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Best Doctors and WEA Health Insurance


tbh

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Valerie stated that the reason for the large premium and deductible increases this year was because the amount paid in claims was more than the amount paid in premiums as our membership is only a few hundred. So, we were a net loss to Best Doctors. Anxious to see what happens next year.

In agency relationships such as insurance, real estate, etc. The client of the agent is the one who is paying the agent. The buyer of the product is called a customer. It is the fiduciary responsibility of the agent to represent the best interests of their client while treating the customer fairly.

That is a distinct difference that we should all be aware of when dealing with anyone called an agent.

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Yes - insurance paradise - Andre puts a group together and offers WEA insurance. I will ask him about this next week. He knows we are shopping around.

Hmmm. I talked to Andre last week and the only thing he mentioned to me was Plan Seguro. Of course, if he represents WEA and puts together groups himself, those customer demographics and terms would be different from those of Boomers, or I might not have qualified with those demographics. (But it should include his support for those enrollees, a good thing)

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Just spoke to my agent, Andrea, about WEA. His concern is the company has only been in Mexico for 5 years and if they see they are not making money they can just pull out and leave you hanging. If they were a registered Mexican ins. Company, which they are not, Mexico would require another insurance company to continue your insurance. So with WEA you are taking a risk. At my age I no longer take risks with my health insurance so I will continue with GNP

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Just spoke to my agent, Andrea, about WEA. His concern is the company has only been in Mexico for 5 years and if they see they are not making money they can just pull out and leave you hanging. If they were a registered Mexican ins. Company, which they are not, Mexico would require another insurance company to continue your insurance. So with WEA you are taking a risk. At my age I no longer take risks with my health insurance so I will continue with GNP

Good point, and that creates a good question for Ava. I've sent off a request for her response to this. I'll report back.

By the way, it sounds like you have at least one more option than many of us have (your GNP). Nice to have.

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Good point, and that creates a good question for Ava. I've sent off a request for her response to this. I'll report back.

Ava now wants each interested party to contact her or Valerie directly regarding these matters. Interesting.

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Of course, they do, tbh. They don't like us comparing notes with each other. They want to be in charge of the information that we receive. Mention to her that there is a lake very close by that she might want to take a jump in. Your post has given me very valuable information that I would not have otherwise. Of course, anyone can call them anytime they want to do so.

BTW, Best Doctors is not a Mexican Company, either.

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El Saltos, excellent suggestion. Please give us the names of some Mexican health insurance companies who allow initial enrollments at age 70 or above, as does Best Doctors. Thank you.

Plan Seguro and Prevem Seguro are two that do. El Saltos can add to these.

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In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether the company is Mexican or not. I thought it mattered, but was proven wrong - as someone has already pointed out, they are all greedy corporations, staffed by those whose bonuses are based on saving the company money any way they can. We were told/warned that the premiums for Mexican companies were restricted to the rate of MEDICAL inflation. I looked up this rate for Mexico and found:

2012: gross 6.6% - net 2.5%, *

2013: gross 6.5% - net 2.9%

2014: gross 6.9% - net 3.9%

GNP raised their premium by 16%, this is on top of the 16% I.V.A. tax, which does does not apply to medicine, and many doctors avoid paying it. The big insurance companies, or the big medical unions in Canada, can move around the goal posts at their whim. The devil is in the details - always.

* source: Towers Watson 2014 Global Medical Trends

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I looked into Boomers and Best Doctors and decided not to, mainly that the number of people in the "pool" was pretty low and the average age was 73 which means one huge claim and everyone's premium shoots thru the roof.

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Al - does Best Doctors treat for short term memory loss? You already told us that Best Doctors raised both your premium and deductible by 30%. Also, if they are covering in Mexico, you should be paying the 16% tax. If you are not, you soon will be. At that rate, within three years you will be paying the more than the "big boys", but a with a lot less coverage.

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We had private insurance in the US since I retired in 2009. Now it is Obamacare and Premera Blue Cross is what we have now and it covers emergencies in most of the private hospitals in Guadalajara.

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For a benchmark. My retirement worldwide policy from my employer costs me 250/mo and my employer 450/mo so 700 dollars per month for 1600 max out of pocket per year. This is what very good insurance cost NOB. Most policies here under a couple of hundred a month are at best partial self insurance. My company is worldwide and I am grandfathered into this program. New folks who retire don't get this. Yes I know I am lucky but what if they kill this and I am over the magic 64/65 or whatever age for local policies? As someone said before ask questions and read the policy. I have been thinking of picking up a high deductible policy in mexico just so I can have it before I am over the magic age limits. My wife uses Best Doctors and savings but we have never filed a claim. Did read the policy and yes it is limited.

Good Luck!!

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I see that we are either getting sidetracked or have come to the end of our thread now that we are dealing with memory loss accusations and policies suggested that are. not available in Mexico. Many thanks to those who provided helpful answers to the questions. Much appreciated. I learned a lot.

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For a benchmark. My retirement worldwide policy from my employer costs me 250/mo and my employer 450/mo so 700 dollars per month for 1600 max out of pocket per year. This is what very good insurance cost NOB. Most policies here under a couple of hundred a month are at best partial self insurance. My company is worldwide and I am grandfathered into this program. New folks who retire don't get this. Yes I know I am lucky but what if they kill this and I am over the magic 64/65 or whatever age for local policies? As someone said before ask questions and read the policy. I have been thinking of picking up a high deductible policy in mexico just so I can have it before I am over the magic age limits. My wife uses Best Doctors and savings but we have never filed a claim. Did read the policy and yes it is limited.

Good Luck!!

Some of your advice on local conditions is inaccurate. Most policies here under a couple of hundred a month are at best partial self insurance. This might apply to the catastrophic policies, but isn't true for general insurance policies. Metlife Mexico, as an example, can be (depending on deductions, etc.) well under S200 a month and is full coverage. Cut off for Metlife is 69 yrs old.

Also one of advantages of the catastrophic policies that you left out in your summary, is that it's one of the few ways to get any coverage if you're 70 or over. There is an age cutoff, but it's much higher than other companies.

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I looked at Met life and while it covered more than most it still was limited compared to NOB policy I have. I would still be partially self insuring. Would you feel better if I had said 150/mo?? No such thing as a free lunch is my point. Good point on catastrophic policies and age. Also note I said the word MOST in my post.

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El Saltos, excellent suggestion. Please give us the names of some Mexican health insurance companies who allow initial enrollments at age 70 or above, as does Best Doctors. Thank you.

Al and I are at least two of those in our early 70s who are interested in plans we can still enroll in. I plan to pay out of pocket for the small stuff but want coverage for an expensive surprise that requires immediate treatment. Best Doctors is very limited in what it covers. So, all suggestions for catastrophic plans for our age group are welcome.

As I mentioned earlier I know about Plan Segura and Prevem, both Mexican plans. I've also heard that Bupa might cover us but don't have any information.

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  • 2 years later...

I have looked at so many insurance companies and talked to Andre and others . Things have changed since this thread . If you have a new policy and lets say you get cancer, the Mexican companies basically have a 2 year waiting period for treatment. So you have insurance and cant get treatment and that could bankrupt you. I would think many of you who have insurance don't need to worry but for someone new like me who is looking that's an issue. These insurance companies cant get data from NOB so even though you may be in perfect shape when you enroll in GNP or Metlife if you come down with cancer they treat it like a pre-existing condition , hence the lengthy waiting period.

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10 hours ago, michael2595 said:

I have looked at so many insurance companies and talked to Andre and others . Things have changed since this thread . If you have a new policy and lets say you get cancer, the Mexican companies basically have a 2 year waiting period for treatment. So you have insurance and cant get treatment and that could bankrupt you. I would think many of you who have insurance don't need to worry but for someone new like me who is looking that's an issue. These insurance companies cant get data from NOB so even though you may be in perfect shape when you enroll in GNP or Metlife if you come down with cancer they treat it like a pre-existing condition , hence the lengthy waiting period.

Some of that information is pretty old, and one of the posters, El Saltos, is sadly no longer with us and can't provide information.  There is no inexpensive private coverage and it all has some of the "catch 22" features you described.  The government sponsored insurance, IMSS, does have a waiting period for many pre-existing conditions and the fees increase with age up until 80. The other government sponsored insurance, Seguro Popular, does not have either feature.  Because the cost of medical care is so much less here than in the U.S., some people carry one of the government sponsored plans as a backup in case of a medical catastrophe and they pay out of pocket for normal care. For example, my general practitioner charges 300 pesos for a office visit.  The specialists charge around 800 pesos.  Not much, compared to NOB.  Some people carry one of the medical evacuation policies and plan to fly back to the States for care under Medicare. 

 You can consult the web regarding the public policies.  Good luck.

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if you are using EA insurance make sure the hospital is direct pay, to save you  alot alot alot of paper work nightmare if not  direct pay

 

check wit blue angel on hospital make sure its direct pay, get [permission ahead of time.

 

i had trouble with WEA validating factura's appears they can not read a factura correctly , i had to verify factura's for WEA.

 

claim on web site said factura invalid when i filed claim. afyer 60 days of finished processing

 

save time make you use a direct pay hospital and pay the dr fees etc through the hospital.

 

other wise WEA is OK

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