Mexico Health Insurance for US ex-pats

Idyllwild

Well Known Member
We will be living in Puerto Peñasco about 6 months of the year. We will have have at least minimal and probably very good US health coverage. But we are interested in exploring the system in Mexico. Does anyone on the forum have insurance in the Mexican system? Can anyone recommend an excellent GP in Puerto Peñasco?
 

Roberto

Well Known Member
I had a policy marketed to US folks who live in Mexico. It was expensive and coverage was very confusing. I had it for only about a year till I got my feet on the ground here. Here's my plan for medical needs here. There are many Medicos in Penasco and several private clinic/hospitals. You will pay maybe 100 pesos per appointment with one free follow up. I have used several over the years and have found that they are generally fine for diagnosing serious stuff and treating ordinary , low risk medical problems and chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes.

The clinica San Jose has the equipment to diagnose cardiac events and stabilize them. I know of two who have had a heart attack here, were treated initially at this clinic, went to Tucson and the doc there said the clinic here did everything he would have done if he treated them initially. San Jose has a fleet of modern ambulances and will arrange for air medevac here or in Ajo. There are several other private clinic/hospitals, you can check them out.
thee are a couple of good hospitals in Mexicali and Hermosillo but Phoenix is closer and US standards of care are higher.

The other cool thing, I think , here is that you can go to any laboratory, X ray, ultrasound and walk in and get service without any referral. Lab reports show normal ranges and indicate abnormalities. You can get a 'check up' for your diabetes or thyroid disorder for a few bucks.!! Very inexpensive and you can take the results to a medico here or to Ajo for an opinion. Farmacias are on every corner and if you go to one in the tourist district you can get anything without a prescription. No Oxy or other heavy duty pain meds as sale is illegal all over Mexico but if you have a US prescription you can bring personal use quantities.

There is a clinic in Ajo open to the public with 2 Docs, a lab, X ray and some other stuff. That's only an hour and a half away, probably as long as it would take to go door to door plus waiting time, to an appointment in LA or even Phoenix. They have visiting specialists. It is not a hospital and they are not equipped to treat emergencies but will send them along to Tucson via air or ground ambulance.

I would be concerned about living further from the border. I am sure others who live here will offer more experiences with local medicos.
 
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