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Emergency Medical Insurance


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2 hours ago, AndyPanda said:

You are quite industrious when it comes to pulling made up sh** out of your a**. WHAT pontificating? If you want to make a real comment about me, please... make it real.

Remember DRAGNET, "Just the facts Ma'am"? That is what this board is supposed to be about, not "All I said was, never heard that." And yes, there is a lot of pontificating going on here and it seems limited to just a few with apparently a lot of time on thier hands!!! 

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Depends. Are still referencing an emergency situation, like a slip and fall. Or catastrophic event such cancer, or an extreme motor vehicle accident? The costs for catastrophic treatment rise very quickly in private hospital care. For example, if the slip and fall broke your hip bone, and you need an artificial replacement, the cost would be roughly $14,000 US. You can shop around at general hospitals, public hospitals ( they are overflowing), the Military hospital in Guadalajara or the Naval Hospital (in Puerto Vallarta). It takes some imagination, for example you can negotiate directly with the orthotic appliance supplier. But all this time, you are paying at least $500 per day for your private hospital room.

Sad emoji is the new Glad emoji as far as I am concerned - ha ha ha

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@orizababoy23  Do you have insurance in your home country?  Medicare perhaps??

No one can avoid the accident or emergency medical incident, but many of the more costly treatments can often be delayed long enough to get to the US and let Medicare pay...things liker cancer surgery, chemo, hip or knee replacement.  Fyi, I have seen many news stories recently about shortages and high cost for chemo drugs in MEX.  

Every person has different priorities and standards.  Some will be OK with the MEX public health plan; many will not either due to language difficulty, burdensome bureaucracy, or the difference in comfort levels between public and private hospitals here.  Yes I know some who have been happy with their IMSS care and hospitals, but many more who have not. 

Others here have suggested dropping Medicare B and 'bank' those premiums and you'll come out ahead.  This can be true for someone who was able to do that for several years AND avoid costly medical expenses early on in their retirement here.  But a newbie who slips and falls and breaks a hip, or gets injured in an accident, or gets cancer in their first year or two here, will have not have sufficient savings from going that route.   I suggest US newbies have substantial savings for unforeseen medical issues here AND keep their Medicare at least initially.  

My estimate is that 50% of expats who said they'd never leave, leave.  Lots of reasons, sometimes family; often health.  The penalty for dropping Medicare B is quite severe should you want to re-enroll at a later date.  

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6 hours ago, orizababoy23 said:

Back to topic: if I buy a policy and the deductible is 2500USD or even 5000USD, how likely is it that an insurance policy would be of any use?

Actually many folks would and do "buy into" this kind of policy, not for its value if ones stays healthy but as a hedge against the 'big one'. It's called catastrophic coverage. Not too different conceptually than buying a life insurance policy.... may never use it BUT if the occasion arises it can save the bacon.

 

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My take on this. I need a knee replacement, a hip replacement, and back surgery. I wore these bones to dust working in Canada. Me and employees were taxed brutally because of high incomes. So now the suggestion is that I spend whatever monies I managed to claw back from the greedy tax collectors mitts to hand it over to greedy doctor' mitts -dont' think so. I contributed a working lifetime paying into the universal health care and worker insurance scheme. These operations would all be free in Canada. The wait times are not bad at all, especially outside the urban centres. If I had to spend one or two years back in British Columbia before I return to Mexico as 2.0, well there are far worse fates.

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Before having the invasive surgery, someone who had done it suggested I see a neurosurgeon with a way of handling the problem with less trauma.  I did, and avoided the big operation.  In and out in one overnight at de Hierro several years ago.  Pleased as can be. 

Contact: georgidaneri@hotmail.comw

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22 hours ago, Bisbee Gal said:

@orizababoy23  Do you have insurance in your home country?  Medicare perhaps??

No one can avoid the accident or emergency medical incident, but many of the more costly treatments can often be delayed long enough to get to the US and let Medicare pay...things liker cancer surgery, chemo, hip or knee replacement.  Fyi, I have seen many news stories recently about shortages and high cost for chemo drugs in MEX.  

Every person has different priorities and standards.  Some will be OK with the MEX public health plan; many will not either due to language difficulty, burdensome bureaucracy, or the difference in comfort levels between public and private hospitals here.  Yes I know some who have been happy with their IMSS care and hospitals, but many more who have not. 

Others here have suggested dropping Medicare B and 'bank' those premiums and you'll come out ahead.  This can be true for someone who was able to do that for several years AND avoid costly medical expenses early on in their retirement here.  But a newbie who slips and falls and breaks a hip, or gets injured in an accident, or gets cancer in their first year or two here, will have not have sufficient savings from going that route.   I suggest US newbies have substantial savings for unforeseen medical issues here AND keep their Medicare at least initially.  

My estimate is that 50% of expats who said they'd never leave, leave.  Lots of reasons, sometimes family; often health.  The penalty for dropping Medicare B is quite severe should you want to re-enroll at a later date.  

Gei a Skymed Emergency Evacuation policy or NRA has an inexpensive emergency evacuation insurance policy from. A Med evacuation jet to  was was $41K 10 years ago.

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But as is often the case, the devil is in the details. I have also thought that a "Skymed" Evac policy would be good to consider. BUT, one has to have a 'home'.... or at least somewhere that plane can land.... in the US after the evac. And probably 'someone' there to assist  with what may be a long, drawn out recovery period. Many folks no longer have much of any connection(s) back in the US as they have pretty much committed to 'living' in Mexico. 

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As RickS said, the devil is in the details.  Skymed will transport you ONLY after you have been "stabilized"...whatever that may mean. Getting treated under Medicare would make sense only if it's a long term issue such as a cancer requiring full hospitalization. For other problems, the auxiliary costs of being treated away from your home base in Mexico could outweigh any $$$ savings of using Medicare. Lots to consider.

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I am going to visit Dra. Rocio's pain clinic in Guadalajara to see what she can cook up for me. It is not like I trying to return to an athletic career (unless they declare procrastination as an athletic event. I am sure I could win a bronze - if I can remember to send in the entry). I just want the pain to stop. Medical Cannabis helps, but only for up to 5 hours. I have tried Dicoflonec. But it seems to inflame my lower esophogal sphincter, which in turn causes dysphagia. What is the point of learning big words if you don't get a chance to use them?

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