International Medical Insurance

[miaclockman]

My wife has just retired and I'm on Social Security Disability from several major health problems. In order to maximize our retirement $$$ we are considering moving to San Miguel de Allende.

My main concern is being able to obtain International Health insurance to cover the costs that I have with a multitude of specialists, required yearly tests, and prescription drugs. My fear is that the companies will exclude my current medical diseases and I won't be able to obtain medication insurance. Some of the pain meds are Class II in the USA (highly controlled), so I can't just go over the border once a month and then bring them into Mexico. I have a feeling that eyebrows would be raised.

Has anyone had experience with obtaining Int'l medical insurance AND having pre-existing conditions and/or disorders? Granted, I know that medical care in that particular city is excellent and much cheaper than in the USA, but I'm afraid that without insurance, we would be eaten alive by costs for tests and medications. Our major medical insurance which can be purchased from our employer can be retained until age 65, but it only covers emergencies when traveling as a tourist in a foreign country.

So, am I out of luck as far as considering a permanent move to Mexico? My doctors tell me that Insurance plans in other countries are much more forgiving because they don't have the regulations and restrictions that companies in the USA have.

Any advice or links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Miaclockman

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by miaclockman

....So, am I out of luck as far as considering a permanent move to Mexico? My doctors tell me that Insurance plans in other countries are much more forgiving because they don't have the regulations and restrictions that companies in the USA have.

Any advice or links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Miaclockman

I hope that someone else can come up with better news than I have, but here goes:
Any and all preexisting conditions will be excluded. Further, the fact of the preexisting conditions will most likely exclude you completely as well. I have benign hypertension completely under control with one pill a day, but a big insurer affiliated with a US insurance company excluded me because of it. So I could only get IMSS, or Mexican SS insurance.

What might make sense to do is to find out, preferably in person, how much your medical care and medications would cost you in SMA. (BTW, you could live a lot cheaper in a lot of other places in Mexico, including some places lakeside.) You would need to consult a local doctor and, if needed, the most appropriate hospital institution for your condition(s). The hospital costs may include the services of any specialists you need to consult. You would need to ensure that there would be no problems getting an MD in Mexico to write your Rx's, since the drugs you are taking require this here. See if one of the doctor(s) would translate your meds into the generic (where available) Mexican equivalent drug in Spanish. Then you would need to take a list of your medications to at least four pharmacies that carry them all to get quotes. You will probably find that the prices vary from one pharmacy to another significantly, sometimes by a huge amount, so the multiple quotes are a necessity. Then you would be in a position to make some decisions. Mexico might just turn out to be affordable for you without private insurance which, if you could get it, would cost at least $3,000 USD/year if not a lot more.
Finally, you might consider doing the same exercise, remotely or in person, in another area of Mexico such as the Lake Chapala area near superb medical facilities in Guadalajara. Good luck! ¡Qué le vaya bien!

[miaclockman]

El Toro:
thank you for the quick reply. If I may ask, what do you think is the quality of IMSS insurance compared to the average HMO in the USA? I understand that the cost of living is considerably lower in Mexico, and SMA looks to be a lovely city with 15th century charm.

What would kill me financially WOULD be the cost of drugs. I have been in pain managment since 2001 from 4 failed back surgeries. My vertebrae are now fused without any relief from the pain. Without considerable doses of pain medications in the doses that are given to cancer patients, I would not be able to function. I know that the 2 meds that I am prescribed here in the USA would cost me $3,000/month without insurance. So I don't know if IMSS covers prescription medications. To further complicate matters, most medications could be fillled in the states for a 90-day supply which I could even cheaply fly to Texas or California for that. However, the pain meds are so restricted because of the paranoia in this country. The patient can only get a 30-day supply, the script must be written in ink, filled within 5 days of the date on the script, and NO refills.

I have no idea if you can answer any of these questions, but maybe some other reader may be in a similar situation.

Thanks again, and I will perform a search for IMSS on the web to see if I can get some more answers.

Miaclockman

[RVGRINGO]

El Toro is correct on all points; San Miguel de Allende is a very expensive place to live, in comparison to other options, farther from an international airport and at higher altitude, etc. Yes, you are likely to be totally excluded from insurance coverage by your preexisting conditions; even by IMSS. You may find a pain management physician (not all can do that) to treat you at your own expense, as well as an orthopedist, but will have to pay for your own medications as well. It would appear that your only recourse might be the choice between paying your own way in Mexico or staying in the USA for Medicare and VA benefits, if you are eligible. In any case, I believe that you would have to return to the USA periodically to maintain your Social Security Disability via medical updates from a US physician; isn't that so?

[El Toro Furioso]

I think RV answered your questions. When you speak of "the paranoid in this country," I take it that you are talking about the US. There is a lot of caution in Mexico as well, with some MDs reluctant to prescribe them. I know nothing of costs, but I would be happy to ask if you send me the names of a few of your meds. On a personal note, I had neurosurgical anterior fusion of C5/C6 and removal of a bone spur after two years on a similar pharmaceutical regimen. So I know a little of what you speak.
On a lighter side, San Miguel de Allende did have a lot of 15th century charm. Then the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century! ¡Qué le vaya bien!

[BryansRose]

I moved down here, in large part because of health care costs in the US. I'm on several medications, and I've found this: the brand names seem to be about the same as I paid in the US, while the generics are about 10% of what I paid in the US. I'm also finding that at least one of the generics doesn't work for me.

I just signed up for the IMSS health insurance, and the questionairre I had to fill out was much less than I expected. Do you drink? how much? Do you smoke? And a small list of about 20 chronic things to check off. I could find one thing that applied to me. So that will be excluded, I think for 2 years. Clinic visits will be free to me. I do think there is an exam when you first show up at the clinic, so other things may be excluded, I don't know. The cost for my age range is $160 USD per year.

I have seen a private doctor already, and his charge was abour $45 for about 45 minutes of his time. House calls are about $60. Lab tests were an estimated 25% of the cost in the US. Although it's been a few years since I could afford any tests in the US so maybe it's even better than that.

Hope this helps. Have you thought about making a trip down here first, and checking out drug prices?

And I would second the above opinions that San Miguel is expensive to live. You want to find a reasonably-sized city, though, or move close to one, so that you are assured of good health care.

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by BryansRose

I moved down here, in large part because of health care costs in the US. I'm on several medications, and...I'm also finding that at least one of the generics doesn't work for me.

Are you buying from Similares? Their drugs are not true generics, they are "similar" to but not the same formulation as the proprietary drug. Also, I'm guessing that you have tried several different generics of the drug that didn't work for you. You can also try asking if a particular pharmacy has a Canadian version of the generic. This will automatically include US-made and other "foreign" generics in the pharmacist's mind, but eases the way a little. I had to double the dose of the only med I take until I asked for a "Canadian" version. It works great and is made in Ireland. $45 pesos a month.

[BryansRose]

Thanks for the suggestions!

No, I'm not buying from Similares, but I didn't know about what you said, so I will bear that in mind.

Just today I bought the brand name instead of generic to see if I start feeling better again. If I do, I'll shop around for different generics, and Canadian versions, too.

Yes, the price is worth it. I went from 65 pesos to 1000 pesos for the brand name. Ugh.

[El Toro Furioso]

Yuck! (but it has to be at least 10 characters) so Yuckity yuck!

[maesonna]

There are 3 more possible avenues of research that could be worth exploring. You can research all these on the internet.

- how much would your medications, or generic versions of them, or alternative medications for your conditions cost in Mexico?
- private Mexican health insurance instead of international insurance
- cheaper places to live in Mexico than San Miguel Allende