I recently came across this web site with info on IMSS healthcare insurance for expats in Merida. http://www.yucatanexpatriateservices.com/resident-services/imss-healthcare-insurance-for-expats.html They also sell some (rather pricey) guides for expats. They say the "Personal Insurance Guide" goes into great detail about the IMSS insurance, if anyone wants to delve further into the ins and outs of it all. http://www.yucatanexpatriateservices.com/category/expatriate-guides
Private medical care, cancun Thanks, CancunGringa, for that. As I said earlier, In this post, I'm going to say some nice things about one of the local, private hospitals, and I'd like to remind the readers of something I said earlier, about medical care, in general, "No matter where you receive medical care, the provision of medical care is- very uncomfortably- not always even, with one person reporting a sterling experience, and another a "nightmare". This is unfortunately true of almost any medical provider you care to talk about and I think it has to do with the challenge they all face in attempting to deliver consistent, high quality care, 24/7, 365 days a year, with staffs made up largely of human beings. ______________ Although much of this thread has been devoted to the subject of IMSS, its viability for us as a source of medical care, it's affordability and permanence- many people prefer, for various reasons, to receive their medical care through private hospitals and clinics. Among the leading private hospitals in Cancun is Hospital Hospiten, a member of a Spanish chain of private hospitals which had its start in the Canary Islands. It is the largest, by far, of the private hospitals in Cancun, having 59 beds, including critical care beds. It is also the only hospital in the State of Quintana Roo, whether public or private, with the capacity to do cardiac catheterizations- a procedure necessary to implanting a stent, and the "gold standard" for diagnosing the exact extent and degree of cardio-vascular disease in a patient. If you believed you were having a heart attack, this would be the only hospital in Cancun to ask for. I spoke at length with the medical director there, himself a Spanish man who has brought his European outlook and standards to the practice of medicine at Hospital Hospiten, since he got there two years ago. He related to me that when he first arrived, he began to feel that the hospital was suffering from a kind of myopia induced by hiring physicians that were mainly locally raised, and trained. He immediately set about to recruit the best doctors he could find from Mexico City who were willing to relocate to Cancun. "English speaking" was one of his criteria. The hospital suffers a little, in my opinion, from an unfortunate architecture which makes it resemble a bank, inside- not the warmest image you could want to project, and I'm not sure this architecture doesn't affect the people who work there, causing them to behave just a little more like bank employees than they might, otherwise! However, the services I received there, amounting to nothing more than lab work, were good, and very professionally done. I had a list of routine tests I wanted performed and, in keeping with practice around the world, perhaps excluding the U.S., and a few other countries, all that was necessary was for me to request the tests I wanted and pay the required sums at the front desk. A few minutes later a lab tech escorted me to the area where they draw blood, perhaps the nicest of all places I've ever seen for this routine procedure. The sample was drawn painlessly, and I was advised the result would be ready that afternoon, which it was. The prices of each test were extremely low and, on top of that, I was given a 30% discount owing to the fact that I lived in Cancun. Hospital Hospiten is big enough that it isn't easy to get in one photo: here are two, the one on the right showing the drive-in entrance. The medical director is extremely proud that his hospital is the only hospital in Quintana Roo that has been certified by the Consejo General de Salubridad de Mexico, as announced by the sign you see on the front of the building, in green and white. The forbidding, bank-like decor is obvious in this shot, below left; however, should you need inpatient services, you will deal with the very vivacious and fully English speaking young woman you see here, on the right, who will be glad to assist you with the details. At a near future date, I'll try to have a few photos and some comments about another of the popular, private hospitals in Cancun, Galenia Hospital.
Hey V I saw this on the news and thought about you its about IMSS coverage for retirees. There is also a video of the story at the link. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/17/eveningnews/main5992969.shtml
I am going to post a very abbreviated account of my only experience with IMSS. As many of you know, our middle son works for the State Department in Kabul. When he's not on duty he comes to Cancun, hopefully to stay with us, because that means his condo is rented. At the very end of his last week in Cancun, he received an email and then a telephone call from a factotum at the State Department informing him that he needed to get the N1H1 shot prior to returning to his departure post in the US. With 4 days to go we began calling around and it was suggested that we call the IMSS in Centro. They told us to come right down, go to the emergency desk, ask for a particular doctor and we would get him vaccinated. We showed up that same evening and nobody, including the doctor, knew what we were talking about. But they were very solicitous and finally told us to scoot across to the big IMSS behind Plaza Cancun, go to the emergency desk and ask for a different doctor. So we schlepped over to Nichupte, got bitten by every mosquito in Cancun (not relevant to the story, but part of the overall unpleasantness), and got the same solicitous, but totally unhelpful reception and a piece of paper with a different physician's name and an ostensible 8:30 AM appointment at the IMSS in Centro. We schlepped back to the ZH, tired, itchy and frustrated. Next morning we show up at the emergency desk in Centro with our special piece of paper, and were thrown out on our butts. The quote, originally in Spanish was, contradictory logic included, "We have no vaccine, it's reserved for the doctors and people who have the flu (that's the vaccine they don't have) and even if we had it, we wouldn't give it to you!" Observations: At IMSS, even if only for this particular event, the right hand obviously didn't even know that the left hand existed. The night shift is friendly, the day shift at Centro, be it overworked, under paid of having hormonal issues is hostile to us gringos of mixed origination. The emergency room public spaces were filthy beyond busy. There's busy filthy and there's negligent filthy. These spaces hadn't been cleaned in days. I am not implying that all of IMSS is as disorganized nor as dirty as that which we encountered, but it raises my index of suspicion. I have no experience other than this, but this experience is first hand, not hearsay. Because of our extended family's extended visits, we have had emergency room experience at Amerimed and Galania. In the event I get run over by the taco truck I know where I'm going to ask to be taken, and it's not an IMSS facility. And, the night before our son was to depart, he received a call from the US telling him it was okay to skip the vaccination, as nobody his contingent could get it in the US and they'd get it from the US Army when they arrived in Kabul. He got his jab this morning.
Sorry that turned out badly, Mixz1, and you got an awful runaround, but it must have taken a brave person at IMSS to finally tell you their services are restricted to those enrolled in IMSS; and, that the little vaccine they have is not available even to those who are enrolled, but is reserved for those on their medical staff who are in frequent contact with patients who have, or are suspected of having, H1N1. (Both points based solely on my current understanding of their policies, and practices.) There's no excuse for bad housekeeping in any hospital: it's low tech, and mostly dependent on human energy to accomplish. _______________ Since Mixz1's experience, it's been reported that the H1N1 vaccine, in low supply here, is available only to those considered at high risk of death from H1N1- should they contract it- such as pregnanat women, those with impaired immunity or chronic diseases which increase their risk, etc., and control of its use is in the hands of the Health Department. For those falling in one of the high risk categories who wish to be vaccinated, I could suggest contacting Cancun's Hospital General, or any of the public health offices, to start your search. Be sure to take proof of your residence with you. It is possible that they have still got some of the original shipment on hand, if they've been limiting its use as they should. Hospital General, Cancun, is located at SM 65, Andador 5, between 12 y 13; just east of Av. Tulum, and just north of Lopez Portillo. Expect it to be busy, as it is the largest charity hospital in Cancun, and will treat all, without regard to ability to pay. (Personal rec: don't go first thing in the morning, that's when everybody goes for government services, hoping to beat the crush and, thereby, creating one: wait till mid afternoon.) You should go prepared to pay, in case their policy is to receive payment from those with ability to pay. (I've encountered that in other countries, when dealing with public hospitals: the charges, if any, are likely to be embarrassingly small). If you want to try the Department of Health, and you can access the page, below, there are a number of places listed: whether these represent somewhere you might get the vaccine, I don't know. It's just where I would start, if I were looking. http://www.saludqr.gob.mx/web/Pagina...ructura/BJ.pdf [You may have to zoom in on the list to read it: print is small.] The Dept of Health has a unit at the same address as the General Hospital, making it an excellent place to start your hunt. If any of the readers feel they are in a high risk category (especially if you have proof of this through med records, or by other means) and would like to attempt to get the shots, feel free to PM me, as I'd also like to see what happens when one tries to access this service.
Thanks, Gonzo, for bringing that article and news report about IMSS to our attention. We're still in the process, here, of getting more feedback from expats who've actually used IMSS, locally, but people in other parts of the country are reporting having used it, and found it useful. As I see it, for those with limited resources, or rightfully fearful of having limited resources in the future, IMSS has got to represent a serious, "better than nothing" option. I think we'll eventually find that, if we know how to navigate the system, it can be more than that, and possibly a comfort to have as a backup. Some of those living here long-term seem to have chosen the option of "going bare" when it comes to medical coverage, something I view as a big mistake, unless you're incredibly wealthy, especially considering how inexpensive it is to have IMSS coverage. ______________________ Based on what I currently understand about it (from reading official publications of IMSS I was given at the enrollment desk), serious pre-existing conditions are not covered, contrary to what was suggested in the article referred to above, making it very important to enroll before that becomes an issue. Alternatively, for those who have pre-existing conditions, but wish to enroll anyway, they can still receive benefits for any illnesses other than those related to their pre-existing conditions.
Can anyone tell me if there is an age limit (e.g., 65), for INITIAL enrollment in IMSS? I recall that I was told this a number of years ago...but it may be my imagination. I don't see anything on the IMSS website that addresses this. Thanks
That's an interesting question. All I can say about it, is that I've never run across any upper age for initial enrollment in any of the reading I've done, nor in the IMSS literature that's been given me during the enrollment process. It seems they feel adequately protected from excess claims by the limitations imposed for pre-existing conditions (no coverage), and the limited services made available to a new enrollee during the first two years of coverage.
Another good question. I've never run across anything that suggested a minimum age, either. One of the things that came to my attention as a result of my recent attempt to enroll is that every member of the family unit must be enrolled: I could not enroll without my wife joining in the application and coverage, and I was questioned closely about whether I had any other immediate family members, whether living with me or not, on the territory of Mexico, as they would have also have had to be enrolled, if I was to be enrolled. There appears to be a strong public policy to protect all members of the family. With this in mind, it seems unlikely there would be a lower age limit of any kind.
