Mexico Healthcare Costs - Private - IMSS - Medicare

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

I've been investigating healthcare costs in Mexico and the U.S.  My purpose is to see if I should stay with IMSS, change to private healthcare insurance, or wait for Medicare.  I've put together some information and charts to do a very basic comparison.  Medicare is the most difficult to research.  It is more like looking for private healthcare in that you need a consultant to guide you through the process to get the best deal.  In other words, the U.S. government is not there for your benefit.

The issue I have seen with Medicare costs is that there are ranges that are not defined; measures income on your last tax return before retirement, and no cost estimates for Part A although it says it can cost up to $458 per month.  Part B is the goody basket that everyone wants to be sure to have, if not, the system will nickel and dime you to death.  I am open to comments about Medicare as it seems like a real mystery.  My younger brother is disabled and yet he pays $150 a month for part B.  Some benefit for disabled persons.  I would say that for a person age 65, the average monthly charge for part A and part B would be $300 USD.

The issue with Medicare is that you have to have paid Medicare taxes for 30 quarters before retirement to be able to purchase it while out of the country.  That said, it is of no use outside the U.S.  In an emergency you are on your own until you can get to a hospital in the U.S.  Big mistake because depending on the medical issue, you will probably not be able to take a commercial flight.  Big expenses there.

Private medical in Mexico works exactly the same as in the U.S.  Monthly or yearly payments, deductibles but with flex options.  Flex options allow you to choose the level of the hospital you would prefer.  That implies that you can choose levels A, B, or C which would be a private room, shared room, private room suite.  In addition, the age and location of the hospital.  There are many private hospitals and your level includes several options which cover your doctor's preference, or specialty such as cardiology.  In my case, my cardiologist is also the medical director of the hospital so I would receive very good care (bypass, etc) under his care at a very reasonable cost.  I do not know the maximums or limits to U.S. policies but as you can see in the charts below, they are between $1,000,000 USD to 3,000,000 USD.  In a U.S. hospital, you may eat that up very quickly with just one event.  OTOH, in Mexico that should last you easily for the last 20 to 25 years of your life.  Rates are very similar if not less than Medicare and you also have coverage outside of Mexico at a private hospital.  In an emergency in Mexico you are taken to the nearest private facility and once stable you may be moved.

CONDUSEF (National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services Users)

The first column is the insurer, second is the basic coverage limited (divide by 20 pesos)  The last column is your yearly cost.  The first insurer, BBVA, an international bank and insurer, in this example has a policy life of $2,000,000 USD with a cost at age 62 of less than $2000 USD per year, or $164 USD.  If you are an ex-pat, this is an excellent option because you don't need to worry about how to get to the U.S., if you are truly covered because many ex-pats do not tell Medicare they are living in Mexico.  You live in Mexico, be a Mexican.

Last is the table for IMSS.  At a cost of $60 per month at age 62, it covers everything but you are at the mercy of the system.  If you live in Ajijic, they have a new hospital with excellent equipment, as an example, and in Monterrey, they have 15 story hospitals filled with thousands of beds but they do have excellent ICU care, specialty hospitals for cardiology including heart and lung transplants, dialysis, premature birth care, that are excellent.  The issue is that the bureaucracy and it can take months to have simple surgeries such as knee implants, foot surgeries, hernia, etc.

This is all preliminary research and I will continue to provide more.  One important point to make.  If you are a Mexican resident you really need to become accustomed to living in Mexico.  The other day someone asked about a middle and high private school.  Someone recommended a school to which many agreed.  One person said that when you graduate they send you to a "real college" in the U.S. (I found the comment very insulting).  I sent them a private message to understand what they meant, although I already knew.  I told them that I had studied at the Tecnologico de Monterrey which is a renowned university in all of the Americas.  That attitude has to go if you want to live here.  Mexico makes and does many great things but if you live in a small town, you cannot base your information solely on that or hearsay.  We are a great country with engineers, architects, lawyers, doctors, and so on.  The educated Mexican community can easily compete with any other country including the U.S.  Get over it or move on.  If not, you will always have problems with living here.