# Health ins-pre existing



## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

We're about to move to Chapala.

Wondering about Mexican ins and pre-existing conditions.

Also, should i keep my US ins (Obamacare) then come here if I need anything major?

thanks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You will find several options for mail delivery from the US, in the Chapala area. We use Sol y Luna in Ajijic and you can find them with Google. We also keep our banking in the USA and do it all by online banking and local ATMs for cash. We have never seen the need for a Mexican bank in our many years here. Social Security is deposited in the US bank, protected by FDIC, and we are comfortable with that. 
I suggest that you keep your present insurance. I have a policy that came with my retirement, and it has served me well in Mexico. Of course, you will have the option to go to the USA as well. It will also give you time to shop and study other options in Mexico; especially regarding any pre-existing conditions.
Welcome to Chapala. We like it here.


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## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

chulor said:


> We're about to move to Chapala.
> 
> Wondering about Mexican ins and pre-existing conditions.
> 
> ...


Most Individual health insurance policies here will require you to go through an underwriting process where any pre-existing conditions are excluded. However, it depends on the condition. Some policies will allow you to cover certain pre-existing conditions for an additional charge but there is a waiting period and a limit to how much can be paid out in claims on the conditions. Try checking out policies with AXA, GNP and BUPA. Hope that helps.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

You don´t mention what your pre-conditions are, if any, or whether or not you intend to continue to maintain a residence in California to which you plan to occasionally return. We know nothing of your financial condition and that is none of our business but you must assess your financial conditioon and your ability to self-insure and pay for major medical out of pocket. You also did not mention your age but, based on the fact you speak of Obamacare as an option, I presume you are not as of yet of an age where you can consider Medicare coverage. However, based upon the limited information you have given, here are some thoughts:
* Since you plan to move to Chapala some 45 kilometers from Guadalajara, you will find this area has some of the best hospitals and physicians, including specialists, in Mexico or in all of North America for that matter, who can address just about any illness you may develop over time with the possible exception of some organ transplants as organ transplants are not as common in Mexico as in the U.S. Frankly, we find the best hospitals here to be better and more luxurious than the hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area where we lived for 35 years before retiring down here.
" Since the costs of normal, everyday routine medical care are a small fraction (for the most part) of what those costs are in the U.S., what you need here is protection against the catastrophic costs of serious illness that, while only a fraction of those costs in te U.S., can still hurt or even ruin you financially. You will find it efficacious to simply pay out of pocket for medicines and routine doctors visits as those expenses here are insigniicant as compared to the outrageous rip-off you may have experienced in the U.S. You also have the option, at least for now, of signing up for a couple of programs administering health care under the country´s social security program (IMSS) or state sponsored health programs intended primarily for the poor (Seguro Popular) which are programs many expats swear by but I´m the wrong person to discuss those options with as I do not and would not participate in those programs, specially Seguro Popular, for personal reasons which are not your concern. 
* The younger you are when you get here and the sooner you sign up for unlimited major medical coverage to protect you from potential fnancial ruin in the event of catastrophic illness, the more likely you will be accepted in a private insurance program with minimal hassle and at a lesser initial expense and continued expense over the long run. If you are pver 65 when you get here you may find your options for major medical private insurance limited or even non-existent at a resaonable cost. You can buy truly non-cancellable major medical health insurance from highly reputable internationally recognized insurance carriers as long as you purchase an_ individual_, non-cancellable policy but avoid group policies like the plague as they can be cancelled further on down the line as one I subscribed to at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) was years ago despite assurances to the contrary by the agent on the LCS grounds. A reputable and strong insurance company and - very importantly - reputable and highly respected _local_ (to Lakeside or Metro Guadalajra if you live in Chapala) insurance agent are important - far more important than some insurance agent representing some insurance mill turning out policies with cheap annual premiums. If you are new in town, it is important that you check local references, preferably from clients who have had past claims against the insurance comapny who can attest to the service received from them and - importantly - the agent, especially for non-routine claims.
* The name of my major medical carrier is AXA and I recommend them highly. I carry not only major medical with them but two homeowner´s policies and automobile insurance. I have had two claims with them, one medical (in a true life-threatening emergency) and one automobile accident claim. Both claims arose from incidents that took place in remote Chiapas and each claim was handled by both the agent and company faultlessly and with superior service. I won´t give out the name of my agent on the public forum without his permission but will supply that name in a PM if you request that of me privately. As for the major medical it includes unlimited coverage for private suites in the finest hospitals and from the finest physicians anywhere in Mexico plus emergency care overseas to $50,000USD. Because I prefer to handle minor medical expenses for physician´s care and medication out of pocket, I agreed to a $30,000 Peso deductible which.today comes to about $2,400USD. That keeps my premiums down and serves my main goal of protecting us from the distress of the potential for major illness that could harm us financially and the need to avoid finding ourselves quite ill and in a dormitory sick room with a bunch of strangers and assigned a doctor we don´t know at random as used to happen with us at the Kaiser Permanente HMO in the Bay Area. By the way, we signed up with AXA when I was 60 and my wife ws 55 and we are now 71 and 66 respectively. The requirements for signing up were reasonable when we bought the policies and underwriting inquiries by the company were routine and unabtrusive. I won´t tell you what our current annual premiums are as your experience may differ but I will say that even today when I am in my 70s and my wife in her mid-60s, the annual premum for the best personal physicians and for private suites in the finest hospitals anywhere I choose in Mexico, come to less than holf of what our premiums would hve been for COLA coverage for a dorm room and randomly assigned phyician at the Kaiser Permanente HMO in Santa Rosa, CA in 2000 when I was 59 and my wife was 54. 
* Finally, on the notion of heading back to the U.S. for care under Obamacare or Medicare. I can attest from experience that, while that may make sense for a condition that allows you to carefully plan ahead and live with a health problem for an indefinite period of time until you can get to the U.S. for medical care, in a medical emergency, that is not an option you will want to even consider. The claim I had from AXA was for an emergency gall bladder removal while we were resident at our home in remote San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. I was literally at death´s door. AXA agreed to fly me anywhere in Mexico for this emergency surgery at their expense but I wasn´t going anywhere inmy condition despite the fact that the hospitals in San Ctristóbal are butcher shops. I wasn´t in any shape to take a one hour flight even to Mexico City much less to the United States where, once I arrived, I could grapple with the Medicare bureaucracy and end up God know where for an operation requiring immediate attention. Unless you plan to maintain a permanent U.S. residence and a relationship with a physician up there, forget Obamacare (God knows where that is heading) or Medicare. If I had tried to fly back to the U.S. for Medicare treatment, they might as well have had the undertaker meet the plane at the airport witha gurnet and blanket all ready to pickle me forthwith.

Welcome to Mexico and to Chapala. Great medical care at reasonable costs is one of the assets you have acquired by moving here although you may not as yet know that.


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## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

Hound Dog-
It's funny, my wife & I are about the same age as when you went. (Me 60, her 53). I hope to get a MX healthplan to just cover Rx and if any major things were to happen. For my pre-existing issue I may need to keep Obamacare and an address in US (close by in TX or AZ) for that, if needed. Then opt for Medicare at 65 as well. I just never want to be in the position where any health issue could wipe us out $-wise. Sounds like IMSS may be the way to go. And The AXA maybe. Any guess on our costs?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chulor said:


> Hound Dog-
> It's funny, my wife & I are about the same age as when you went. (Me 60, her 53). I hope to get a MX healthplan to just cover Rx and if any major things were to happen. For my pre-existing issue I may need to keep Obamacare and an address in US (close by in TX or AZ) for that, if needed. Then opt for Medicare at 65 as well. I just never want to be in the position where any health issue could wipe us out $-wise. Sounds like IMSS may be the way to go. And The AXA maybe. Any guess on our costs?


IMSS is around $3000-$3500 pesos/year/person depending on age. I don't know if there is a family plan that might be cheaper for two people.


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## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

chulor said:


> Hound Dog-
> It's funny, my wife & I are about the same age as when you went. (Me 60, her 53). I hope to get a MX healthplan to just cover Rx and if any major things were to happen. For my pre-existing issue I may need to keep Obamacare and an address in US (close by in TX or AZ) for that, if needed. Then opt for Medicare at 65 as well. I just never want to be in the position where any health issue could wipe us out $-wise. Sounds like IMSS may be the way to go. And The AXA maybe. Any guess on our costs?


Your AXA price will be primarily based on age and where you live. For a new policy any pre-existing conditions will be excluded. For an indicative quote go to their website where there is a price calculator for their health product. Hope that helps.


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