Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

vicky

Feb 14, 2003, 10:47 AM

Post #1 of 4 (2471 views)

Shortcut

Medical insurance

Can't Post |

I´m a Brit working in Mexico City - does anyone know the best way to get medical insurance? Is it better to get an insurance from back home or is there a good priced yearly package i could get here?

matt

Feb 16, 2003, 10:22 PM

Post #2 of 4 (2212 views)

Shortcut

Re: [vicky] Medical insurance

Can't Post |

Vicky,

I barely know anything about this issue, but a few thoughts:

1) Check out the price of your insurance back home and what provisions does it make for medical care in a foreign country. For example, I have U.S. insurance and if I need to be admitted to a hospital in Mexico, I don't have to get the stay pre-approved by the insurance carrier. Conversely, if I were to be admitted into a hospital in the U.S., I have to contact the insurance carrier within a short time period to get the stay approved or risk having to pay the entire bill myself.

2) I know that private insurance is available in Mexico. The cheapest Mexican medical insurance is probably through I.M.S.S. (social security), but you may not be satisfied with the level of service.

3) Given the high cost of medical insurance (especially in the U.S.), you may want to consider the lower cost of medical care in Mexico when you consider things such as deductables and what percentage of the bill you will have to pay (co-payment).

Personally, I would like to find medical insurance to cover any really major expenses and wouldn't mind paying the costs of basic visits to the doctor and perscriptions fully out of my own pocket. My wife had surgery in Mexico last year in a well-rated hospital, which inckuded a two-day hospital stay, and we paid about $3500 U.S. dollars. I am sure that comparable medical service could not be had in the U.S. for less that four or five (or more) times that amount. My point being that $3500 may represent the premium payment for three months of an expensive, U.S. based insurance policy; even if I had to pay the entire $3500 of this unexpected expense out of my own pocket, I might still be ahead of the game with less expensive medical policy that had a higher deductable and a higher co-payment.

Again, I am certainly not an expert and hope that this reply will be a catalyst to solicit better replies from those "in the know".

regards,
matt

PeggyS

Feb 16, 2003, 11:09 PM

Post #3 of 4 (2190 views)

Shortcut

Re: [vicky] Medical insurance

Can't Post | Private Reply

We use BUPA, a medical insurance company based in Great Britain and good anywhere around the world. There are several levels of coverage available, all for what I would call a very reasonable price. Less than what I paid in the states. My husband had an unexpected emergency and operation soon after we took out the policy. The amount was paid in full, and more important, the insurance premium did not go up when we received the bill in January. The emergency really scared me into wondering if there were anything wrong with me, so I took a lot of tests at the hospital to see if I was okay - and BUPA paid for all of the tests without comment. With no raise in the premium. We are very satisfied. I know there is a BUPA rep in Mexico City because I met him once at the LCS when he was visiting here.

DavidG

Feb 17, 2003, 6:29 AM

Post #4 of 4 (2138 views)

Shortcut

Re: [PeggyS] Medical insurance

Can't Post |

We use www.globalinsurancenet.com They are Independent agents for many companies. They specialize in insurance for persons residing abroad. What I like is their objective presentation. You can get quotes online. When I inqured, prior to purchasing my policy, my calls were always returned promptly. They will guide you in a selection of which policy suits you best. When you get your online quote, you can select your deductible from $500 all the way up to $10,000 or maybe even $25,000. I went with Allnation for a variety of reasons. Their rates are identical as if I purchased directly thru Allnation. The difference was, I was offered a choice of a number of different carriers, and could choose the one that suited my needs the best. And I could do it without leaving my keyboard.
DavidG
Villa Dos, Cozumel
"I still believe in ignorance as my best defense"