Good2go2Mexico

Senor and Linda Lou have been in Pueblo Alamos, Sonora, Mexico for 13 years.
Every day brings a new discovery.
They are still working on the casa............Senor says, it won't be long.........but Linda Lou says, it won't be long until what..............stay tuned to find out what's next.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Health Costs

Hola!

Left the casa yesterday at 11:15am.
Arrived at Navajoa IMSS Seguro (social security and medical insurance) building at 11:45am.
Caja 6: gave them last year's paperwork showing we have Mexican medical insurance at 11:50.
Caja 12: got a receipt showing we have insurance at 12 noon.
Around the corner and at the bank: paid cash for renewal of one year, 2,216 pesos for me, 3,325 pesos for Senor because he is 60 now at 12:15.
Caja 6: showed director bank receipt and got stamped at 12:20.
Caja 12: received new papers showing us paid and good for uno ano at 12:25.
In the tracker and on the road home at 12:30.
Sometimes things in Mexico go perfectly, without a hitch. This was one of those days.

Above are the booklets IMSS gives you when you make your first visit to the clinic. They are good as long as your insurance is good. Our insurance is without restrictions and treatment and medicine are supposed to free.

Senor had an odd bump on his arm a few months ago, and it was getting bigger, not smaller. IMSS clinic visit, medication and no more bump. Free.

Now when I had my rebar accident we did go to the clinic, which was not open and was not open when we returned again at a later time. This is how I ended up at Senor Fernando's farmacia.

I have since returned to him and have been taking pills he gave me for the kidney infection and more lotion for the leg. The lotion actually is in a syringe now with a real needle on it. Like the first visit, that scared me. But he laughed and said......no, no, no eet eees nad a problem, you don haf to steek you body............. So I have been plunging the needle and letting the lotion drip onto my finger and spreading it around the wounds three or four times daily. My leg looks so much better.
The pills for the kidney are twice daily for about 14 days, and kidneys are feeling much better.

Bill for treatment from Senor Fernando: $175 pesos, about $14 USD, 2 visits for a leg and a kidney.
Bill for US treatment: $69 to sit in clinic room, $28 to pee in a cup and get diagnosed with kidney infection, $23 for SIX little pills that did...........nothing........... total bill: $120 USD.

Sorry, I am not really going anywhere with this post. It all started when I began adding up my Tucson expenses...............................but I think you know what I am saying here.




ANNOUNCER GUY




The program was for an Ecuadorian flute player.
I am sure he played every kind of flute that has ever been made. Together Senor and I took about 20 photos and only ONE came out in focus.
Here it is..................he was very talented.


So, as I close up here, I wish everyone good health. Don't run into any rebar in the night, don't get any kidney infections, but most of all have good insurance............just in case you need it.

7 comments:

Linda Lou and Senor, Too said...

okay here is the coversion. My insurance cost is around $179 USD per year. Senor's is around $270 per year (because he is 60).

Brenda Maas said...

I am glad your leg and kidney infection are improving.
I have IMSS but have never used it yet. I usually just go to the Farmacia Similares doctors. They are great and only charge between 20 and 30 pesos and it is fast in and out.
Stay away from rebar that goes jump in the night lol.

Tancho said...

I have not found anything wrong with what Mexico offers in the way of Health Care. It is difficult to convince friends NOB that , simply because of the horror stories they have heard. I personally would rather be sick down here, than up there. Here at least the bill won't kill you, up there the insurance payments will make you choose between coverage and heat and food.....

Mike Nickell and Cynthia Johnson said...

Hi Linda Lou! I am giggling because you mentioned that Senor is now 60 twice...hehehe...Mike always rubs it in that I'm about 9 months older than him. And I'm so glad to hear that all went so smoothly with the insurance renewal. Take care!

aj said...

What are the wait times like in the IMSS clinics/hospitals? Here in Canada our emerg room waits are at 18 hours for non-life threatening conditions....think I'd take IMSS over here any day.

Linda Lou and Senor, Too said...

Medicine at the farmacia is so cheap, brenda, so I agree, sometimes it is easier to go there.
Tancho! So true, well said!
Cynthia, how is the new job, still going good? Senor actually said he wished he were turning 62 so he could collect his SS.
hola Aj, I don't know about the emergency room waits here.senor made his appointment on one day and returned to the clinic the next and was in and out in under half an hour. But for life threatening, I don't really know. In order to use our IMSS insurance for something that serious, we would need to go to the Navajoa IMSS, I think. I don't know if we could use that at the hospital here in Alamos, but good question, I will check into it. LL

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