Know The Law In Mexico - IMSS- Instituto Mexicano Del Seguro Social: Part 2
This is article 2 from IMSS. It is a rough translation from Spanish, but that is their main statement. Foreigners do not qualify for social services, but you do qualify for the health portion.
How do you qualify? To sign up you must have a Passport, an FMT, FM2, FM3, or Immigrado status, birth certificate (translated into Spanish), marriage license if married (translated into Spanish) and proof of residency, such as an electric or phone bill. Leases will not work if they are in English. The birth certificates and marriage license are not required for renewals. IMSS will require you to bring the above, along with 2 pictures of yourself (the reqired size is tamaño infantil), last year's IMSS papers plus the receipt if you are already covered. If this is a new application, you will need to fill out the questionnaire they have.
Once the signatures and papers are obtained at the IMSS clinic or hospital closest to you, you then must go to the main office for IMSS to submit these papers from your local location. Once they are accepted, payment must be made at a bank. After this payment is made, the receipt must be submitted back to the main office to obtain the coverage card. Unfortunately, they will not receive payment in rural areas.
The biggest changes for qualifying over last year, other than the cost, is that IMSS is now requiring the birth and marriage certificates for new applications. Renewal requirements remain the same over last year.
We also need to address a rumor that has been going around the community about single persons applying for IMSS and being refused. This in fact has occurred, but not because they are single, but because single persons need to provide a letter stating they have no beneficiaries. If you plan on obtaining IMSS on your own and you are single, e-mail us and we can provide you with an outline of how the letter should be worded.
The cost? Up until 2001, there was a set price for families, which was $3,300 pesos, whether you were single, or a family of five. The rules changed in 2002. Every individual pays a set rate depending on his or her age, the price structure is as follows: 0-19 $1,028; 20-39 $1,202; 40-59 $1,795; 60+ $2,702.
What does it cover? Your first year in the system only covers minor illness, such as colds etc, but nothing involving surgery. Year number two covers everything except broken bones, and orthopedic surgery. The third year covers everything. All your medication is covered as well for anything they diagnose, and they will provide them during your visit. You are not covered if you get it at any other pharmacy. Any pre-existing condition that is not reported and later found will cancel all coverage. If you do have a pre-existing condition, please discuss it with a doctor at IMSS to see if it would be covered later, or if it will affect the coverage as a whole.
How good is it? It is excellent. The facilities might not be what you've come to expect in the US, Canada or Europe, but the doctors and staff are top notch; many of the doctors having been trained in the US and Canada.
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