# Medical Insurance



## lmayo7664 (Dec 8, 2012)

My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Mexico from the US for our retirement. We are both over 65 (66 and 67).

I believe we are not eligible to enroll in the Mexican Health care system and would have to take our private insurance in case of a major illness or hospitalization. 

My understanding is that for most Americans living in Mexico in our situation they pay for most dental and doctors visits out of pocket. Also I am aware of flight insurance to get you back to the US but that assumes that you can be transported.

We are not rich but have some means so would rather protect ourselves than end up with a large lump sum medical bill.

What have others done and how much did it cost. 

I'd appreciate any info or clarification.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

lmayo7664 said:


> My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Mexico from the US for our retirement. We are both over 65 (66 and 67).
> 
> I believe we are not eligible to enroll in the Mexican Health care system and would have to take our private insurance in case of a major illness or hospitalization.
> 
> ...


For now, I have a health care policy with a Mexican company and pay the equivalent of around $200 US for the monthly premium. In addition to covering major medical costs, I get a discount when I see the physicians in their plan for checkups.


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## lmayo7664 (Dec 8, 2012)

*Thank you*

That sounds like a reasonable $ amount. Do you also continue with your part B in the US? 

Len


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

lmayo7664 said:


> That sounds like a reasonable $ amount. Do you also continue with your part B in the US?
> 
> Len


Nope. I live in Mexico full-time and only go back to the States for a visit once a year, so Part B is of no use to me.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lmayo7664 said:


> My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Mexico from the US for our retirement. We are both over 65 (66 and 67).
> 
> I believe we are not eligible to enroll in the Mexican Health care system and would have to take our private insurance in case of a major illness or hospitalization.
> 
> ...


I subscribe to IMSS. It is one of several federally run health care systems. I pay about $300 usd/year (I am 67). It covers most things although there are a few excluded things and there are additional restrictions when you first enter the system. 

There is no deductible, no copay, no charge for drugs. 

You sometimes have to spend a few hours for an appt. They seem to give appointments to a big block of people for the same time, then take them in the order of arrival. It is the one case in Mexico where it pays to arrive early. They are sometimes out of drugs. I was told yesterday to come back in a week to get some B vitamins that were prescribed.

And the situation, both care and enrollment, can depend on the city and clinic where you are getting care. 

The doctors and staff don't speak English, at least none of the ones I have encountered.

I think it is a cheap way to have emergency coverage and routine care coverage. So far I have only used it for the emergency room and some minor aches and pains and for teeth cleaning (no appt, walk-in, get cleaned, walk out, in 30 minutes). 

I also have medical coverage in the US. I don't know what I will do if I have serious problems. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.


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## lmayo7664 (Dec 8, 2012)

Did you start coverage in the mexican system after 65? If that is possible than it might be beneficial for us to do that and keep our coverage in the states as well.

Thanks for your response.


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## Ladyaztec21 (Aug 11, 2012)

*Medical Insurance in Mexico*

We are moving into Mexico, Morelos State the Fall of 2013, will need quality medical insurance. In pretty good health, the normal Rx for Cholesterol and BP . Experiences and suggestions requested.


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## jonnypo (Jan 6, 2013)

Ladyaztec21 said:


> We are moving into Mexico, Morelos State the Fall of 2013, will need quality medical insurance. In pretty good health, the normal Rx for Cholesterol and BP . Experiences and suggestions requested.


Whether to buy medical insurance for use in Mexico is a personal decision but are you aware of the typical costs of medical care and Rx in Mexico? My personal experience buying meds and seeing doctors in Mexico is that they are so inexpensive that insurance for anything other than catastrophic coverage is a waste of my money. My blood pressure, and diabetes meds are always under $10 USD each for a month supply. Doctor visits are between 3% and 10% the cost of the same visit in the USA. Again this is speaking from my personal experience and that of my parents who travel to Mexico about once a year to see doctors and stock up on their usual Rx.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Medical Insurance in Mexico*

It all depends on your circumstances and age, and life style.

You can get private Insurance. Probably in your 60's it might cost as much as $125.00 USD ea. per month and northward of there?

Or you can go the similar to HMO route at IMSS or Seguro Social. Full on Socialized Medicine by the Federal Government. No co pay "por nada" including generic medicines, hospital stays, all lab tests, Physicals. Not as fancy, but I'd rate as similar to US Govt. in Military Medical Deliver - and other friends have. I know of those who have had Operations there and no problems, excepting maybe finding a pillow. Many of the top Specialists in your City will work their part time to supplement their income and as Civic Duty. Every hear of a US Physician doing that excepting maybe Physicians without Borders?

You do have to have other than a Tourist Visa to qualify to get it though.

For two over 60 will cost you only less than $700.00 USD equivalent per year for the both you.That's no typo and it will be less than that. Like us you might not want to wait for a Specialists Appointment at times, or wait for urgent care. But for $500-800 pesos (m.n.) go see your own and take the results to IMSS your next monthly scheduled visit. For colds, Flu type stuff we go to the little corner Generic Pharmacy Doctor for $25.00 m.n. and she's a damn good Doctor. You read that right for about $2.00 USD.

I bought it 7 years before retirement like a Travel Medical Insurance and am glad that I did. Now they have a questionaire of 6-7 major items. You check yes on any one of them and you don't qualify. 

It is good in every Mexican City and most Pueblitos you wouldn't think there would even be a Doctor there.

Word of advice; after getting your Visa (other than Tourist), get on it immediately if even thinking about it. Why? They're excluding more and more NOB's types. My friend finally got around to it 
(applying in his 70's) and they rejected him outright. From what you said you were taking, you'll no doubt pass their very simple Physical. You can always get on IMSS and if you find something better (private Insurance) you can elect to get off it and take the other. Another word of advice. My wife was looking for Private Insurance for someone over 65, and it's very hard to find someone to Insure you so don't daly if you want to get Private Medical Insurance.

As a side note with the more relaxed lifestyle here. I too was on a Statin Drug and Blood Pressure Medicine. Within 6 months I was off both - not needed. Oh, the Doctor's (mainly) down here will only prescribe what you need instead of what the Big Pharma wants you to buy. I saw the other night on T.V. about Statin Drugs, one Big Pharma Co. was suggesting you take them if you Total Cholesterol count was above 100???? That's dangerous for them to suggest that for your Heart! I knew a Salesman in the 1980's in California,who's Total Cholesterol count was 155 and his Doctor had him eating 30 eggs per week to get his count up so as to not get a stroke.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Cuyler...you're scaring me! What doctors don't know about cholesterol greatly exceeds what they think they do......


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

We are 70 (he) and 65 (she) respectively and carry unlimited major medical coverage with AXA, a major international insurance company underwriting health insurance policies in Mexico and many other countries. We are insured by their Mexican subsidiary headquartered in Mexico City and our insurance agent works out of their Guadalajara office. We carry this insurance coverage to protect us from catastrophic illness that could ruin us financially even in Mexico where medical care costs a _small_ fraction of what it costs in the United States. Together, our annual premium works out to about the equivalent of $500USD a month at today´s Dollar/Peso exchange rate - my wife´s costs much less than mine because of our differing ages. We try to minimize premium costs by carrying a $25,000 Peso deductible per event. We initially purchased this coverage when I was 61 and my wife was 56. We were able to purchase the coverage without medical examinations. Now that I am 70, I don´t know that it would be available to me if I tried to start today although I believe my wife could still commence coverage at age 65. Coverage includes temporary emergency medical care and evacuation flight expenses back to a top hospital of our choice _anywhere_ in Mexico if we become ill and in need of emergency treatment in the United States or Guatemala with a limit of $50,000USD (yes, USD, not Pesos). In the event of the need for hospitalization, the policies guarantee private rooms in the best hospitals in Mexico (and many are the best I have ever seen in North America or Europe) and the top attending physicians and surgeons available locally of our choice wherever we are hospitalized in Mexico.

Now, that annual premium is not cheap at the equivalent of $500USD a month at today´s Dollar/Peso exchange rate but considering that, when we left the United States with COLA coverage in 2001, we were paying $1,100USD a month for HMO coverage at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and we are now each 12 years older, that is comparatively a bargain for far superior coverage in a fully appointed private room versus some HMO dormitory with an assigned physician according to whomever is available.

We carry no Medicare "B" coverage since we do not live in nor ever visit the U.S. so that would be a waste of money. When deciding to forego Part "B" we figured that, with the 20% deductible we would have to pay under Part "B" in the U.S., the deductible alone might be as much or more than the whole medical bill might be at a top hospital with a top physician in Mexico. To say nothing of the fact that, when one is deathly ill and in need of immediate medical attention, one does not need to fly back to the U.S. and find a physician and hospital in the Yellow Pages.

We also do not paricipate in Mexico´s IMSS health or Seguro Popular coverage as many expats do. However, many speak highly of these programs but I would urge care in using these programs, espacially the latter one which is the equivalent of the community hospital system in the U.S. meant to serve those otherwise unable to afford private care or any care at all.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

lmayo7664 said:


> My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Mexico from the US for our retirement. We are both over 65 (66 and 67).
> 
> I believe we are not eligible to enroll in the Mexican Health care system and would have to take our private insurance in case of a major illness or hospitalization.
> 
> ...


Do you have any chronic ongoing medical problems such as cancer, heart disease, etc. the kind of things that would disqualify you for USA health insurance as a pre-existing/chronic condition? 

If not, I am told that depending where you settle to live, you may be able to qualify for IMSS - the national health care system. For the first year it is OK, but since doctor visits are about $20 USD, it would not be used for that. TG can tell you more, but by the third year, I believe, just about everything is covered. 

We live at Lakeside with a large population of NOBers of "a certain age", and again I am told us qualifying for IMSS may be more difficult here than in other parts of the country. IMSS, BTW costs about $375 USD/year at our age.

The IMSS challenge is the next one on our list.

BTW - we have, as you mentioned, established a de facto HSA in the USA for large emergencies, being too young for Medicare and, like Isla, having no intention to return to the USA. We have planned and budgeted for routine medical care based on the information we have gathered about the costs OOP in Mexico. The $200-$500 USD/month it would cost for private insurance amounts to a lot of OOP here, if put away ($2,400 - $6,000 USD/year).

Again, I am told that medical care in Mexico is about 33% of the cost in the USA.

You need to collect a lot more info and should be able to get some answers. But, remember that Mexico is not the USA and the logical rational answer may not be the result you get...that is Mexico.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*It's Quackery*

Hi MickieSue;

Yea, just amazing since Cholesterol is a natural defense mechanism of the body. 

What's important is the ration LDL/HDL not the actual combined count. My mother
a R.N. who died at 92 had a total Cholesterol count at 300 and above for the last
15 years of her life - and she did not die of Heart Failure. Doctors mainly know
only what Big Pharma tries to shove down their gullet. They treat the symptoms.
Is that real healing or just Quackery?

From everything I read, getting your HDL count up is the most important in slowing
down the aging process and staying healthy-relative to Cholesterol.

When you get to Oncology, it makes you wonder if blood letting and applying leaches
wouldn't be more humane and modern? Yea, it's a joke, but not far off. The majority
of Oncologists would not take what they prescribe if it was their body?

What a modern Society we have all built this last 50 years?

You have to be your own Lawyer or research the law yourself as over 50% of all 
Lawyers are not just incompetent, but Grossly Incompetent! Quote from my famous
Uncle that was a Lawyer in Orange County, CA.

You have to look after your own health, as the vast majority of Doctors don't have a
clue about nutrition and how it can prevent illness and how it really works in keeping 
you healthy. Cure a lot of your ailments through nutrition - not all as there is a valid
place for what passes for "Modern Medicine" in a lot of instances. But it is not the
ultimate solution.

Dentist? Well you have to make your own decisions there too. I haven't meet a 
Dentist in the USA in the last 30 years that wasn't dissecting my wallet to determine
what I needed first before actually helping me.

Oh and the Government? Don't get me started on Congress or even the other branches
of US Government. Does the FDA do more good or bad? At least here in Mexico you have 
a wide range of Medical choices including Naturalpaths, Herbalists, Homeopaths, etc. and
can avail yourself of some great drugs from Europe that aren't going through the “political
process” for approval in the USA if you really need them.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

cuylers5746 said:


> … a wide range of Medical choices including Naturalpaths, Herbalists, Homeopaths, etc. and …


Through most of your long post, I was thinking you had a healthy skepticism, but perhaps your world view was a trifle cynical. 

Then you endorsed the real snake oil salesmen of the world and you lost me. Why does your skepticism fail you when it comes to the them. The medical establishment may not be perfect, but at least it is based on reality rather than either wishful thinking or outright charlatanism.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

jonnypo said:


> Whether to buy medical insurance for use in Mexico is a personal decision but are you aware of the typical costs of medical care and Rx in Mexico? My personal experience buying meds and seeing doctors in Mexico is that they are so inexpensive that insurance for anything other than catastrophic coverage is a waste of my money. My blood pressure, and diabetes meds are always under $10 USD each for a month supply. Doctor visits are between 3% and 10% the cost of the same visit in the USA. Again this is speaking from my personal experience and that of my parents who travel to Mexico about once a year to see doctors and stock up on their usual Rx.


Good comments I can mostly agree with.

Depending upon the age of the expat, having private insurance for the most serious problems seems to me to be the most sensible thing to do. Relying solely on one of the government schemes is probably foolhardy for most.

I suspect Mexico has far more bad doctors, or poorly trained doctors than it does have good doctors and the same is probably true of most government-run clinics and hospitals (which are often woefully inadequate when it comes to medications, equipment, staffing). The biggest cities are where the best care is offered, overall. Morelos is not far from the D.F. where the federal government has built it's best hospitals and there are probably a half-dozen good hospitals and a good supply of well-trained physicians/specialists.

Yes, fees are less in Mexico ... because the standard of care is probably mostly less and the economic model in Mexico is different. The standard of living for most Mexicans is much less than what people in the USA face.

My medications cost me less to purchase in the USA than they do in Mexico. That's because I have health insurance through my employer. But today one can obtain prescriptions at low-cost at many stores inclluding Wal-Mart, Target, etc, in the USA. Given the standard of living/wages in Mexico, prescriptions, by comparison with the USA, are very expensive for most Mexicans. Althought, I have brought-back to the USA, from Mexico, special medications for a good friend and each refill in the USA cost him about $80 (because he was uninsured) when in Mexico I paid about the peso equivalent of US$20 for the exact same thing (not a generic concoction). 

For expats exchanging US$, obviously the cost of routine services and medications is less in Mexico than those things cost in Mexico.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Longford said:


> Yes, fees are less in Mexico ... because the standard of care is probably mostly less and the economic model in Mexico is different.


I can only speak from my own experiences, of course, but I've found the care I've received from doctors in Mexico equal or superior to what I received in the States. This is especially true in terms of the time the physicians I consult spend during visits examining me and chatting with me about my health concerns. I never feel as though they're on a rigid in-and-out-with-the-patient schedule and need to be finished with me in 15 minutes, or less!


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Hound Dog said:


> Now, that annual premium is not cheap at the equivalent of $500USD a month at today´s Dollar/Peso exchange rate but considering that, when we left the United States with COLA coverage in 2001, we were paying $1,100USD a month for HMO coverage at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and we are now each 12 years older, that is comparatively a bargain for far superior coverage in a fully appointed private room versus some HMO dormitory with an assigned physician according to whomever is available.


When you say some of the things like you have, above, it discredits whatever else you might say which may be accurate. I'm referring to the comments about Kaiser Permanente HMO. The "HMO dormitory" comment is about as off the wall as I've read on this forum, and I'll nominate it for "joke of the day." ;-) Regarding COLA costs: that's the most extreme example and one which is beyond even an apples to oranges comparison with Mexico. :juggle:


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> I can only speak from my own experiences, of course, but I've found the care I've received from doctors in Mexico equal or superior to what I received in the States. This is especially true in terms of the time the physicians I consult spend during visits examining me and chatting with me about my health concerns. I never feel as though they're on a rigid in-and-out-with-the-patient schedule and need to be finished with me in 15 minutes, or less!


Yes. And as I wrote ...



Longford said:


> The biggest cities are where the best care is offered, overall. Morelos is not far from the D.F. where the federal government has built it's best hospitals and there are probably a half-dozen good hospitals and a good supply of well-trained physicians/specialists.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Moderator note:

In case anyone was wondering, there were two threads on Medical care, one in the main forum and one in La Chatarrería. I merged them.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Longford said:


> When you say some of the things like you have, above, it discredits whatever else you might say which may be accurate. I'm referring to the comments about Kaiser Permanente HMO. The "HMO dormitory" comment is about as off the wall as I've read on this forum, and I'll nominate it for "joke of the day." ;-) Regarding COLA costs: that's the most extreme example and one which is beyond even an apples to oranges comparison with Mexico. :juggle:


The COLA example, unfortunately, is accurate. When I left an employer in 2003, I had to buy one month's COLA coverage for my son, to take us over the hump until my new insurance kicked in. That one month, dependent coverage, for a 17 year old healthy boy, was over $300. If I'd gotten the family coverage, and included myself, it would have been $700. 

The average cost for two people, employee costs only, is about $200-$300/month. Given that employers pay, on average, about 65 to 75% of the total cost of the insurance, that would mean that COLA coverage ranges from About $670 to over $1200. And that's for those with decent employee costs--they can be much higher.

As for copays...I don't know who your employer is, Longford. But my husband, who works for an international nonprofit, has copays of $30/one month's supply for medications.

IF you have Cadillac coverage, or can afford to pay out of pocket, the US has exceptional healthcare. If not, it ranges from poor to mediocre. 

There is a reason why the US is so far behind all other first world nations in the various criteria for health, and it's not just lifestyle, it's poor healthcare.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

mickisue1 said:


> The COLA example, unfortunately, is accurate. When I left an employer in 2003, I had to buy one month's COLA coverage for my son, to take us over the hump until my new insurance kicked in. That one month, dependent coverage, for a 17 year old healthy boy, was over $300. If I'd gotten the family coverage, and included myself, it would have been $700.
> 
> The average cost for two people, employee costs only, is about $200-$300/month. Given that employers pay, on average, about 65 to 75% of the total cost of the insurance, that would mean that COLA coverage ranges from About $670 to over $1200. And that's for those with decent employee costs--they can be much higher.
> 
> ...


I know that the cost of coverage under the provisions of a COBRA policy. I just don't think it's logical to cite that extremely high coverage for people who fall into that category as a comparison to typical costs of insurances (and as a comparison against what coverage typically costs in Mexico) ... other than to say, hey, it's expensive for the year or however long you're eligible for it in the USA but it's better than no coverage.

Regarding prescription costs: My copays dropped January 1, as did my monthly insurance premium. I'm with one of the employer-sponsored Blue Cross plans. My co-pays for meds start at $10 and the actual cost is often less. Certain classes cost much more, in the range of $40 co-pay. Lipitor was in that category until about a year ago when it went generic. So was the Plavix I was taking (then, but not now). Now it costs me $10 or less for a month's supply for what I take. For a long list of meds, Wal-Mart and Target give a 90-day supply for $10. Monthly supply for $4. Not all meds, but a slew of them. 

My internist visits have a $20 co-pay. Down from $30 a year ago. There's no additional charge for the visit (beyond the co-pay), unless there are some tests done in-office which are not covered. All immunizations and annual comprehensive physical examinations (and any in-officetesting, including ECG) are included at no charge to me. It's a PPO. I had HMO coverage, was pleased with it ... but the Blue dropped the hospital/physicians group. I still have the same physician/hospital. I can see my specific internist or any one of a dozen or more in the same or other offices convenient to where I work and/or live. Day, night or weekends. 

I agree that all too many people lack good healthcare. That's also true in Mexico. In the USA, many people are negligent in seeking care and undertaking preventative measures. People I work with are all covered by good insurance/benefits. Relatively few regularly see their physician. Some have no physician with whom they have an ongoing relationship. They, too, frequently show-up at a hospital emergency room or urgent care center as do the uninsured. Ignorance is the cause, not lack of benefits/money. I don't doubt there are parts of the USA where quality suffers due to lack of adequate staffing/facilities. That's probably more of a problem in Mexico than it is in the USA, from what I observe.

I'm hopeful that the Affordable Care Act will positively impact all of us in the USA and that those people without coverage or otherwide denied coverage will have the opportunity to receive continuing, regular care.

Thanks for the feedback.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Snake Oil Salesmen?*

I'm sorry but the vast majority of the Oncology Industry in the USA is just that in my mind "Snake Oil Salesmen" and a complete sad, sorry joke on America. Really the whole American Medical Delivery
Industry in the USA is a 3rd rate system in my estimation.

Do your research and not just read and take what crap Big Pharma sends your way. There were 195,000 deaths by Medical Malpractice for 2011 in the USA. Travel abroad some. So many foreigners just shake their head and wonder why we American's are so stupid to put up with our pathetic Health Care “Delivery” System. Even Mexican's that have come back to Mexico.

I'd much rather have a Medical Problem treated, then just have the Symptom treated! If you want that find your own band aid why pay Big Pharma's Sales Agents (Medical Doctors) ?

Yes, I do my research and find the best providers of each of those alternative providers of Medicine. Yes, there are some complete quacks among them, but I don't go to them.

To me your comment is as ridiculous as a really ignorant Lawyer friend of mine that worked for a major insurance carrier for like 15 years defending injury claims against his company. He would rather take cortisone shots, run up a big bill seeing a Doctor that can't treat him but only mask the symptoms for a back out of adjustment than go to a Chiropractor and get the maladjustment fixed. He suffered in pain and with great cost for over six months until his back eventually worked it's way back into alignment. Prefer that to maybe 2-4 treatments with a top Sports Medicine Chiropractor and get back out on the Golf Course in 3 weeks? To me that was the height of ignorance.


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## jonnypo (Jan 6, 2013)

*Snake Oil....*

I have to agree with cuylers. I would be dead if not for my chiropractor diagnosing me with celiac disease. I was given less than 1 yr to live my specialists MDs but they couldn't tell me what was wrong with me. Only throw pills at me ad then say I was going to die. I didn't believe my chiro's diagnosis at first so I went beck to the MD and was tested. Sure enough, my chiro was right and that knowledge saved my life. Wiser and healthier now years later, my whole family chooses the best of both worlds: our family doctor is a MD that practices holistic natural medicine. She orders labs, does blood work, can delivery babies in your own home and prescribes herbs and diet change rather than Rx that are riddled with side effects and high price tags. And get this....she gives her patients her cell phone! And returns calls same day! What typical MD does that. We only became patients by referral from a DO because she has a really long waiting list for new patients.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

jonnypo said:


> . . . And get this....she gives her patients her cell phone! And returns calls same day! What typical MD does that. We only became patients by referral from a DO because she has a really long waiting list for new patients.


In Mexico it's quite common for doctors to give their patients their cell phone numbers

.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*MD's as Quacks, (cont.)*

I hear you.

I had off, on again back pains for over 20 years. Finally meet a great Chiropractor. Just by laying me down on his table and taking my feet in his hands he said..."you've got one leg shorter than the other". We need to run some X-Rays.

One MD did take X-Rays and told me I had a compressed disk maybe partially ruptured???
Give me any cure? Hell no, probably didn't know how?

Sure enough my left leg the Chiropractor could determine from the X-Rays was 3 mm shorter than the right leg. It was caused no doubt from a compound leg fracture from a ski accident when I was 16 and still growing rapidly.

Well after 5-6 adjustments and starting to wear a 3 mm rubber lift for my left heel in my shoe, I was cured. Yes, sure after driving 1550 miles each year to return to see our relatives - I do need another adjustment. But, this Chiropractor cured what 15 Doctor's I'd seen over the last 20 years couldn't and didn't even notice.

Hold on to your Naturalpath Doctor for dear life. There's not many in the USA.

And don't get me wrong American Medicine has developed some realy advanced procedures, surgery techniques and the like - but to not include all of your other possible Medical Delivery choices available in Mexico is like sticking your head in the sand when you have a problem.

I just read today a Doctor in Texas finally won after being sued for 15 years by a Medical Review Board (Big Pharma's right hand) that wanted to take away his license for actually looking at what were the triggers of cancer for each of his patients and then treating that problem by giving them something that turns off the triggers? His comment on winning? How can you treat something ....if you don't look in the box? A Medical Society of 2700 Doctors joined in the suit - maybe they'd had enough of being shoved around by Big Pharma while watching their patients die?

The American Medical "Delivery System" does not want to cure you? No, Big Pharma wants you coming back, and back and back until you die. I tell any Medical Doctor anywhere, .."it's my body and I make the ultimate decision on the course of treatment..".


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## lagarto (Jun 28, 2012)

Contact Pam Thompson in PV (just google her). She is the wizard of all things Medical. She can point you in the right direction. I just went to her big medical conference in PVR last month and there was tons of information about insurance options. There are several companies that can help you find the "best" for your situation. Hope that helps.


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## mes1952 (Dec 11, 2012)

mickisue1 said:


> Cuyler...you're scaring me! What doctors don't know about cholesterol greatly exceeds what they think they do......


I've worked for various doctors (in the U.S.) in the past and do not have the esteem for them that most do. Most of them know nothing about nutrition and take a total of 3 hours during the entire med school program so they are the last people I would take nutrition advice from. Most of them have been brainwashed by big pharma which is alive and well in all med schools from the time they start their training. Also the aveage doctor in the U.S. does not make $$$ from well people so that is enough to scare anyone.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

mes1952 said:


> I've worked for various doctors (in the U.S.) in the past and do not have the esteem for them that most do. Most of them know nothing about nutrition and take a total of 3 hours during the entire med school program so they are the last people I would take nutrition advice from. Most of them have been brainwashed by big pharma which is alive and well in all med schools from the time they start their training. Also the aveage doctor in the U.S. does not make $$$ from well people so that is enough to scare anyone.


They may get more than three hours, but they certainly do not have an entire course of nutrition training. I had two semesters, in nursing school.

The last bit is not necessarily true, however. If you are a doctor who gets most of your patients from HMO insurance plans, then you DO make the money from well patients. The way that HMOs pay doctors who are contracted, not employees, is a method called capitation, meaning that they get paid a per capita amount for each member of the HMO who chooses that doctor as their primary.

If they NEVER come in for services, the doctor keeps collecting the per capita, and incurs no expenses. If they come in for even a well care visit, the cost of the exam and the labs are borne by the doctor.

One more reason that healthcare in the US needs to join the civilized world, as Mexico has.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

:bump:

There's been mention of health care, health care insurance, etc., in a different discussion today so I'm bumping this good discussion so it's more easily available.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Longford said:


> :bump:
> 
> There's been mention of health care, health care insurance, etc., in a different discussion today so I'm bumping this good discussion so it's more easily available.


Thanks!


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

Hello....was planning on the IMSS but with the problems they are having, we have considered your opinions as well...can you tell me what catastrophic insurance you have and about what you pay for it? thanks so much for any help you can give...my husband and i are healthy...take no drugs and are 59 and 55...we have friends there that just use the IMSS for that purpose and pay out of pocket for everything else...but if the IMSS get more restrictive, need other options and maybe much better ones..


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

sputnik said:


> Hello....was planning on the IMSS but with the problems they are having, we have considered your opinions as well...can you tell me what catastrophic insurance you have and about what you pay for it? thanks so much for any help you can give...my husband and i are healthy...take no drugs and are 59 and 55...we have friends there that just use the IMSS for that purpose and pay out of pocket for everything else...but if the IMSS get more restrictive, need other options and maybe much better ones..


Can you be more specific, please. What have you heard about more restrictions coming at the IMSS. There is a lot of misinformation going around.

Tundra seems to understand their ins and outs.

I had a buddy stay at one of the 2 IMSS hospitals here for a week, the old one. I went every day to visit him. The new IMSS hospital I went a few times to take my wife´s 2 aunts here is state of the art as are the 2 new Seguro Popular hospitals. The SP old one has state of the art equipment here also. The building is run down. It has a large school of medicine with many interns working there.

The old IMSS hospital is run down but has good equipment also. The newer IMSS clinics are large and very nice and well staffed and good equipment. Wait time is less than a few years ago at their many clinics.


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> Can you be more specific, please. What have you heard about more restrictions coming at the IMSS. There is a lot of misinformation going around.
> 
> Tundra seems to understand their ins and outs.
> 
> ...


Wonderful, thank you for all the information.....yes i have heard all the good about it....we have had lens replacement, cataract surgery in Guadalajara...seen the great hospitals and spent 2 hours with the doctor....unheard of here in the States....I guess the first negative i have heard is right here on this forum i was reading that it is just getting harder to apply especially there in Chapala with all the expats and the system is broke....but after your reply I guess things are good so the IMSS will be our first choice then and see how it works....thank you so very much....


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