Mexico retirement: healthcare concerns
Two friends have fallen this month and each has broken a hip. That's the bad news. It's easy to do here if you're window shopping instead of watching where you're walking. Between the cobblestones and uneven sidewalks, the thing to remember is "Stop and look, don't walk and look."
However, the good news is that both received excellent care -- one is Canadian, one from the States. They went to two different hospitals in Guadalajara -- one to Las Americas and the other to Del Carmen.
Neither had local insurance. Both hip replacements were covered under their insurance programs back home -- including the deductable. Both had doctors who spoke good English and both were treated with kinder nurses and better care than they've come to expect in their home countries.
This is particularly important to me since my mother is moving here and is coming with some pre-existing conditions. She may or may not be able to get local insurance.
Bert is Heather's Mom. She's 75, visiting from Nova Scotia for a few months. She was assigned a local coordinator who handled all the bills and interfaced with her insurance company. He was waiting for her when she arrived at the hospital. He was in the ambulance when she was brought home. He handled the paperwork and getting medicines, a walker and a special porta-potty for her.
There was one difficult moment, though. After Bert was ex-rayed here in Ajijic, she was scheduled for surgery in Guadalajara at 7 p.m. The ambulance that transported her had a flat tire. The attendant was upset because Bert was in some pain. So, after he climbed under the ambulance to get the spare tire, he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. When Bert got to the hospital, she had grease in her hair, but had been gently cared for! The ambulance arrived at 7:10 and surgery began at 7:20 p.m. The hospital nurses washed her hair the next morning and in two days Bert was up on a walker, with a replaced hip ball.
Millie is 68. She is my friend's neighbor. She has both Medicare and supplemental insurance in the States. She has lived here for several years. A Medicare coordinator got quotes for the surgery, doctors, post-op care and physical therapy. He called the emergency treatment office of Medicare and told them what the costs would be. (Of course, he SAID she was just visiting). Then he asked them if they'd like to fly her home (on their nickel) and treat her in the California, or if they would prefer she got treatment here.
Well, since there was no comparison in the cost of the treatment in the U.S. vs. Mexico, Medicare said, "Oh, it's fine if she wants to get treatment there. Just send us the bills." Maybe Medicare isn't as dumb as I thought they were (grin).
Both ladies raved about their care. All the forms were completed for them by representatives (who probably get their cut out of the reimbursement from Canadian and U.S. policies). It is my understanding the doctors and hospitals are paid by the representatives who wait to get paid from the appropriate insurance plans. Simple as one-two-three.
We're going to try and get Mom local insurance coverage too; and as I know more about that process for pre-existing conditions, I'll share it with you.
Right now, I wish I had something broken so it could be fixed as quickly as Bert and Millie's ailments, but I don't, so I have to stop sitting at the computer, lie down with an ice pack and hope that I'm back to normal soon. I'm writing this on a Sunday, and a great chiropractor comes to the Lakeside every Wednesday from Guadalajara, so if I'm not improved by tomorrow, I'll make an appointment. She does house calls. There are a lot of advantages living here at Lakeside.
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