about private hospital fees here which is what our main concern for our aunt would be. I'll need to investigate. I have health insurance through my spouse's employer, but we've never used it. I wonder if they can kick us off too. Good to hear you got over your maladies! Thanks for the info.


If your aunt once had a decent command of Spanish, living here for a bit should re-activate that knowledge as long as she makes an effort to not live in an English-speaking bubble.

I think you'll find that even top-ranked hospitals in the CDMX charge much lower fees than hospitals in the States. I would check with your health insurance provider and ask about age limits.

I am over my maladies, for the most part. Thanks for your good wishes!


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

I have been told by a well-respected cardiologist that if I were to have a cardiac event I should ask to be taken to the main IMSS hospital in Mexico City.

A lot of people speak English in Mexico City, and they are very happy to practice.

If you are going to go the self-insured route for healthcare in Mexico make sure you have the savings to afford an unexpected emergency. While medical care in Mexico is (generally) lower than in the US, you can still ring up quite a bill at a private hospital - and they expect you to settle up before releasing you. One thing you could do is charge expenses to a credit card.


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## jim1942 (Sep 2, 2020)

Isla Verde.....My friends wife has had gastro problems for 7 yrs and all the so-called medical specialists have run test after test after test and they cannot figure out what the problem is......any suggestions?


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

You can try what I did. I went for a scan for what I thought was a hernia. A few days later they took out 40 cm of my intestines...


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

jim1942 said:


> Isla Verde.....My friends wife has had gastro problems for 7 yrs and all the so-called medical specialists have run test after test after test and they cannot figure out what the problem is......any suggestions?


If you are in Mexico City, I can recommend the gastroenterologist who helped me. Send me a PM, and I can give you his name and contact information. By the way, besides being an excellent doctor, he is a kind human being and speaks English well.


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## jim1942 (Sep 2, 2020)

They reside in Tampa FL.....


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## Daniel105 (May 23, 2020)

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## jim1942 (Sep 2, 2020)

I have Medicare Part B and TriCare for Life. FMP is also available in certain circumstances.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

Isla Verde said:


> If your aunt once had a decent command of Spanish, living here for a bit should re-activate that knowledge as long as she makes an effort to not live in an English-speaking bubble.
> 
> I think you'll find that even top-ranked hospitals in the CDMX charge much lower fees than hospitals in the States. I would check with your health insurance provider and ask about age limits.
> 
> I am over my maladies, for the most part. Thanks for your good wishes!


Yes, true. Luckily, she's a very social person, so she will certainly make the effort. I have found a couple of health insurance providers here who advertise 'no age limit', so I'll check those. I have to say, I was completely ignorant about access to services and things, (not just health/travel insurance) for older people in any country. I know companies have to make a profit to survive, but to just say nothing affordable (or nothing at all) is available to you because of age/condition is a bit much to fathom. Very naive of me, I know, but at least I'm aware now.


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## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

If you dropped Medicare Part B, you would still have Part A (hospitalization) - however your ancillary services like doctor's visits, blood workups, Xray-MRI world be 100% out of pocket. Plus the travel back to the US.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MickCG said:


> Yes, true. Luckily, she's a very social person, so she will certainly make the effort. I have found a couple of health insurance providers here who advertise 'no age limit', so I'll check those. I have to say, I was completely ignorant about access to services and things, (not just health/travel insurance) for older people in any country. I know companies have to make a profit to survive, but to just say nothing affordable (or nothing at all) is available to you because of age/condition is a bit much to fathom. Very naive of me, I know, but at least I'm aware now.


Unfortunately, "no age limit" doesn't mean that their policies are affordable for the average person. In fact, the cost of the insurance I used to have here
went up every year, mostly due to my age. Before they "cancelled" me, I had been thinking of dropping the plan on my own. 

Good luck to your aunt! Once she's here, I'd be happy to meet her and show her around my neighborhood.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

Isla Verde said:


> Unfortunately, "no age limit" doesn't mean that their policies are affordable for the average person. In fact, the cost of the insurance I used to have here
> went up every year, mostly due to my age. Before they "cancelled" me, I had been thinking of dropping the plan on my own.
> 
> Good luck to your aunt! Once she's here, I'd be happy to meet her and show her around my neighborhood.


Yes, I had discovered that. We got a quote to 'transfer' her existing policy (it's with one of the big international companies) to a global one. After they told us personally that they understood her needs and do look after their clients, they enthusiastically quoted us a preliminary rate which is 800% higher than what she's paying now. Anyway, we'll keep looking. She'll love to meet you once she gets here. We haven't even given much thought to the Covid travel ban back home yet, so who knows when that will be. Many thanks, IV.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MickCG said:


> Yes, I had discovered that. We got a quote to 'transfer' her existing policy (it's with one of the big international companies) to a global one. After they told us personally that they understood her needs and do look after their clients, they enthusiastically quoted us a preliminary rate which is 800% higher than what she's paying now. Anyway, we'll keep looking. She'll love to meet you once she gets here. We haven't even given much thought to the Covid travel ban back home yet, so who knows when that will be. Many thanks, IV.


Why would a policy go up 800% to change from a domestic to a global one? In Mexico, at least in large cities, the medical care available is of high quality and much less costly than it would be in the States, even when you pay out-of-pocket. 

Whenever your aunt arrives, please send me a PM via this forum, so we can make plans to get together.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

jim1942 said:


> Isla Verde.....My friends wife has had gastro problems for 7 yrs and all the so-called medical specialists have run test after test after test and they cannot figure out what the problem is......any suggestions?


Well, I'm not any sort of medical specialist, just a retired Spanish/English teacher and occasional copy-editor. However, I can relate my experiences with my tummy troubles. First, it turned out that my bouts of diarrhea and discomfort were due to a very sick gall bladder/fatty liver. I found an excellent surgeon who removed my ailing organ, and after a few months of being careful about my diet, I was fine. A couple of years later, I had a severe infection in my GI system. At first, it was misdiagnosed by a know-it-all non-specialist. Then a doctor friend recommended a highly-esteemed gastroenterologist. He correctly diagnosed the nature of my infection, and after several months of taking a specialized antibiotic and watching my diet (very boring, but I did lose a lot of weight in the process!), I was deemed cured, más o menos. Probably more than you need to know, but it was good therapy to get this off my chest. Good luck to your friend's wife.


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## MickCG (Sep 8, 2020)

Isla Verde said:


> Why would a policy go up 800% to change from a domestic to a global one? In Mexico, at least in large cities, the medical care available is of high quality and much less costly than it would be in the States, even when you pay out-of-pocket.
> 
> Whenever your aunt arrives, please send me a PM via this forum, so we can make plans to get together.


Exactly what I was thinking. It makes no sense. I'll PM you once she's here and settled.


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