# Medical insurance age 75+?



## klutzy (Nov 25, 2013)

My boyfriend and I spent February in Mexico and fell in love with the place. We live in New England and would like to go back every winter for five or six months. The problem is medical insurance. I can get it (recommendations appreciated), but it seems there is no coverage for people over 75. His pre-existings could cause a major crisis... Is there anything we can do? 

I recently read of a couple who were struck by a bus in or near PV. The man was seriously injured, but the bus company refused to pay his hospital bills. The hospital wouldn't let him leave until he paid them, so he had to wire the many thousands of dollars and then go back home to finish his extensive medical treatment. This really scared me, as it seems a far more likely scenario than being murdered--although three gringos _were_ murdered at Lake Chapala during our month there!


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

Your best bet is to get Medicare in the US and use a carrier that provides foreign hospitalization under Part B. We have a friend in PV who has this. You should also get Airvac coverage.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

kcowan said:


> Your best bet is to get Medicare in the US and use a carrier that provides foreign hospitalization under Part B. We have a friend in PV who has this. You should also get Airvac coverage.


As far as I know from many previous discussions, Medicare (A or B or both) only cover *emergency *hospitalization in foreign countries when the person is TRAVELING. (as in, not a resident of that country).

In the case of Airvac companies, they will only transport the person after he/she has been "stabilized".

There are companies in Mexico that will provide insurance for people over 75. Usually requires a medical exam and has large deductibles.

I believe the public insurance, Seguro Popular, takes anyone, but it has been described as "MASH, without the incoming artillery". Very basic care.

You can find the conditions of coverage on the Medicare web site.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lagoloo said:


> As far as I know from many previous discussions, Medicare (A or B or both) only cover *emergency *hospitalization in foreign countries when the person is TRAVELING. (as in, not a resident of that country).
> 
> In the case of Airvac companies, they will only transport the person after he/she has been "stabilized".
> 
> ...


IMSS, Seguro Social, is better than Seguro Popular. You can subscribe to it for an annual fee. The price goes up with age. I don't know if there is a maximum age for starting coverage. And existing conditions will be an issue.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

We looked at our local coverage options and the Seguro policies require you to be under age 65 with no pre-existing conditions. That is why our friend went with Part B. It is in hospital coverage only. For routine visits to doctors' offices, he pays. But it was the best option he could find. 

He got the Airvac in case he needed more complex procedures in the US.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> IMSS, Seguro Social, is better than Seguro Popular. You can subscribe to it for an annual fee. The price goes up with age. I don't know if there is a maximum age for starting coverage. And existing conditions will be an issue.


I signed up for IMSS a month ago after the Mexican health insurance company I'd been with for three years cancelled my policy last year, due to high numbers I got on blood tests required (and paid for) by them. The tests and an exam by one of their doctors were ordered due to my age at that time, 67. In any event, since the premiums for the policies I'd had with them kept going up and up, I'd been planning to drop them and sign up with IMSS in a year or two anyway. Last year I was paying a $30,000 yearly premium.

When I signed up with IMSS, I did have to fill out a medical history form, but luckily my pre-existing condition (high cholesterol) was not on the list!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

kcowan said:


> We looked at our local coverage options and the Seguro policies require you to be under age 65 with no pre-existing conditions. That is why our friend went with Part B. It is in hospital coverage only. For routine visits to doctors' offices, he pays. But it was the best option he could find.
> 
> He got the Airvac in case he needed more complex procedures in the US.


I was 65 when I started with IMSS. And I mistakenly let my coverage lapse and had to start anew with them when I was 67. So it is definitely possible at the age of 65 and older. Were you referring to Seguro Popular or Seguro Social? They are different, independent systems. Seguro Popular is open to anyone, without cost I believe. Seguro Social mostly covers people who obtain it with premiums paid by their employer, but Seguro Social is also available to people who pay the premium directly.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> I was 65 when I started with IMSS. And I mistakenly let my coverage lapse and had to start anew with them when I was 67. So it is definitely possible at the age of 65 and older. Were you referring to Seguro Popular or Seguro Social? They are different, independent systems. Seguro Popular is open to anyone, without cost I believe. Seguro Social mostly covers people who obtain it with premiums paid by their employer, but Seguro Social is also available to people who pay the premium directly.


I signed up with IMSS a month ago at the age of 68.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

I was referring to Seguro Popular, open to anyone at any age.
I don't know anything about Seguro Social. 

I believe that there is some cost for Seguro Popular, depending on your income, but it's not much.

When you apply for IMSS, I don't know about any age limit, but they do exclude pre-existing conditions for some time before they are covered.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

Good to know Isla and Tundra! I got the info from an insurance sales rep 6 years ago. At the time and even now I am not interested in IMSS. But it sounds like a good safety net.

What do you think OP should do?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

kcowan said:


> Good to know Isla and Tundra! I got the info from an insurance sales rep 6 years ago. At the time and even now I am not interested in IMSS. But it sounds like a good safety net.
> 
> What do you think OP should do?


Though I now have coverage through IMSS, I still intend to see private practitioners for checkups and such since doctor's visits are quite affordable here unless you're on a really tight budget. I signed up with IMSS in case a serious illness strikes or I have an accident of some sort requiring hospitalization.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> I signed up with IMSS in case a serious illness strikes or I have an accident of some sort requiring hospitalization.


My friend's parents were on IMSS and I would agree that it is best for a major incident/illness. Both of them spent their last days in IMSS hospitals and it does require the family to rally around them to keep them comfortable. Her Dad was in Guadalajara so she had to travel from PV to look after him and stay for the week.

(I had to visit a retinalogist in December for an eye problem and the whole thing: Laser surgery, one pre-op visit and one post-op cost 6500 pesos.)


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

iamkim said:


> Isla Verde said:
> 
> 
> > I...........'Id been planning to drop them and sign up with IMSS in a year or two anyway. Last year I was paying a $30,000 yearly premium....
> ...


Of course.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

The "catch" with IMSS and Seguro Popular hospitals is that the patient needs to have someone (of the same sex, I believe) who stays with them and provides the "nursing aide" care; emptying bedpans, feeding, sleeping there, etc. 
Some people hire outside nursing care, but I hear the wards are not a model of cleanliness and could be pretty grim as well as dangerous re septicemia and other hospital-borne bugs. 
It might be a good idea to visit one of those hospitals before signing up and relying on them for your future health care.

I have IMSS as a disaster backup, but otherwise pay out of pocket for medical needs. There are some smaller hospitals in the Guadalajara area where patient care is reputed to be much better, so hopefully, my money won't run out before my time does.


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

lagoloo said:


> The "catch" with IMSS and Seguro Popular hospitals is that the patient needs to have someone (of the same sex, I believe) who stays with them and provides the "nursing aide" care; emptying bedpans, feeding, sleeping there, etc. .....


Seriously???, never heard of this before reading this thread, what if a person lives on their own and needs to be admitted to hospital, and may not have any willing friends in town, or at least friends of the same sex, or can a husband do it for a wife, or wife for a husband?, sounds kinda like backwoods medical care.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

I don't know the rules, but a daughter can be there for her father at the IMSS facility. We had a single gay gentleman who lives fulltime here in PV and his friends filled in at IMSS for a while until his brother could fly down from Seattle. His brother arranged an Airvac and got him back to the US. He got better but it took several months.

He is back in hospital in San Francisco now but will be returning in a few weeks.

Lagoloo makes a pretty accurate description.

YMMV


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

iamkim said:


> Does this apply to every IMSS hospital in Mexico no matter where its is?


I don't know the answer for all of Mexico, but I would suggest that you ask your doctor about your area hospital.
Many people who sign up for Seguro Popular or IMSS are only interested in the fact that it is cheap, as opposed to the private hospitals.......but they need to investigate for themselves what the situation is before deciding to sign up. A visit to the facility in your own area would be a good way to go.:fingerscrossed:


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## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

iamkim said:


> Does this apply to every IMSS hospital in Mexico no matter where its is?


Generally you could expect to have to help with basic care for a relative etc. in a public hospital. However, in DF and, I believe, in other cities the standards of IMSS hospitals is high. The problem is not the quality of the facilities which are well equipped and staffed with well trained professional doctors but with the demand for access. Waiting 3 months for treatment for cancer, for example, is not unusual. When you get treatment it will be of an internationally high standard, though you probably won't get access to the very latest technology, but it may take a lot longer than is ideal or necessary.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

JoanneR2 said:


> Generally you could expect to have to help with basic care for a relative etc. in a public hospital. However, in DF and, I believe, in other cities the standards of IMSS hospitals is high. The problem is not the quality of the facilities which are well equipped and staffed with well trained professional doctors but with the demand for access. Waiting 3 months for treatment for cancer, for example, is not unusual. When you get treatment it will be of an internationally high standard, though you probably won't get access to the very latest technology, but it may take a lot longer than is ideal or necessary.


That's preferable to not having any access to health care at all, agreed?


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## klutzy (Nov 25, 2013)

I thought I'd responded to this thread but I guess I had a senior moment! Aren't the two Seguros for residents? We will be visitors so I think ineligible. BTW I met an American woman with the cheaper insurance who spent time in a hospital and had to bring in her own nursing help. She said it was normal, but she never said the place was dirty and seemed pleased with her overall experience.

We are fine with paying for minor problems, just worried should something major happen.


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## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

klutzy said:


> I thought I'd responded to this thread but I guess I had a senior moment! Aren't the two Seguros for residents? We will be visitors so I think ineligible. BTW I met an American woman with the cheaper insurance who spent time in a hospital and had to bring in her own nursing help. She said it was normal, but she never said the place was dirty and seemed pleased with her overall experience. We are fine with paying for minor problems, just worried should something major happen.


If you are staying as tourists then the best advice might be to buy travel insurance in your country of origin which covers you for treatment abroad . You won't be able to buy private medical insurance if you are not resident. J


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## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> That's preferable to not having any access to health care at all, agreed?


I agree, and certainly if I was in an accident or had an emergency I know exactly where I want to go and can only hope that the A&E surgeon I know is on duty, or can be contacted.....


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

JoanneR2 said:


> If you are staying as tourists then the best advice might be to buy travel insurance in your country of origin which covers you for treatment abroad . You won't be able to buy private medical insurance if you are not resident. J


Neither will you be eligible to sign up for Seguro Popular or IMSS.


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